pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 42 No. 38 Sept. 28 - Oct. 4, 2018
Family Portrait: Peter Corbett has a scary job PAGE 23
FIGHT partners with Mexican consulate on immigrant health PAGE 5
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Take some time to enjoy‘Broken Biscuits’
Suicide rates up among youth, LGBTQs
PA Supreme Court rejects lesbian’s parenting claim By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com Mental-health professionals are advocating for suicide-prevention education to begin as early as elementary schools. The rate of suicide for LGBTQ youth has risen by more than 70 percent over the past decade, and is on the rise in all children aged 10 and under. “For the first time ever, we’re seeing a rise in suicide rates for children under the age of 10,” said Dr. Yolanda Graham, the chief medical officer of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health — one of the nation’s largest and oldest advanced-behavioral healthcare organizations. Mental illness is beginning to surface at a younger age, Graham said. “It happens not only as a result of genetic-risk factors, but also as a result of the psychosocial stressors combining with those risk factors.” Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for LGBTQ individuals ages 10-24, Graham said. LGBTQ youth are four times more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to attempt suicide or engage in self-harm, she added. An increase in suicide awareness in education is needed at the elementary level to help combat these rising numbers, Graham said. “One of the biggest efforts going on nationally is providing education in the school system. If people aren’t educated on risk factors, then it’s hard to really impact the rate of suicide,” Graham said. “People have a misconception that if you talk about suicide, it will increase the risk, and unfortunately, what we’re seeing is that by not talking about it, the risk is increased.” In June, the Centers for Disease Control reported that suicide rates in the United States increased in nearly every state from 1999-2016. In PAGE 17 Pennsylvania, it has
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LUCKY 13: Philly AIDS Thrift hosted its 13th annual block party Sept. 22 on the triangle at Bainbridge Commons. Hundreds of strollers and shoppers converged to eat, drink, dunk celebrities, dance to DJ Robert Drake’s music, find bargains and watch performances. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Mazzoni Center: Changes underway By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com Mazzoni Center’s board of directors issued an open letter outlining plans it says are in action to improve morale and create a healthier workplace after a series of internal crises. The board acknowledged the “organizational challenges stemming from a period of controversies and leadership changes over the past two years” in the letter, posted on the center’s website Sept. 19. The memorandum also stated the “leadership is actively working to address the situation” that led to the termination of Mazzoni Center’s first director of diversity, equity and inclusion, Kay Martinez, Aug. 20, four months into the job. Martinez subsequently filed a complaint with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations and publicly accused Mazzoni Center of wrongful termination, retaliation and discrimination. The termination prompted some 50 employees to briefly walk out of work in solidarity. According to a statement Mazzoni Center board president Chris Pope gave to PGN, to clarify the points in the letter, plans include working to hire consultants
“to meet our goals as an organization” and revising the job description for the diversity director, which has not been completed. “Looking forward, we are working with senior leadership to revise the job description of the director of diversity, equity and inclusion to be one that is, at a minimum, consistent with best practices for similar roles in similar organizations,” Pope said. The memo provided bullet points outlining future plans to improve “the overall culture and morale of the organization” with a focus on “increasing communication with staff and stakeholders.” Pope did not provide specific details on the changes, but said the board hopes that “enhanced communication will begin to heal some of the wounds of the past and expand new paths for collaboration both within the organization and externally with the communities we serve.” Pope added that “improving Mazzoni Center’s delivery of LGBTQ competency” is a priority. One way to do that is by “enhancing the board’s membership to bring additional backgrounds and perspectives to the organization.” Mazzoni Center currently has 17 board members: Five are women, six are people of color and eight are white men. n
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week ruled against a lesbian who sought shared custody of a child born to her former same-sex partner. In the case of C.G. v. J.H., the high court held that C.G. failed to establish that she intended to be the child’s parent, despite C.G.’s insistence that she had such an intent. The dispute involves two women who lived together in Florida between 2001-12. In 2006, J.H. gave birth to J.W.H. with the help of an anonymous sperm donor. About six years later, J.H. relocated to Pennsylvania with her son and won’t allow C.G. to visit him. In court papers, the women disagreed on whether C.G. co-parented the child for almost six years. C.G. maintains she co-parented J.W.H. for the first six years of his life and never disavowed her parental status. J.H. maintains she has been a single parent for her son’s entire life and never assented to C.G. being his parent. Pennsylvania’s custody statute doesn’t define the term “parent,” but case law as developed in the courts has limited the definition to a person who is biologically related to a child or who has adopted a child. C.G. wanted the high court to expand the definition to recognize someone in her situation as a parent. The justices heard oral arguments in the dispute on May 15. Last week, in a 33-page opinion, they said C.G. failed to establish she intended to be J.W.H.’s parent. “There was no dispute that C.G. was not party to a contract or identified as an intended parent when J.H. undertook to become pregnant through intrauterine insemination,” the majority opinion stated. “Therefore, she is clearly not a parent under any bases that have been recognized by our jurisprudence.” The opinion acknowledges that C.G. and J.H. had a commitment ceremony but didn’t register as domestic partners. The justices also noted that C.G. placed the child on her health-insurance plan, but didn’t register as his parent with the school he attended. Justices Kevin M. Dougherty and David N. Wecht issued concurring opinions that C.G. didn’t establish her status as J.W.H.’s parent. But they expressed hope that eventually a broader definition of “parent” would be created in Pennsylvania that takes into PAGE 17 account assisted-reproduction