pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 41 No. 48 Dec. 1-7, 2017
Gay basher’s cop father gets PAGE 6 promotion
Family Portrait: Jason Evans is a cheerleader for Philly AIDS PAGE 43 Thrift
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
World AIDS Day Supplement PAGES 21-28
High court upholds Dawn Segal’s removal as a judge By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
AT YOUR SERVICE: Donald “Donnie” Settle (left), Yvonne Owen and Jay Pastore were ready to serve up an early Thanksgiving dinner for patrons of U Bar on Nov. 22. Settle has been hosting a pre-Thanksgiving party at the bar for about 10 years. Some 40 people participated in the feast and festivities this year. Photo: Scott A. Drake
D.A.’s Morris affidavits under scrutiny By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Between 2013-15, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office submitted seven affidavits relating to the Nizah Morris case under penalty of perjury that appear to contain inaccuracies. The affidavits were submitted in response to PGN’s open-records requests for computer-aided dispatch records in the D.A.’s files for a traffic stop initiated by Officer Elizabeth Skala. The officer initiated the traffic stop in December 2002, shortly after she gave a Center City “courtesy ride” to Morris, a trans woman of color who was intoxicated. When Skala initiated the traffic stop, she was still assigned to Morris, who was in critical condition and urgently needed transportation to a hospital. In 2009 and 2013, PGN gave the D.A.’s Office computer-aided dispatch records for Skala’s traffic stop that the paper received from the city’s Police Advisory Commission. The 2013 record is in a slightly different
format than the 2009 record. The D.A.’s Office submitted two affidavits in September 2013 claiming the agency had no responsive records in its files. But, four years later, the agency belatedly admitted the 2009 record from PGN was in its files at the time. In March 2014, PGN requested an evidentiary hearing in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court to probe whether the D.A.’s Office conducted a comprehensive search, in response to PGN’s open-records requests. But the D.A.’s Office opposed an evidentiary hearing, maintaining the office conducted a good-faith search. A Philadelphia judge sided with the D.A.’s Office and no evidentiary hearing was held. Five subsequent affidavits claim the only responsive record in D.A. files was the 2013 record from PGN — despite the agency’s belated admission in October 2017 that the 2009 record also was in its files. An August 2014 affidavit asserts the office’s “understanding” that a computer-aided dispatch record “does not have different formats, configurations or prePAGE 15 sentations but instead
In a 5-1 decision issued Nov. 22, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that permanently bars Dawn A. Segal from holding judicial office. Segal, an open lesbian, served as a municipal-court judge in Philadelphia for about six years until she was suspended without pay last year due to improper conversations with another judge. The state Supreme Court justices who ruled against Segal are Max Baer, Sallie U. Mundy, Thomas G. Saylor, Debra M. Todd and David N. Wecht. The majority’s 23-page opinion states that Segal’s actions were “an affront to the administration of justice and diminish confidence in the judiciary at large.” In a dissenting opinion, Justice Christine Donahue recommended that the case be remanded to the Court of Judicial Discipline for further review to ensure consistent discipline for problematic judges. Justice Kevin M. Dougherty, a Democrat
from Philadelphia, didn’t participate. In court papers, Segal acknowledged engaging in improper conversations with Municipal Court Judge Joseph C. Waters Jr. between 2011-12 but said none of the conversations influenced her judicial rulings. Last year, the Court of Judicial Discipline ordered S eg a l ’s p e r m a nent removal after holding a sanctions hearing, during which Segal gave an impassioned plea for her return to the bench. In May, oral arguments were held in Harrisburg before the state Supreme Court. The arguments focused on whether the Court of Judicial Discipline was consistent in its approach to disciplining problematic PAGE 15 judges.
Hahnemann launches fellowship for care of trans patients By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com A local hospital last month launched a training program focused on medical and surgical procedures for transgender patients. Hahnemann University Hospital’s new one-year Transgender Fellowship Training Program will provide candidates with training and education in major reconstructive cases, including pre- and post-operative care. Hahnemann’s program is the first of its kind in the city and the second in the nation; Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine in New York City announced the country’s first transgender surgery and psychiatric medical fellowships this summer. “Hahnemann University Hospital prides itself on being a pioneer in medical research and advancement,” Hahnemann CEO Michael P. Halter said in a state-
ment. “Creating a Transgender Fellowship Training Program is the next chapter in continuing a legacy of excellence.” Under the direction of Dr. Kathy L. Rumer, Hahnemann’s Transgender Surgery Program director, fellows will learn about an assortment of male-to-female and female-to-male gender-affirming surgeries. Additionally, they will learn about facial surgeries, breast augmentation, chest masculinization and body-contouring, Rumer said. Rumer said she hopes to train fellows to not only perform surgical procedures but to also relate to patients in pre- and post-operative care. This includes working with patients’ primary-care doctors. “This is a patient population that has, for years, been ignored by the medical community and, just recently, the medical community is beginning to embrace it, so we want to make sure we PAGE 15
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PGN LOCAL
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
Resource listings
News Briefing
Legal resources • ACLU of Pennsylvania: 215-592-1513; aclupa.org • AIDS Law Project of PA: 215-587-9377; aidslawpa.org • AIDS Law Project of South Jersey: 856-784-8532; aidslawsnj.org/ • Equality PA: equalitypa. org; 215-731-1447
• Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations — Rue Landau: 215-686-4670 • Philadelphia Police Liaison Committee: 215-7603686; ppd.lgbt@gmail.com • SPARC — Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition: 717-920-9537
• Office of LGBT Affairs — Amber Hikes: 215-686-0330; amber.hikes@phila.gov
Community centers • The Attic Youth Center; 255 S. 16th St.; 215-545-4331, atticyouthcenter.org. For LGBT and questioning youth and their friends and allies. • LGBT Center at the University of Pennsylvania; 3907 Spruce
St.; 215-898-5044, center@dolphin.upenn.edu.
• Rainbow Room: Bucks County’s LGBTQ and Allies Youth Center
Salem UCC Education Building, 181 E. Court St., Doylestown; 215-957-7981 ext. 9065, rainbowroom@ppbucks.org.
• William Way LGBT Community Center 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220, www.waygay.org.
Health and HIV testing • Action Wellness: 1216 Arch St.; 215981-0088, actionwellness.org
• AIDS Library:
1233 Locust St.; aidslibrary.org/
• AIDS Treatment Fact line: 800-6626080
• Bebashi-Transition to Hope: 1235 Spring Garden St.; 215769-3561; bebashi.org
• COLOURS: coloursorganization.org, 215832-0100 • Congreso de Latinos Unidos;
216 W. Somerset St.; 215-763-8870
• GALAEI: 149 W. Susquehanna Ave.; 267-457-3912, galaei.org. Spanish/ English
• Health Center No. 2, 1720 S. Broad
St.; 215-685-1821
• Mazzoni Center:
Canvas for gender-neutral bathrooms The Mayor’s Commission on LGBT Affairs is organizing a canvassing event this weekend to ensure city businesses are complying with the law regarding gender-neutral bathroom signage. The city adopted the measure in the fall of 2015 to require all public single-stall bathrooms to be clearly labeled as gender-neutral. Businesses had 90 days to comply; those that have not amended signage could face fines of up to $2,000. On Dec. 2, LGBTs and allies will canvas Center City to check that public single-stall restrooms are in compliance; those that are will receive affirmative decals, and those that aren’t will be given letters instructing them of the law and the penalties for noncompliance. Participants will meet at 2 p.m. at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St., for a primer on the law and a training for the canvassing event. They will then pair up and check assigned blocks before returning to the center by 5 p.m., where refreshments will be provided. Similar events are expected in other neighborhoods around the city.
1348 Bainbridge St.; 215-563-0652, mazzonicenter.org
Drag contest to fundraise for The Attic
• Philadelphia FIGHT: 1233 Locust
The eighth-annual Beauty Ball returns this weekend to raise funds for a local LGBT youth center.
• Washington West Project of Mazzoni Center:
AC ul t ure
St.; 215-985-4448, fight.org
1201 Locust St.; 215985-9206
• Transgender Health Action Coalition: 215-732-1207
rts
The amateur-drag contest will be held 7-11 p.m. Dec. 2 at Voyeur, 1221 St. James St. The competition starts at 9 p.m. The event encourages performers who are new to the drag scene to don makeup, costumes and more and take part in a lip-synching contest. Guests are also urged, though not required, to dress in drag. The $10 admission fee supports The Attic Youth Center. The event is sponsored by Stonewall Sports and will feature music by DJ Carl Michaels. For more information, visit http://bit. ly/2Bujsgc.
MontCo biz group to host holiday networking event The Montgomery County LGBT Business Council will celebrate the season with a holiday mixer later this month. The Holiday Extravaganza Card Exchange Networking Event and Show will take place 5:30-10 p.m. Dec. 14 at Gaya Restaurant, 1002 W. Skippack Pike in Blue Bell. The event will feature music by the George Weldon Jazz Trio and, at 8:30 p.m., a drag performance. There will be Koreanfusion appetizers, as well as happy-hour specials until 8 p.m. Guests can take part in raffles, giveaways and a silent auction and mix and mingle with other LGBT and ally professionals. Guest speakers include Montgomery County Commissioners Val Arkoosh and Ken Lawrence and Equality Pennsylvania’s Joe Dungee. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door; couple tickets are available in advance for $60. Proceeds support the council’s work to grow the county’s LGBT business community. For more information or tickets, visit http://bit.ly/2zM9uKb. n — Jen Colletta
Nightlife, Concerts, Art Exhibits, Readings, Cabaret, Films, Theater, Food, Books, Music, Sports and Travel
Other • Independence Branch Library Barbara Gittings Gay and Lesbian Collection: 215-685-1633 • Independence Business Alliance; 215-557-0190, IndependenceBusinessAlliance.com
• LGBT Peer Counseling Services: 215-732-TALK • PFLAG: Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (Philadelphia): 215-572-1833 • Philly Pride Presents: 215-875-9288
Because Life Is More Than Just Gay News
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
In adults with HIV on ART who have diarrhea not caused by an infection IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION This is only a summary. See complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or by calling 1-844-722-8256. This does not take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.
What Is Mytesi? Mytesi is a prescription medicine used to improve symptoms of noninfectious diarrhea (diarrhea not caused by a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on ART. Do Not Take Mytesi if you have diarrhea caused by an infection. Before you start Mytesi, your doctor and you should make sure your diarrhea is not caused by an infection (such as bacteria, virus, or parasite).
Possible Side Effects of Mytesi Include:
Tired of planning your life around diarrhea?
Enough is Enough Get relief. Pure and simple. Ask your doctor about Mytesi.
Mytesi (crofelemer): • Is the only medicine FDA-approved to relieve diarrhea in people with HIV • Treats diarrhea differently by normalizing the flow of water in the GI tract • Has the same or fewer side effects as placebo in clinical studies • Comes from a tree sustainably harvested in the Amazon Rainforest What is Mytesi? Mytesi is a prescription medicine that helps relieve symptoms of diarrhea not caused by an infection (noninfectious) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Important Safety Information Mytesi is not approved to treat infectious diarrhea (diarrhea caused by bacteria, a virus, or a parasite). Before starting you on Mytesi, your healthcare provider will first be sure that you do not have infectious diarrhea. Otherwise, there is a risk you would not receive the right medicine and your infection could get worse. In clinical studies, the most common side effects that occurred more often than with placebo were upper respiratory tract (sinus, nose, and throat) infection (5.7%), bronchitis (3.9%), cough (3.5%), flatulence (3.1%), and increased bilirubin (3.1%).
Should I Take Mytesi If I Am: Pregnant or Planning to Become Pregnant? • Studies in animals show that Mytesi could harm an unborn baby or affect the ability to become pregnant • There are no studies in pregnant women taking Mytesi • This drug should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed A Nursing Mother? • It is not known whether Mytesi is passed through human breast milk • If you are nursing, you should tell your doctor before starting Mytesi • Your doctor will help you to decide whether to stop nursing or to stop taking Mytesi Under 18 or Over 65 Years of Age? • Mytesi has not been studied in children under 18 years of age • Mytesi studies did not include many people over the age of 65. So it is not clear if this age group will respond differently. Talk to your doctor to find out if Mytesi is right for you
What Should I Know About Taking Mytesi With Other Medicines? If you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicine, herbal supplements, or vitamins, tell your doctor before starting Mytesi.
What If I Have More Questions About Mytesi? For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or speak to your doctor or pharmacist. To report side effects or make a product complaint or for additional information, call 1-844-722-8256.
Rx Only Manufactured by Patheon, Inc. for Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. San Francisco, CA 94105 Copyright © Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
For Copay Savings Card and Patient Assistance, see Mytesi.com
Mytesi comes from the Croton lechleri tree harvested in South America.
Please see complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com. NP-390-18
• Upper respiratory tract infection (sinus, nose, and throat infection) • Bronchitis (swelling in the tubes that carry air to and from your lungs) • Cough • Flatulence (gas) • Increased bilirubin (a waste product when red blood cells break down) For a full list of side effects, please talk to your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
RELIEF, PURE AND SIMPLE
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
News & Opinion
2 — News Briefing 10 — Creep of the Week Editorial 11 — Mark My Words Street Talk Transmissions 19 — International News Media Trail
“There’s an assumption that if you’re trans, especially if you’re a trans woman of color, that you must be doing some sort of sex work.”
Columns
14 — Out Law: The case for net neutrality 15 — Body U: Add pep to your holiday step 42 — Get Out and Play: Jason Collins COMMUNITY JUSTICE: Trevor Hoppe’s (second from left) new book, “Punishing Disease: HIV and the Criminalization of Sickness,” was used as a jumping-off point for a discussion about HIV-criminalization laws Nov. 17 at William Way LGBT Community Center. The event featured remarks from William Way executive director Chris Bartlett (from left), AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania executive director Ronda Goldfein and Philadelphia FIGHT’s TEACH Outside coordinator Teresa Sullivan. Photo: Scott A. Drake
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Arts & Culture 35 39 40 43 44 45
— Feature: John Waters again — Scene in Philly — Out & About — Family Portrait — Q Puzzle — Comics
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DVLF Toy returns to Sky Philadelphia and adds some sexiness.
PGN 505 S. Fourth St. Philadelphia, PA 19147-1506 Phone: 215-625-8501 Fax: 215-925-6437 E-mail: pgn@epgn.com Web: www.epgn.com
Publisher Mark Segal (ext. 204) mark@epgn.com
21-28
Creep of the Week: Wes Goodman is another anti-LGBT proponent who got caught having sex with another man.
Editor
Advertising Sales Prab Sandhu (ext. 212) prab@epgn.com
Staff Writers Jeremy Rodriguez (ext. 215) jeremy@epgn.com
Kyle Lamb (ext. 201) kyle@epgn.com
Jen Colletta (ext. 206) jen@epgn.com
Larry Nichols (ext. 213) larry@epgn.com Writer-at-Large Timothy Cwiek (ext. 208) timothy@epgn.com
~ Aisha Mohammed, on a Woodhull town hall regarding sexual violence, page 7
Office Manager/ Classifieds Don Pignolet (ext. 200) don@epgn.com
The World AIDS Day supplement
Art Director/ Photographer
Scott A. Drake (ext. 210) scott@epgn.com 267-736-6743 Graphic Artist Sean Dorn (ext. 211) sean@epgn.com
Philadelphia Gay News is a member of: The Associated Press Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Suburban Newspapers of America
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Brett Gleason brings his fan-approved music to New Hope.
Copyright © 1976 - 2017 Copyright(s) in all materials in these pages are either owned or licensed by Masco Communications Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliate companies (Philadelphia Gay News, PGN, and it’s WWW sites.) All other reproduction, distribution, retransmission, modification, public display, and public performance of our materials is prohibited without the prior written consent of Masco Communications. To obtain such consent, email pgn@epgn.com Published by Masco Communications Inc. © 1976-2017 Masco Communications Inc. ISSN-0742-5155
National Advertising Rivendell Media: 212-242-6863
The views of PGN are expressed only in the unsigned “Editorial” column. Opinions expressed in bylined columns, stories and letters to the editor are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of PGN. The appearance of names or pictorial representations in PGN does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that named or pictured person or persons.
LOCAL PGN
LIGHTS ON!: Old City’s Franklin Square is holiday-ready, as the lights were switched on at its Holiday Festival & Electrical Spectacle. More than 50,000 lights illuminate the historic square and dance to holiday music every half-hour evenings through Dec. 24. A winter beer garden also serves up holiday treats and tastes on Fridays and Saturdays. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Medical center receives two grants to support LGBT patients By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com A local medical center last week announced it was awarded two grants to support the LGBT community. Einstein Medical Center’s Pride Program, an LGBT-centered division, received a $50,000 grant from the Albert Einstein Society Innovative Program and a $35,000 grant from EcoMedia. The former grant allows the medical center to hire a trans patient navigator while the latter expands its mental-health and counseling services for LGBT patients. “Einstein’s mission statement is to provide health care and education to all that we can touch, and it became clear to me, as we began to work with Pride and the community, that we were not reaching all of the patients,” said Dr. David Jaspan, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology for Einstein Healthcare Network. “One grant enables us to provide care to patients who feel they can’t access it because they couldn’t afford it and the other enables us to do two things: reach the trans community with a specific navigator and, more importantly, [provide] an expansion process for the entire LGBTQ community.” Kalen McLean began working as the trans patient navigator in August. Beginning in January, he will initiate outreach to local communities and will have a presence at schools in the area. Additionally,
McLean fields all phone calls, initiates all appointments and accompanies patients to appointments. Jaspan said the need for this position stemmed from a conversation with Dr. Michele Style, who founded the Pride program. One of the program’s first patients was a trans man who had an appointment for an ultrasound. They wanted to ensure medical staff was friendly toward the patient and did not assume they called “the wrong patient.” “From that moment on, we knew that taking care of the trans population required a different approach,” Jaspan said. For the EcoMedia grant, Pride program leadership wanted to expand its counseling and mental-health services. Program director Dr. Libby Parker provides this support for LGBT patients but, since she is a social worker, she can only see patients with certain insurance. The grant would help pay for out-of-pocket expenses. “The patients that she sees in that realm — certain insurances don’t pay for their care but we didn’t want patients to not have access,” Jaspan said. “So when a patient needs care but doesn’t have the appropriate insurance that would be covered, we use this grant to offset the cost so there is no more cost for the patient.” For more information on Einstein Medical Center’s Pride Program, visit http://bit.ly/2BuzCq4 or call 800-3467834. n
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
LOCAL PGN
Father of gay-bashing defendant named to top cop post By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
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on a raid and another in which she described her father issuing a ticket to a driver who she says attempted to run her off the road. The father of one of the defendants in Knott was present during each of his daugha high-profile 2014 gay-bashing case was ter’s hearings and her eventual trial; she was named this week to the helm of a suburban ultimately found guilty of four misdemeanors and served five months in prison. Her police department. The Central Bucks Regional Police codefendants, Philip Williams and Kevin Commission on Monday approved the hir- Harrigan, pleaded guilty to a number of ing of Karl Knott as chief of the CBRP, charges and were given probation and comaccording to The Intelligencer. Knott is munity service. Knott is a defendant, along with his the father of Kathryn Knott, one of three people prosecuted for verbally and physi- daughter and several Bucks County deteccally assaulting couple Zachary Hesse and tives and officials, in a federal lawsuit filed by Norristown resident Andrew Haught at 16th Kathleen O’Donnell, and Chancellor streets in Knott is the father of who contends the September 2014. Kathryn Knott, one of defendants conspired At the time of the to violate her constiincident, Knott, who three people prosetutional right to free has more than 30 cuted for verbally and speech. She operated years of experience in an online profile under law enforcement, had physically assaulting the name “Knotty is a recently become chief couple Zachary Hesse Tramp,” using a photo of the Chalfont police of Kathryn, who, accorddepartment. When the and Andrew Haught in ing to court records, disCBRP merged that unit September 2014. covered the account and with those in Doylestown and New Britain, he took on the post of cap- sought advice from her father. According to court filings, the elder Knott tain. His promotion to the head of the CBRP reportedly comes with an annual salary of addressed the issue with a Bucks County detective, who instructed him to have his $130,000. Knott’s police work was addressed numer- daughter file a report; when she did, the ous times during his daughter’s December detective’s visited O’Donnell at her work2015 trial. Prosecutors introduced a number place and she was shortly thereafter termiof Kathryn’s social-media postings as evi- nated. O’Donnell is seeking $5 million in damdence, including one in which she bragged about her father letting her kick down a door ages. n
Litigants in gay man’s lawsuit dispute whether it’s settled By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Both sides in the federal lawsuit of a South Philadelphia gay man who claims he was wrongfully suspected as a child molester are disputing whether the case has been settled. In 2012, Thomas Vandergrift filed suit against the Pennsauken School District after district officials reported him to New Jersey authorities as a suspected child molester. The reports subsequently were determined to be unfounded. Vandergrift claims district officials violated his civil rights and retaliated against him after he advocated for a proper education for his autistic nephew. School-district officials deny any wrongdoing and recently insisted that Vandergrift settled the case in October, according to court records. On Nov. 21, two Pennsauken schoolboard officials signed an alleged settlement agreement with Vandergrift that allocates $215,000 to him for emotional distress. The document was filed in federal court but
Vandergrift’s signature doesn’t appear on it. For his part, Vandergrift denies entering into a binding, legally enforceable settlement agreement with defendants. Instead, he wishes to have a jury trial, according to court records. The alleged settlement agreement also requires that Vandergrift’s attorneys indemnify defendants if any Medicaid or Medicare liens are attached to Vandergrift’s assets. Additionally, defendants would “resolve” Vandergrift’s legal bills with his prior attorneys, which reportedly exceed $119,000, according to court records. Defendants recently requested that U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider issue an order that enforces the alleged settlement agreement. “[A] binding contract exists between the parties that must be enforced,” defendants’ attorneys wrote in court papers. A hearing on the dispute is scheduled for Nov. 30 at the U.S. Court House in Camden. Vandergrift is required to attend. Additional information was unavailable as of presstime. Neither side had a comment for this story. n
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
LGBT-inclusive town hall explores solutions to sexual violence By Ray Simon PGN Contributor The Woodhull Sexual Freedom Town Hall, a daylong event focused on ending sexual violence, will take place Dec. 2 at First Unitarian Church. The program, which begins at 9 a.m., includes a keynote speech, workshops and strategy sessions. It is sponsored by the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, a Washington, D.C., organization dedicated to ending sexual violence and promoting sexual freedom. The town hall is open to everyone; lunch and child care will be provided. There is a suggested $10 donation, but no one will be turned away. The town hall is taking place as new reports of sexual improprieties by powerful men are emerging almost daily, with the #metoo movement burgeoning on social media. According to Mandy Farsace, Woodhull’s director of sexual freedom events, the purpose of the event is to go beyond naming and shaming. The town hall, she said, is “meant to engage community members in talking about ways to redefine and, ultimately, end sexual violence in our communities.” Woodhull events typically focus less on problems and more on solutions, Farsace said. That’s partly why the day’s topic is so open-ended. Sexual violence, she explained, includes a broad range of acts, everything from catcalls to unwanted sexually explicit posts on social media to rape. Philadelphia is actually the first of three cities to host a Woodhull Town Hall. Farsace, a local social worker, described the city as an ideal setting to inaugurate the series. “Philadelphia is a very sex-positive place,” she said. “We also have a great queer community here.” Philadelphia has a number of grassroots organizations working to mitigate sexual violence. Farsace cited The Attic Youth Center and Women Organized Against Rape (WOAR) as two examples. Project SAFE, another local organization, will be well-represented at the town hall. According to Aisha Mohammed, who serves on its board, Project Safe is an all-volunteer group working with women of all gender identities and sexual orientations. “We provide services to women who are trading sex or using substances in Kensington, from a harm-reduction approach,” she said. That approach recognizes the autonomy of these women, whose work leaves them stigmatized and vulnerable. And it’s integral to Project SAFE’s mission. “Harm reduction is basically the philosophy that you meet people where they’re at and you let them take the lead in defining what their needs are and what changes they want to make,” Mohammed said. On the streets where these women work, the risks are very real. As Mohammed
explained, being outdoors, these sex workers have little time to size up potential clients. In addition, they’re worried about being arrested. Even a short stint in jail can jeopardize other much-needed services like methadone treatment, she added. In fact, Project SAFE’s point of view is that the criminalization of sex work substantially increases the risks these women face. “A really important thing to note is that we don’t believe that using sex and trading sex is inherently risky or harmful,” Mohammed said. “It’s the circumstances in which people are doing it that create the risk.” LGBT sex workers face unique problems, Mohammed continued. For underage gay youth, many of whom have fled abusive families, sex work is often the only way to earn money. Transgender women encounter added difficulties, sometimes from the police. “There’s an assumption that if you’re trans, especially if you’re a trans woman of color, that you must be doing some sort of sex work,” Mohammed said. Fortunately, Project SAFE provides some support. One of its most successful programs is Women’s Night, run in partnership with Prevention Point, another organization serving Kensington. “Every Tuesday from 6-9, anyone who is female-identified — so that includes trans women as well — can come to Prevention Point and get harm-reduction supplies, a hot shower, clothing, food and get connected to different resources,” Mohammed said. Women’s Night doesn’t just address basic needs that many people take for granted; it also offers sex workers a sense of solidarity. That’s a crucial point for Kate D’Adamo, who will deliver the town hall’s keynote speech. A longtime sex-worker advocate, she thinks of sexual violence broadly, viewing it as interconnected with economic inequality, homophobia, misogyny and racism. “Very often, we understand sexual assault in these really narrow criminal justice-based terms,” D’Adamo said, mentioning terms like “evidence” and “punishment.” “That is necessarily not centering the needs of survivors. It is focusing overwhelmingly on the perpetrators.” Even if a sex worker navigates the criminal-justice system successfully, it doesn’t guarantee a positive outcome. “A guilty verdict doesn’t necessarily mean you’re healed,” D’Adamo said. “If the way that we understand this is so black-and-white and narrow and based on all of these theories and working assumptions that are failing people, what does something else look like?” D’Adamo posed. n The Woodhull Sexual Freedom Town Hall will be held Dec. 2 at 2125 Chestnut St.; www.woodhullfoundation.org. To learn more about Project SAFE, visit www.facebook.com/safephila. You can follow Kate D’Adamo on Twitter @KateDAdamo.
City of Philadelphia Public Hearing Notice The Committee on Public Health and Human Services of the Council of the City of Philadelphia will hold a Public Hearing on Monday, December 4, 2017, at 10:00 AM, in Room 400, City Hall, to hear testimony on the following items: 170897
An Ordinance amending Title 6, Chapter 6-400, of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Miscellaneous Standards and Requirements," to add warning sign requirements for public bathing establishments; all under certain terms and conditions.
170963
An Ordinance amending Sections 6-301 and 6-503 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled, respectively, "Food Establishments" and "Licenses and Permits," to revise licensing requirements relating to food establishments, including requirements relating to restroom facilities, service and seating; all under certain terms and conditions.
171005
An Ordinance amending Chapter 10-400 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Noise and Excessive Vibration," by providing for a prohibition against the use of drums and cymbals and devices and objects used as drums and cymbals outdoors in certain areas of the City audible at a certain distance from the activity, all under certain terms and conditions.
Immediately following the public hearing, a meeting of the Committee on Public Health and Human Services, open to the public, will be held to consider the action to be taken on the above listed items. Copies of the foregoing items are available in the Office of the Chief Clerk of the Council, Room 402, City Hall.
Michael Decker Chief Clerk
City of Philadelphia
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TOY returns to Sky Philadelphia with ‘a little sex’ By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com “You can spend $50 at any gay bar and have a forgettable night or you can spend $50-$75 on TOY and have an unforgettable night,” Chris Balbi said about DVLF’s annual fundraising gala, which he is chairing. “You get to feel amazing about contributing to society, you get an open bar, you get hors d’oeuvres and you get great views of the city.” The Dec. 9 event will raise funds for DVLF, an LGBT grantmaking organization. Additionally, event attendees are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy, which will be given to patients at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and children of clients at Action Wellness. TOY will return to Sky Philadelphia, previously known as Top of the Tower, for the second year in a row. However, the event’s layout will differ slightly. Balbi said that TOY typically draws 300-400 attendees but Sky Philadelphia can hold up to 1,000 people with two rooms separated by a hallway. Last year, DVLF took advantage of both rooms but the organization will only use one this year. “This year, we asked [Sky Philadelphia] to give us one side [of the venue],” Balbi said. “We want it to feel more like a party. We want it to be more of a celebration and when you put a lot more people in a smaller area, you’re forced to mingle.” DJ Carl Michaels will provide music for the evening, which will also include the presentation of DVLF grants to five organizations. The grantees were not announced by presstime. Additionally, attendees can participate in a silent auction with an assortment of prizes. While TOY will stay true to some traditions, there will also be some “sexy” changes. “I don’t think that donor parties need to be hoity-toity,” Balbi said. “I think they can be fun.” “I wanted to bring a little sex into it,” he added. The chairman noted that three “sexy elves,” two men and one woman, will don red boxers and Santa Claus hats to make sure everyone is having a “good ol’ sexy time.” Balbi said there will also be efforts to bring more attention to DVLF in the form of a “selfie contest.” The contest will encourage attendees to take a selfie and tag DVLF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The contest winner will receive a $25 Saxby’s Gift Card.
“The whole point of the selfie contest is that people will be posting about the event and bring more eyes to DVLF’s Facebook page and, hopefully, website.” Balbi said events like TOY encourage community investment, which can help younger people better overcome the same struggles that he and other members of the LGBT community went through. “My generation and generations that are older than me go to events like TOY
to help pursue, push and make being an LGBT community member easier for a younger generation.” He also said the toy-drive portion of the event brings comfort to young people in this political climate. “The youth, [and] not just in the LGBT community, are growing up in a really weird world, and if we can provide any sort of security or stability through these fundraising events, let’s do it.” n TOY 2017 will be held 7-10 p.m. Dec. 9 at Sky Philadelphia, 1717 Arch St. Visit www. dvlf.org/toy to purchase tickets.
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Other ways to lend a holiday helping hand Ryan Strong Presents: Santa’s Soldiers 5-7 p.m. Dec. 3 Mission BBQ, 11000 Roosevelt Blvd. Make holiday cards for deployed soldiers to show your support. Attendees will receive a free slider in exchange for an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots or an item for a soldier care package; http://bit.ly/2k3iV0p. La Luna Ball: A Night Under the Stars 7-11 p.m. Dec. 3 University of Pennsylvania-Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St. The university’s Beta Epsilon Chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc., will present its third-annual St. Jude’s benefit. The evening will include performances, dancing and Latin food; http://bit.ly/2hS1f3D. Beer & Cupcakes 8 p.m.-midnight Dec. 8 Tattooed Mom, 530 South St. Enjoy adult beverages and seasonal baked treats at the annual event. Proceeds will support Mazzoni’s client emergency fund, which provides homeless youth with winter clothing and emergency basic-needs items, and to purchase toys and coats for children impacted by HIV. Admission is free; http:// bit.ly/2hT6yzQ.
The church will collect toys and donations for St. Christopher’s Hospital. Interested donors can drop off donations during one of the church’s services or call 267-385-6356 to arrange a drop-off; http://bit.ly/2A7wja4. Holiday Toy Drive at Eastern State Penitentiary Daily through Dec. 24 2027 Fairmount Ave.
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Christmas Toy Drive 10-11 a.m. every Sunday through Dec. 24 Life Changers Church, 6353 Germantown Ave.
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The penitentiary partners with Philadelphia FIGHT’s Institute for Community Justice to collect toys and children’s books for local children whose parents are incarcerated. All donors will receive a second free ticket with one paid admission; http://bit.ly/2n5FRxs Gift Wrapping at Liberty Place 11 a.m.-7 p.m. through Dec. 24 1625 Chestnut St. Variety-the Children’s Charity of the Delaware Valley is requesting volunteers for holiday gift-wrapping. Contact Kristin Podwojski at kristin.podwojski@varietyphila. org for more information. Subaru Share the Love’s Food Drive Through Dec. 29 Various Subaru locations The automobile manufacturer is collecting nonperishable food items for homebound seniors. Visit http://bit.ly/2Aahzab for a list of drop-off locations and items to donate. n
I Am Jazz available at xfinity.com/stream
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EDITORIAL PGN EDITORIAL
Creep of the Week
D’Anne Witkowski
Wes Goodman
Editorial
’Tis the (political) season for giving This past Tuesday, nonprofits around the country sent out e-blasts, manned phone banks and took to social media to stage organized fundraising campaigns. The effort was part of Giving Tuesday, a philanthropic response to the commercialized holiday-shopping season. While many local LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations were able to get a vital shot in the arm from the initiative, the current political climate in which we have found ourselves should necessitate giving long before and after this annual holiday. The urgency of the one-day-only event may provide some impetus for some donors to dig into their wallets but, with rights rollbacks around just about every corner, that urgency is now a year-round reality. The first year of the Donald Trump presidency has shown us just how much we need our community organizations. The administration took a hammer to LGBT and other minority rights, and legal, political and social organizations representing those communities stepped up to the plate. When Trump threatened to ban transgender servicemembers from the military, legal agencies summarily filed suit, blocking that plan at every turn. Politically progressive groups mobilized their supporters, trained political hopefuls and helped propel many first-time candidates toward victory last month. Social groups held everything from mixers to community forums to help connect likeminded Americans, building a needed network to not only mobilize for progressive causes, but to also boost morale among those facing marginalization. These organizations largely depend on private donations for their sustenance. Especially with a new federal administration that has wildly different funding priorities than the previous one, the generosity of everyday Americans will become all the more integral to community groups’ work. Giving Tuesday is a worthy cause but, considering the context, it should just be the beginning. However, the concept of “giving” doesn’t necessarily need to reflect monetary donations: Time is just as essential. Give your time staffing events, taking a leadership role in an organization or going door-to-door (literally or virtually) soliciting support. We’re in a time when supporting progressive causes isn’t just a feel-good holiday ideal; it’s a vital part of preserving our rights. n
Something totally unprecedented has But don’t worry. Goodman is sorry happened and I am not sure how to break that he couldn’t this news to you, my loyal readers. In fact, I doubt that you will even believe what I advance the antiam about to tell you, as it is so rare and LGBT agenda unheard of. It’s basically the unicorn of he promised the conservative politics, so prepare to be Ohioans who voted shocked: A lawmaker who campaigned on for him. anti-LGBT “family values” nonsense got “We all bring our own strugcaught being, like, super-gay. Wes Goodman, a state representative gles and our own from Ohio who is married to a lady, has trials into public resigned after getting caught doing sex life,” Goodman said in the statement after stuff with a man in his office. resigning. “That has been true for me, Who could have seen this coming? and I sincerely regret that my actions and I mean, besides all the gay men in the choices have kept me from serving my Cleveland area on Craigslist where constituents and our state in a way that Goodman was constantly trolling for sex. reflects the best ideals of public service. And the many men, gay and straight, For those whom I have let down, I’m sorry. Goodman sent dick pics to. And the young As I move onto the next chapter of my life, conservative men he offered to “mentor,” I sincerely ask for privacy for myself, my family and my friends.” which was code for dirty Snapchat ses It’s cute to ask for privacy, and to ask sions and/or non-consensual hotel-room “sincerely,” no less, in a situation like this. fondling. All this and more is laid out in a thoroughly researched and stomach-turning Because, “Nah.” Goodman doesn’t deserve privacy. He’s piece in the Independent Journal Review. Oh, and by the way, Goodman’s sexual not a private citizen struggling with his sexassault of a young man in a hotel room? uality or even a public figure whose sexuTony Perkins of the ality is irrelevant to Goodman doesn’t deserve his work. He used his Family Research Council knew all of power to privacy. He’s not a private position about it and promised hurt LGBT people the kid’s parents he’d citizen struggling with his and diminish their do something. He and rights. sexuality or even a public humanity didn’t. God bless whom And, yes, if you figure whose sexuality is ever tried to out haven’t caught on by Goodman’s lying and irrelevant to his work. He cheating now, none of this is ass months really surprising at ago by sending used his position of power all. Goodman joins a Facebook Messenger long list of Christian to hurt LGBT people and screenshots to Ohio conservatives who House leadership diminish their humanity actively sought to as evidence that and rights. harm LGBT people, Goodman “was gay usually by painting and not faithful to his them as perverts void of humanity and wife,” according to the Columbus Dispatch. passing legislation to curtail their civil In one of the messages, Goodman brags rights. that he gets plenty of blowjobs from “a On his campaign website, which has couple of bi frat brothers.” since been taken down, Goodman claimed: Goodman denied it all at the time, saying “Healthy, vibrant, thriving, values-driven the screenshots were fake. families are the source of Ohio’s proud his- Turns out Goodman was the fake. As is tory and the key to Ohio’s future greatness. the GOP’s claim to be the party of family values. n The ideals of a loving father and mother, a committed natural marriage, and a caring D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and community are well worth pursuing and comedian living in Michigan with her wife protecting.” If you run all of that through Google’s and son. She has been writing about LGBT Bullshit-to-English Translator, you get one politics for over a decade. Follow her on word: “Hypocrisy.” Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.
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OP-ED PGN
An early and very personal Christmas present There’s an old saying that has done all that in harmony. when we’re young our parents They should all take pride in watch over us, and we return the creating a peaceful move for favor as adults when our parents their parents. are aging. In many families, this Which brings me to my causes confusion, disagreements current feeling: joy. I’m lookamong the family, stress and ing forward to Jason’s paroverall anxiety. ents being close by. Over the When I returned from Asia years, I’ve enjoyed our visits about five weeks ago, Jason with them and must admit that informed me that his parents Jason’s mom is one of the best had reached a time when they cooks around. I look at this as thought it would be good to live a wonderful present and a great near their children. Jason has way to end what, for me and two sisters living in two other Jason, has been an incredible cities but, for various reasons, Mark Segal year — minus the Trump facthey decided they should move tor. n near Jason and me. Mark Segal is the nation’s most-award-winning com A process like this — arranging movers, mentator in LGBT media. His memoir, “And Then Realtors, finding a residence — usually I Danced,” is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & takes a lot of time, but this family, working Noble or at your favorite bookseller. in tandem and in constant communication,
Mark My Words
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Transmissions
Gwendolyn Ann Smith
November hope On a night in November, I watched a miracle unfold. It was election night, Nov. 7. The first big news dropped during dinner. I watched on my phone as news that Danica Roem was leading against Bob Marshall in the race for a place in the Virginia House of Delegates quickly changed to word that she was victorious. It was a huge victory, given that Marshall was a 26-year incumbent, as well as an anti-LGBT Republican who sponsored the state’s “Bathroom Bill” — and Roem is a transgender woman who would be directly impacted by same. Just like that, Roem rode a blue tide into power in Virginia, with a campaign that rebuffed Marshall’s attempts to bait her for being trans. Roem did address being transgender, but was wise enough to move quickly beyond being simply “the transgender candidate” and focused on bread-and-butter issues that she intended to handle. Within minutes, I read about Andrea
Jenkins’ win in Minneapolis. Jenkins, an African-American trans woman, won a spot on the Minneapolis City Council. A short while later, trans man Tyler Titus won a seat on the Erie School Board in Pennsylvania, while Stephe Koontz was victorious in her bid to be on the Doraville City Council in Georgia. I was ecstatic. In a short period of time, four transgender people had been elected. While none was the first to be elected to office — there have been many before, both out and otherwise — the night was nonetheless historic. We weren’t done at only four, however. Lisa Middleton won a seat on the Palm Springs City Council in California, Gerri Cannon got onto the Somersworth School Board in New Hampshire and Phillipe Cunningham took a second spot on the Minneapolis City Council. Surely seven was far more than anyone could have hoped for, and yet we still weren’t done: Raven Matherne finished out
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Street Talk Should the Boy Scouts be allowed to reoccupy their Center City headquarters? "No. Until they make memberships available for everyone, including atheists, they shouldn't be back in the city building. Shaquille Brown Atheists are marketing specialist taxpayers Northeast Philadelphia and citizens just like everyone else. They shouldn't be discriminated against."
"Yes, let them come back in. Give them credit for what they've done. Maybe someday they'll let atheists Monica Chambers be Scouts. student They should Center City keep moving forward in letting people in. They're on the right path."
"I think the Scouts have shown a lot of real progress. They're moving in the right direction, so let them Leah Purdy back in. horticulturalist They're not Richmond, Va. 100-percent [perfect]. As an atheist, I'm concerned about their exclusion of atheists but cut them some slack. They've shown some progress. Maybe more progress will come."
"Yes. They've made enough [membership] changes to be in sync with the city's nondiscrimination policies. I don't like Evan Tracy that they musician don't let Rittenhouse Square atheists be Scouts; however, I also support their freedom of religion."
the election with her win on the Stamford Board of Representatives in Connecticut. Eight transgender people across the United States were elected. They were joined by a number of other diverse voices, including the first openly intersexed public official, Betsy Driver, in Flemington, N.J.; the first turbaned Sikh mayor, Ravi Bhalla, of Hoboken, N.J.; and many others. It was a big night for democracy, diversity, and a positively huge time for transgender people. November 7 was the 40th anniversary of Harvey Milk’s historic victory in San Francisco, when he became the first out, gay elected official in the United States. It felt as if he was smiling on us all that night as we moved forward. I’m usually the first to talk about how bad things are right now for transgender people. And it does seem vital that we keep fighting. We need to respond to all these attacks, and keep moving forward. I’d be lying if I said I think any of those, at
least in the short term, will be easy. We’re being cast as the big enemy right now, and facing an onslaught of rights rollbacks under the current administration. We’re still seeing anti-transgender murders in the United States every two weeks or so. If I’m pessimistic, there are plenty of reasons for it. At the same time, we can take this one moment, this one night, and take a bit of hope from it. As hard as our battles are, we can gain traction. It wasn’t that long ago that no candidate would have even championed transgender causes, let alone been out as transgender themselves. Such would have been the death knell of candidacies in even liberal-leaning locations. I would like to think I need not remind anyone what Harvey Milk had to say about hope, but it seems relevant to note at this point. “So if there is a message I have to give, it is that I’ve found one overriding thing about my personal elecPAGE 14
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PGN
This isn’T abouT cake.
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
iT’s abouT wheTher a business can say “we don’t serve your kind here.” In early December, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop, a case that has the potential to upend the hard-fought principle that no one should ever be denied service from a business open to the public simply because of who they are. The case might seem relatively minor: a Colorado bakery refusing to sell a same-sex couple a cake for their wedding reception. But this is not about cake, and it’s about a lot more than marriage. A ruling that says the Constitution gives businesses the right to turn customers away based on religious beliefs or creativity would create gaping holes in our nation’s longstanding nondiscrimination protections. It would say there is a constitutional right to discriminate—which could be used not only against LGBT people but also against religious and racial minorities, unmarried couples, single mothers and many, many others.
To learn more go to www.openToall.com
#opentoAll
National Center for
TRANSGENDER
EQUALITY
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PGN LEGAL
Mombian The necessity of net neutrality Dana Rudolph
An estimated one-third of LGBTs in Philadelphia have children. Every month, Dana Rudolph dissects parenting from our perspective, from watching your children grow up to teaching them how to deal with bullies, to interviews with authors and filmmakers.
On Nov. 22, the chairman of the Federal which will essentially silence the business. Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, For conservatives who tout government released a proposal to kill net neutrality in regulation as the antithesis of capitalism, the United States — and the public released they’re going out of their way to make an outcry of epic proportions. sure that free market swallows the small The United States’ Internet economy has startup and that corporate sharks mainlong been the envy of the world because it tain their rule of the waters. That’s not is open — meaning government and regu- capitalism, that’s corporate cronyism, and latory agencies do not interfere it’s yet another way the middle with how information is dissemclass, which depends on small inated and, more importantly, businesses staying in business don’t allow Internet service prothrough online enterprise, will viders, or ISPs, the power to bear the brunt of this decision. interfere with what information ISPs spent millions of is disseminated. dollars and decades on law In a nutshell, net neutrality is suits fighting against net neuthe feature of our FCC rules and trality and their “common carregulations that gives the agency riers” designation. Companies the authority to treat ISPs as like Netflix and YouTube fought monopolies, or “common carrithe ISPs so they didn’t have to ers,” and keeps them from exertpay premium rates to send large ing control over the information amounts of downstream data flowing through their data conAngela to their end users. In the end, nections to the end users, i.e., consumers win; we don’t pay Giampolo excessive fees for our Internet consumers, businesses and basically anyone with an Internet habits, and we can trust all corconnection. This means Internet users in ners of the Internet are available to us if we our country can participate in an online choose. world without fear that what they say, what they sell, who they speak to and what they Freedom of speech and the press are read will be interrupted, slowed or alto- in danger gether removed because someone in an With that said, an open Internet is more authority position deems it inappropriate. Net neutrality is the definition of Internet than commerce. We rely on news websites freedom. It’s the mark of a totally free to hold our authority figures accountable. enterprise, which you’d think someone If what our newspapers report depends on with Pai’s political leanings would be all ISPs approving of their message, and those for. ISPs are in any way influenced by members of government, what we depend on to be Free enterprise is jeopardized truthful and unbiased will no longer be so. The Internet has long been the place where Under the current protections net neu- people go to tell the truth, where citizen trality affords, small and startup businesses journalists have made as much of a splash — especially those that may disrupt cur- as time-honored newspapers like The New rent markets with innovative ideas (think York Times. If that open conduit to the Netflix upending Blockbuster by changing public is gated and monitored, how can we the way we access movies and TV shows) know what we’re reading and relying on as — stand a chance against giant corporations neutral information is indeed the truth? who have supposedly cornered the market. But major journalistic enterprises are Creative and innovative products and ser- not the only ones potentially silenced. The vices have an equal chance of reaching mainstream media has a long and precarwider markets as much as their corporate ious history of misrepresenting minority competitors. Without net neutrality, ISPs groups at best, and harming them at worst. are the gatekeepers who deem whether or The Black Lives Matter movement is one not an idea is worthy of dissemination. If such group that media outlets, notoriously they think not, a small businessowner’s lacking in diverse ownership, have stereosite won’t load quickly or won’t load at all, typed and criminalized. The LGBT com-
Out Law
TRANSMISSIONS from page 11
Only in
transgender kid out there who, until that night, was thinking of ending their lives — and now they might someday join Koontz, Cunningham, Cannon, Roem, Matherne, Jenkins, Middleton, Titus and other transgender elected officials. They now know HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM that they can live out of the shadows, and be not only accepted within their communities, but represent them. There will be more coming up: Kim Coco Iwamoto is in the running to become the lieutenant governor of Hawaii, while Martin Rawlings-Fein and Mia “Tu
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tion: It’s the fact that if a gay person can be elected, it’s a green light,” Milk said. “And you and you and you, you have to give people hope.” On Nov. 7, 2017, the transgender community, in the wake of so much hatred, was given hope. We can be elected, and that is no small thing — especially in the wake of the Trump administration and so much awfulness focused on transgender people. That night, transgender people young and old got some hope. There may be a
munity also fights to have a voice on the Internet. Would the marriage-equality momentum that carried us all the way to the Supreme Court and resulted in equal marriage for all have happened if we hadn’t had a platform to change the direction of the conversation in society? For any group with a cause, the possibility of censorship could inhibit movement from the widespread coverage needed to inform the public of the injustices against which its members are fighting. So, what can we do?
I wish there was more that we could do. Even during the time period where the FCC asked for statements from the public at large, “the powers that be” used the very thing we fear — online manipulation — to help bring about the end of net neutrality. While the FCC received an overwhelming amount of responses that support it doing away with net neutrality, about 1.2-million responses were not submitted by individual citizens. In fact, a data-analytics company found that only 17 percent of the comments submitted to the FCC on net neutrality were written by individuals — and 95 percent of those were in favor of net neutrality. The rest of the comments were submitted in bulk containing the exact same statement lamenting net neutrality and President Obama for instituting it. More than 1-million comments in July claimed to have a pornhub.com email address. While net neutrality is an uphill battle, it is important that you make your voice and opinion known by writing to your state representatives and Congress members. Ending net neutrality defies the will of millions of Americans, and we need to let those in office know that an open Internet is the only free Internet. Giving this much power to a few conglomerates does constitute a monopoly — and one that must be regulated. n Angela D. Giampolo, principal of Giampolo Law Group, maintains offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and specializes in LGBT law, family law, business law, real-estate law and civil rights. Her website is www.giampololaw.com, and she maintains a blog at www.phillygaylawyer.com. Reach out to Angela with your legal questions at 215-645-2415 or angela@giampololaw.com.
Mutch” Satya are both aiming for seats on the San Francisco Unified School Board. Let us etch this one night down as the moment that those of us who are transgender were victorious in the face of so much adversity, and made a name for our community and ourselves. Let’s hold onto that hope and let it guide us through these difficult times, and into a better future for us all. n Gwen Smith is pondering running sometime too. You’ll find her at www.gwensmith.com.
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
Add some pep in your step for the holidays Maintaining focus during the holiday like drinking or eating more to de-stress season can be very challenging for all of — when in reality you are just making the us. Not only do we need to get through wallet hole bigger and not putting your our day-to-day routines, but we also need body in a position to help you get through to partake in the holiday festivities that stressful times. Stop adding to your stress! many of us enjoy. This can cause a mess Plan your days and weeks. Scheduling in our daily lives. will allow you to see what time is avail As we all know, spending more money able and what time isn’t, keeping you on gifts, food and booze; tryorganized and on track. You ing to meet end-of-year deadwon’t miss another workout lines; and attempting to be in or meal prep if you actually two places at once can create see how much time you have. stress, which takes a toll on Don’t forget to estimate your our bodies. We often associate commute time. weight gain with eating tons Also, don’t forget to prepare of food at family gatherings; yourself for the unexpected. however, a lot of the negative If you anticipate a possible repercussions we experience roadblock, it won’t affect you can be from the high stress we as much if it happens. Stick to are creating and the bad habits your plan and remember that that follow. Maybe your lack of it is OK to modify, but don’t time is causing you to eat out compromise. or not eat at all, or maybe you Megan Nino Create a budget. First, begin by calculating how much you are replacing your workout with will make this month and then a chore. On top of that, you calculate how much you need to pay in may be embracing your guilty pleasures
bills and other living expenses. This will help you identify how much disposable income you have. Having a clear picture of your finances will allow you to budget appropriately. Take time for yourself. These time slots are the most important for self-preservation. These are the times you set aside to work out, pray or meditate, read, groom, etc. It’s important that you feel your best even during the most stressful times. Consistency in this area will really improve your mood and confidence. Also, you will find that these activities will help you unwind. Having a clear picture of your holiday month will really add a pep in your step! Follow these tips, get ahead of the game and transition into the New Year with as little stress as possible. n
SEGAL from page 1
HAHNEMANN from page 1
MORRIS from page 1
Segal argued that many Pennsylvania judges engaged in more egregious behavior than hers yet only received reprimands or brief suspensions. However, the state Supreme Court ultimately rejected that argument, emphasizing the gravity of Segal’s misconduct. The FBI wiretapped Segal’s conversations with Waters as part of a larger investigation of judicial corruption in Philadelphia. Waters was convicted of fraud and spent almost two years in federal prison. He was released in November 2016, according to prison records. Segal isn’t accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Neither side had a comment for this story. n
are training people who are compassionate to the needs of transgender patients,” Rumer said. The doctor noted that trans patients are usually on a wait list for several years before they receive gender-confirming surgeries. She said she hopes fellows will stay onboard at Hahnemann to help grow the practice and treat more patients. “In my opinion, if you have gender dysphoria to the point where you want to harm yourself, waiting two years to have the surgeries performed is not health care,” she said. “One of our motivating factors to start the program was to adequately train physicians so we can help to treat these patients to pull in the pipeline.” Qualified candidates are required to complete an ACGME-approved urological-surgery or plastic-surgery residency to enroll in the fellowship. For more information, call Hahnemann University Hospital’s fellowship coordinator at 215-762-7171. n
exists in only one specific format.” But a computer-aided dispatch record can have a wide variety of formats. It remains unclear how the D.A.’s Office could have conducted a comprehensive search if it didn’t recognize that fact. A February 2015 affidavit asserts that a computer-aided dispatch record for Skala’s traffic stop is “attached hereto,” yet no record is attached to the affidavit. PGN plans to ask D.A.-elect Larry Krasner to review the seven affidavits after he takes office on Jan. 8. Many questions surround Skala’s traffic stop, including why it preempted her Morris assignment during a time when Morris urgently needed the officer’s assistance. Morris died two days later, on Dec. 24, 2002, due to blunt-force head trauma. Her homicide remains unsolved and the D.A.’s Office has an ongoing investigation. n
Body U
Gettin’ On
Megan Niño is a kinesiologist and personal trainer who trains out of 12th Street Gym. She is an energetic and positive person, who prides herself on teaching others to find empowerment in their lives through fitness.
We’re all getting older. For LGBT seniors, being out in the golden years can pose a whole new set of challenges. Each month, Gettin’ On brings you insights on aging, from legal issues to sexual health.
Coming in December: Top Stories: Dec. 22 Person of the Year: Dec. 29
Only in Online and in print every third Friday.
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and are elated to bring the games to Asia for the first time.”
International Over 10,000 march for equality at Hong Kong Pride The ninth-annual Pride parade was one of Hong Kong’s most successful so far, with more than 10,000 people taking to the streets to march for LGBT rights, under the theme “Turn the tide, walk with Pride: Discrimination says goodbye.” A giant rainbow flag was lifted by Pridegoers from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to Edinburgh Place in Central. Homosexuality is legal in Hong Kong, but same-sex marriage and civil unions are not recognized, and the country falls behind with antidiscrimination laws in nongovernment jobs, adoption and surrogacy. Despite this, Hong Kong made history this year by becoming the first Asian city to host the Gay Games, over competing bids from Washington, D.C., and Guadalajara, Mexico. Dennis Philipse, chair of the Hong Kong bid team, said: “This is a testament to Hong Kong’s spirit and passion for increased inclusion and diversity. Bringing the Gay Games to Asia and Hong Kong as host proves the growth in openness in the city and across the region. We fought tirelessly
Media Trail
Council of Europe criticizes Turkish ban on LGBTI events Europe’s top human-rights body is calling on Turkey’s capital city to reverse its decision to ban all events by LGBT-rights groups. Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks expressed concern Nov. 20 that the ban announced by the Ankara governor’s office was a “manifestation of a continuing backsliding in the field of human-rights protection” in Turkey. He suggested the move may reflect Turkish authorities’ “growing intolerance toward LGBTI” individuals. The governor’s office imposed the ban Nov. 19 citing public-security concerns. It said the events may cause animosity between different groups and endanger “health and morality” as well as others’ rights and freedoms. Muiznieks said it was the authorities’ duty to protect LGBTI individuals from extremists, “not to restrict their rights.”
Tenerife nightclub dance floor collapses, injuring 40 The dance floor of an LGBT nightclub in Tenerife collapsed last weekend, injuring 40 people. Clubbers fell through the floor to the
that was briefed, Ohio’s Conservative Republican Leadership Committee. On Nov. 17, that third conservative group, the Council for National Policy, internally handled a complaint that Goodman fondled an 18-year-old college student at a conference.
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
basement of the Butterfly Disco Pub early in the morning Nov. 26. Several people suffered broken bones, including leg fractures. The club is located in a shopping center in Playa de las Americas, a clubbing hotspot in the south of the Spanish island popular with tourists. Those injured are said to be from a number of different countries, including Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Romania. The number of casualties rose from 22 to 40 after it emerged that 18 of the injured had made their own way to hospitals. According to the local government, two of the victims were seriously hurt, suffering fractures to the femur, or thighbone. The remainder are believed to have suffered moderate to light injuries. Emergency services scrambled to the scene after a large section of the dance floor gave way, and spent the next few hours evacuating the wounded.
Thousands celebrate Rio’s Pride on Copacabana Thousands of revelers danced on Copacabana Beach Nov. 19 to celebrate Rio de Janeiro’s annual LGBT Pride parade, despite deep funding cuts by the city. Mayor Marcelo Crivella offered no city funding this year, but organizers said they were able to finance festivities with the support of private businesses and organizations. In 2016, the city funded half of the parade, which costs around $200,000 to put on. The celebration featured dozens of
In October, another federal judge barred Trump’s administration from proceeding with plans to exclude transgender people from military service. The proposed ban remains unenforceable under the preliminary injunctions.
Violence against trans Second judge halts proposed people rising Anti-gay-marriage group knew trans-military ban According to WABE 90.1 FM, a humanof lawmaker’s secret gay life U.S. News reports the nation’s leading organization opposing marriage equality was among the three Christian conservative groups that knew a recently resigned Republican Ohio lawmaker had extramarital sexual contact with other men. A Citizens for Community Values board member said that the Cincinnati-based group learned about Wes Goodman’s consensual activity after it had endorsed him in last year’s legislative primary. The 33-year-old Goodman resigned recently after it was revealed he had a sexual encounter with a man in his state office. Board member Seth Morgan said Goodman faced no general-election opposition and was “dealing with it,” so the issue was set aside by CCV and another group
According to the Chicago Tribune, another federal judge has halted a proposed ban on transgender military members, expanding on an initial ruling against the policy proposed by President Donald Trump’s administration. In a preliminary injunction issued Nov. 21 in Baltimore, U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis ruled that transgender servicemembers have “demonstrated that they are already suffering harmful consequences” including stigma, threat of discharge and the cancellation of surgeries. Trump announced on Twitter in July that the government would not allow transgender people to serve in the military. Garbis wrote that the “capricious, arbitrary and unqualified tweet of new policy does not trump the methodical and systematic review by military stakeholders.”
rights group says four transgender people have been reported killed in Georgia this year, and 25 nationwide. The most recent in Georgia was Candace Towns, found dead in Macon between two neglected houses on Halloween. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that violence against transgender people is at an all-time high. More than 60 percent of the deaths have occurred in the South. Twenty-one of the 25 killed were women of color. An FBI report released recently on hate crimes showed an increase against the LGBT community in 2016 compared to the previous year. The Atlanta newspaper reports that nearly 1,200 such crimes committed last year were motivated by bias of sexual orientation, accounting for one in six hate crimes committed.
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Brazilian artists performing on trucks traveling down Copacabana Beach. Despite its reputation as a liberal country, Brazil has some of Latin America’s highest rates of violence against gay and transgender people.
Canada to give millions to gay victims Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tearfully apologized this week to LGBT Canadians who faced persecution. According to The New York Times, Trudeau addressed more than three decades of incidents in which LGBT people were rooted out of the military and public service and prosecuted or imprisoned. The LGBT crackdown, initially billed as a way to target those susceptible to blackmail by the Soviet Union, was started in the 1950s and continued into the early 1990s. "It is with shame and sorrow and deep regret for the things we have done that I stand here today and say: We were wrong,” Trudeau said at the House of Commons Nov. 28. "It is my hope that in talking about these injustices, vowing to never repeat them and acting to right these wrongs, we can begin to heal.” The Canadian government is giving about $85 million to victims of the so-called “gay purge,” and has allotted another $15 million for memorials, including one in the capital, to victims and public-education programs about LGBT history. n — compiled by Larry Nichols
S. Carolina’s highest court declines to rehear church case According to Centre Daily Times, South Carolina’s highest court has declined to rehear a case involving The Episcopal Church and parishes that left the church five years ago. The decision puts an end to litigation at the state level between the church and the conservative Diocese of South Carolina, which had sued to retain ownership of physical and intellectual property. The diocese split from the church in 2012 over theological issues, including the ordination of gay priests. The diocese said in a news release Nov. 17 the motion for rehearing was denied. In August, the S.C. Supreme Court issued decisions that returned most church property to The Episcopal Church. If no further legal action is taken, 28 church properties now controlled by the diocese will revert to The Episcopal Church. n — compiled by Larry Nichols
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
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2017
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WORLD AIDS DAY SUPPLEMENT
Why would anyone successfully managing their HIV want to enroll in a clinical HIV cure study? By William Freshwater I am an HIV-positive gay man with a manageable illness. A year ago at an AIDS Law Project fundraiser, I had the good fortune to meet Dr. Luis Montaner, a leading HIV scientist at The Wistar Institute. Through Dr. Montaner, I learned about BEAT-HIV (beathiv.org), and an important new study looking for clinical study participants — an interesting possibility I had not considered before.
VIP VOLUNTEERS: AIDS Library honored longtime volunteers Anthony Johnson, Samantha Spott, Dominick D’Ortenzio and Gregory Grant at the organization’s 30th-anniversary celebration last month. Held Nov. 10 at William Way LGBT Community Center, the festivity paid tribute to the agency’s three decades of providing vital HIV/AIDS information and resources to the local community. Photo: Scott A. Drake
From All Walks of Life By Robb Reichard Over the course of the past three-anda-half decades, we have seen dramatic changes in the AIDS epidemic. For many individuals, advances in treatment and care have made HIV a manageable chronic condition. Unfortunately, though, for too many people living with HIV, poverty or a financial crisis can make obtaining care and maintaining their health almost impossible. In 2016, as we were marking the 35th year of the epidemic and approaching the 30th AIDS Walk Philly, AIDS Fund’s staff and board made the decision to evolve our mission. While we continue to raise awareness and educate about HIV, we now also provide small grants for the most vulnerable Philadelphians living with HIV. To pay honor to our original name and to reflect the diversity of those affected by the epidemic and in need of assistance, we named the new grant program the From All Walks of Life Fund. For people living with HIV disease, stable housing is one of the strongest predictors of their access to treatment, their health outcomes and how long they will live. One of the first grants AIDS Fund provided was to a grandfather living with HIV disease. His daughter died tragically and he suddenly found himself caring for his two grandchildren. Living on disability, “Sam’s” budget was already very tight, and with the additional expenses of caring
for his grandchildren, he unfortunately fell behind on his rent. As he was already living in subsidized housing, there were no government programs available to assist him. With the client facing eviction, and no place else to turn, his medical case manager submitted an application for financial assistance, and AIDS Fund provided a modest grant for $270 in a few short days. This small grant was enough to settle up his rent, as well as prevent Sam and his family from homelessness. Although “George” had transitioned from homelessness to permanent housing three years prior, he was living with HIV on disability. With such a small income, he was never able to put together enough money to purchase a bed. Consequently, he was developing back problems from sleeping on the floor. With a small grant of $250 from AIDS Fund, within three days he had a new bed to help him sleep and live healthier. For “Mary,” who was living with HIV and diabetes, a refrigerator to keep her insulin cold was critical to maintaining good health. With limited resources, even the smallest dormitory-size refrigerator was out of reach for her. AIDS Fund provided a grant of just $170 so Mary could have a refrigerator that she could use for both food and medicine. These are just a few of the hundreds of people we have been able to help over the PAGE 27 few months since the begin-
I tolerate my meds and manage my HIV. So why was I asking myself if I really wanted to participate in an HIV cure study? The study would involve an experimental drug called Vedolizumab, and participation would mean I had to temporarily stop all my HIV medications, as treatment interruption was necessary to determine if the experimental drug works. At the time, I was stable, on combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) and had an undetectable viral load. My big reason is altruism. I would not be contemplating this decision if it wasn’t for the brave people who participated in the early studies that gave us protease inhibitors and all the treatments that followed. I saw
the epidemic in the late ’80s and early ’90s. My friends and I were responsible to clean out the houses of loved ones who had died from the disease — to hide the fact they were gay and died from AIDS — before their parents arrived. I remember the face of AIDS. Because of this, I feel we must pay back — as a community — and test new drugs to get closer to a cure for HIV/AIDS. Because I’ve seen how many people died from AIDS and died lacking dignity, I feel we must pay back — as a community — and test new drugs to get closer to a cure for HIV/ AIDS. Remember the early ’90s, when there were no drugs and people were willing to jump on any study? Remember a time before protease inhibitors, where AZT was the only drug and was very harsh to tolerate? We can’t forget the treatment advances we benefit from were borne on the backs of others before us. Yes, because of many before me, I can now take one pill a day and live with a manageable illness. I broached taking part in this clinical study to my husband and doctor and they both asked why “rock the boat?” Why stop medications that suppress my virus and exchange them for PAGE 27 an unproven drug? Why risk
Inside Page 22 • Action Wellness celebrates 30 years of “Buddies” • World AIDS Day events Page 23 • Addressing opioids, HIV • Sex positivity • Bebashi marks milestone Page 24 • Paying tribute to the early days of HIV/AIDS Page 26 • HIV facts and figures Page 27 • HIV Resources Page 28 • Mazzoni looks back on epidemic’s evolution • HIV testing sites
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Action Wellness’ Buddy Program — 30-plus years and still going strong By Ron Hoskins Throughout the years, traditional medicines, alternative treatments and newly developed HIV drugs and therapies have helped so many people living with HIV/ AIDS. What was once a fatal illness has now become more of a chronic condition, allowing individuals to live extended lives and to make plans to do things they never thought possible. The Buddy Program of Action Wellness, now in its 31st year, has played a part in helping individuals living with HIV/AIDS to achieve a certain level of wellness. In fact, Action Wellness (formerly ActionAIDS) now offers its services to those in need who experience any chronic illness. We know that the maintenance of one’s physical health goes hand in hand with both the psychological and social health of a person. The Action Wellness Buddy Program provided both practical help and much-needed companionship to many of our community’s most vulnerable residents. In the early 1980s, Buddies responded in a hands-on manner because, for a variety of reasons — ignorance, fear, discrimination — the help was just not there. Buddy volunteers originally jumped in because others did not (or would not), providing practical assistance including: taking people to doctors, helping to clean houses, shopping for food, doing laundry and caring for pets for those who were first diagnosed in the ’80s. However, because strides have indeed been made medically and in the health-care field, the role of the Buddy has transformed — but certainly has not become obsolete. Continued illness can be wrought with loneliness. Even the most devoted family and friends can grow weary of someone who is experiencing chronic illness. Visits get reduced, phone calls dry up and the level of interest can begin to dissipate. Many people who are sick begin to notice the gradual decline of support. Or, because many people living with HIV do live for years now, and in doing so may have outlived their family members and friends upon whom they once depended for human interaction.
Long-term survivors need long-term human support. Because of these realities, the Action Wellness Buddy volunteer today provides just as important a role as other factors in the maintenance of a person’s health. That is because the Buddy Program at Action Wellness emphasizes the “person-to-person” element of wellness and recovery. A Buddy volunteer provides emotional support, companionship, socialization and practical assistance with certain tasks of daily living, on a regular basis, one-on-one. Buddies break down loneliness, isolation, weariness and boredom that can accompany any chronic illness. Action Wellness has 175 Buddy volunteers in its program. These dedicated volunteers span the spectrum of age, race and ethnicity. They are a diverse group of people all sensitive to those living with HIV and other chronic illnesses, who desire to build a bond with an individual — most likely someone whom they would not have otherwise met. The program has volunteers who have been Buddies for 15, 20, 25 and even 30 years! Buddies are recruited, screened, trained and then matched with a registered client. Some matches have lasted for years. The expectation is for the Buddy to be in regular contact with the person assigned them, by phone weekly, and to have face-to-face meetings two to three times a month. Action Wellness is always looking for new volunteers. Consider becoming a Buddy to someone living with a chronic illness who can utilize your humanity and caring. When you become involved in the Action Wellness Buddy Program, it provides you with ongoing education and the opportunity to be that long-term human support for someone who needs you — someone whom you may have never met before if it were not for such a program of connection as this one. Think about becoming a volunteer Buddy — it will create a bond that you will never forget! n Roy Hoskins is the director of volunteers at Action Wellness. For more information about the Buddy Program, visit www.actionwellness. org/volunteer/buddy-program/.
DEC. 1, 2017
World AIDS Day 2017 Events Ninth Annual World AIDS Day Prayer Breakfast 8-10:30 a.m. Dec. 1 DoubleTree by Hilton, 237 S. Broad St. Members of the city’s faith community will come together at Philadelphia FIGHT’s annual event, at which more than 250 people will honor those who died while recommitting themselves to activism. Bishop Audrey F. Bronson, pastor of Sanctuary Church of the Open Door, will be the keynote speaker; fight. org. The Changing Landscape of HIV Care 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 1 Lehigh University-Mountain Top Campus, Iacocca Hall, 111 Research Drive, Bethlehem Lehigh Valley’s commemorative event will highlight updates in HIV/ AIDS care, including topics surrounding adolescents, family planning and more. Participants can earn CME, nursing and social-work credits; AIDSEtc.org. Youth & Family Forum 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Dec. 2 DelTech Community College-George Campus, 300 N Orange St., Wilmington, Del. A panel of HIV/AIDS experts will discuss the state of the epidemic in Delaware and beyond in an event sponsored by AIDS Delaware, Brandywine Counseling and Community Services, Delaware Technical Community College, Duffy’s Hope and YESS; AIDSDelaware.org. “Alternate Endings, Radical Beginnings” 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 1 Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 S. 36th St. ICA will present a daylong screening of the short films, part of Visual AIDS’ Day With(out) Art initiative. The video project centers the voices of people of
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April 19, 2018
color to explore the historical and ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic. The event is free and open to the public; icaphila.org. 14th Annual Red Ribbon Awards Ceremony 5-7 p.m. Dec. 1 School District of Philadelphia, 440 N. Broad St. Six individuals will be honored for their work in HIV/AIDS research and treatment. Dr. Rachel Levine, the first transgender woman to serve as the state’s physician general, will be the policymaker honoree; Beat-hiv.org. “Stigma is the Deadly Disease” 6-9 p.m. Dec. 1 GALAEI, 149 W. Susquehanna Ave. The art exhibit features work from 10 trans youth of color aimed at combatting HIV stigma. GALAEI’s Project YEAH participants spearheaded the initiative, in collaboration with artist Erika Guadalupe Núñez; galaei.org. AIDS Memorial Quilt 7-9 p.m. Dec. 1 St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 10 Chapel Road, New Hope Panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display, and organizers will pay tribute to local victims of the epidemic; factbuckscounty.org. “Still Fighting For Our Lives” exhibit Through Dec. 29 William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. Explore the LGBT community center’s archives and art gallery with this exhibit highlighting the history of HIV/ AIDS in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia AIDS Library presents materials such as banners, fliers, brochures, photographs and posters dating back to the 1980s; WayGay.org. n — compiled by Jeremy Rodriguez
WORLD AIDS DAY SUPPLEMENT
DEC. 1, 2017
Using a comprehensive approach to the opioid, HIV epidemics By Siloam Wellness 3,594. That was the number of men and women diagnosed with HIV as a result of injection-drug use (IDU) across the United States in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). That figure represents nearly 10 percent of all HIV diagnoses. In total, more than 170,000 men and women are living with HIV as a result of IDU throughout the country. With the current opioid epidemic (and rise of injection-drug use), which took the lives of 907 Philadelphia residents last year, it is important to revisit these numbers and develop comprehensive solutions in the prevention and treatment of HIV. In Philadelphia, HIV infection rates are an alarming five times the national average. To all our neighbors in Philadelphia, injection-drug usage and HIV transmission are risks to be taken very seriously. Individuals living with HIV/AIDS have complex physical, emotional and social needs. Due to the stigma and health implications from living with HIV, there are many day-to-day challenges, and nearly 60 percent of HIV-positive individuals experience depression. A recent study published in the Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy found a 33-percent prevalence of drug abuse among people living with HIV. However, we at Siloam believe access to comprehensive services that prevent, diagnose and treat HIV can help break this cycle. Siloam, a wellness center for individuals living with HIV, has served thousands of HIV-positive residents over the course of its 26-year history. We help hundreds of HIVpositive residents navigate their physical,
emotional and social needs, and we are the only HIV-wellness center in the city that treats the whole person: mind, body and spirit. Through our wellness programs, we provide the tools that empower people living with HIV to live positive, healthy lives free of drug abuse. At no charge, our clients may participate in support groups, individual counseling, spiritual direction, body works and retreats, among other programs. This year, many of our clients with histories of substance abuse celebrated being drug-free. We believe comprehensive wellness services are critical to the HIV community. By providing tools to live healthy lives, HIV-positive individuals can improve their overall well-being and quality of life — decreasing the risk of drug abuse and HIV transmission among at-risk individuals. And to everyone, prevention is key. We encourage everyone to always use condoms, never reuse needles and speak with a health provider about PrEP (for those who do not have HIV but are at risk). Together, as a community, we must ensure everyone has access to comprehensive services to effectively prevent, diagnose and treat HIV in the context of today’s opioid crisis. For our neighbors impacted by HIV, we hope you will visit Siloam for the resources and tools to live a positive, healthy life among an understanding and welcoming community. n Siloam Wellness is a wellness center for individuals living with HIV/AIDS that provides mind, body and spirit services to improve the well-being and overall quality of life of our clients. For more information, visit http://www. siloamwellness.org.
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Stay Negative. Sex Positive. By Rachel Nahan, MPH Philadelphia FIGHT has been on the forefront of prescribing Truvada® for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) since FDA approval in 2012. The Y-HEP Health Center on Locust Street started Monday PrEP nights with the support of Dr. Helen Koenig (medical director of PrEP programs across Philadelphia FIGHT), and kept the clinic open until 9 p.m. so Philly’s youth could drop in and see a health-care provider. Not long after the John Bell Health Center opened its doors in the summer of 2014, PrEP became a core component of its standard of care. Five years and 500 prescriptions later, the desire of Philadelphians to acquire PrEP at FIGHT’s community health centers doesn’t show any signs of dwindling. PrEP is more than 95-percent effective at preventing HIV infection through sexual contact when taken daily. Research out of Seattle in 2014 found that PrEP users experienced “ … less feelings of vulnerability, fear and shame … ” Last spring, Philadelphia FIGHT released its first PrEP ad campaign, “Stay Negative. Sex Positive.” We wanted to celebrate the idea of having sex without fear — of sex being a positive and intimate experience — and destigmatize the notion of sex with HIV-positive partners. Staying HIV-negative takes more than knowing your status; it involves using condoms, knowing your partner’s status and knowing your partner’s viral load. The prospect of preventing infection through a daily pill is an incredible opportunity. It was so important for us to create a sex-positive campaign for PrEP that
didn’t involve hyper-sexualizing the male or female form. While those images may be nice to look at, PrEP goes beyond the human body. It’s existential; an empowering control of one’s own health. To further promote the program, a PrEP hotline (215545-PREP) was created so that people could reach a PrEP coordinator directly, ask questions or schedule an appointment with a health-care provider. There has been a steady decline in new HIV infections here in Philadelphia over the past three years, but we still have work to do. The National HIV/AIDS Strategy, first developed in 2010 by former President Barack Obama, has refined its vision leading up to 2020 to include PrEP as an important prevention method in addition to Treatment as Prevention (TasP). Now, more than ever, places like Philadelphia FIGHT are crucial access points to PrEP and we remain committed to eliminating as many barriers as possible to empower our patients to remain HIV-negative. World AIDS Day is a time to reflect on loved ones who have since passed and to support loved ones living with HIV/AIDS — but it’s also a time to recommit to the fight to end new HIV infections. This can happen by making PrEP accessible and affordable to as many people as possible so they too may stay negative and sex-positive. n Rachel Nahan, MPH, serves as the director of PrEP and Patient Navigation Services at Philadelphia FIGHT. Nahan holds a BS in community health education from Montclair State University and an MPH from The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Questions about PrEP? Curious about getting on PrEP? Call Philadelphia FIGHT’s PrEP hotline at 215-545-PREP (7737).
Bebashi to celebrate more than three decades of service By Bebashi-Transition to Hope Bebashi-Transition to Hope is commemorating 32 years of service! Join the country’s first African-American agency to address the impact of HIV/AIDS in communities of color at its annual gala Dec. 8 at the Hilton on City Avenue. Formerly called BEBASHI (Blacks Educating Blacks About Sexual Health Issues), BebashiTransition to Hope was the first organization in the United States to address the impact of HIV in urban communities of color, especially the African-American
community. At the time, there were no HIV/AIDS educational programs or services targeting African-Americans or other people of color. Since our founding in 1985, we have provided sexual-health education; screenings for many sexually transmitted diseases including HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea; teen-pregnancy prevention, PrEP education and referral; and medical-case management to people with HIV and their families. In recent years, the agency has expanded its programs to address a number of other health disparities affecting economically challenged populations of Greater
Philadelphia, including hunger relief, breast-health education and navigation, and screening and linkage to care for HCV. Each year, our organization touches the lives of more than 20,000 people. The John Blue Award was created in 1997 and is our opportunity to recognize those individuals who, over the years, have shown outstanding leadership and support of Bebashi as we address health disparities of our low-income neighbors. Previous recipients of the John Blue Award include Congresswoman Maxine Waters; noted HIV/AIDS researchers Drs. John and Loretta Jemmott; actress/humanitarian Sheryl Lee
Ralph; Helene Gayle, M.D.; Sen. Vincent Hughes; actor/director/ activist Bill Duke; and director/ producer Lee Daniels. This year’s awardees are Jeff Sotland, owner of Tabu Lounge & Bar; longtime Bebashi board member Traci Nickens; Francis Byron, owner of Girard Avenue Pharmacy; and Philadelphia television anchor and icon Ukee Washington. Hosted for the second year by “CBS Morning News” anchor Rahel Solomon, the 2017 John Allen Blue Awards Gala will feature a cocktail hour, a silent auction, open bar, free parking, musical performance by Grammynominated songstress Kelly Price;
and a dance party hosted by the legendary DJ Gary O. With more than 400 business leaders, medical providers, consumers and politicians expected to attend, our gala will also be a wonderful opportunity for networking. The proceeds from the event will directly help Bebashi continue to address health disparities in our city’s underserved communities. Tickets and sponsorship packages are available today! n Visit www.bebashi.org/gala to reserve your spot.
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WORLD AIDS DAY SUPPLEMENT
DEC. 1, 2017
Remembering and respecting the founding fighters The current lobby exhibit at William Way LGBT Community Center reminds us where we came from, who was there, whom we lost and how long the fight against HIV/AIDS has been going on. In conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the AIDS Library, and featuring items in the AIDS Library Graphics Collection that are under the care of the William Way archives, the exhibit opened with nearly 300 members of the community, library organizers and volunteers Nov. 17. The exhibit shows the breadth and depth of the fight against HIV/AIDS in our city: from ACT UP Philly’s bloody handprint to Gov. Tom Ridge and AIDS Fund and its Gay BINGO to promos for Bebashi, COLOURS, Philadelphia FIGHT, GALAEI, the Philly AIDS Coalition and Unity Inc. (to name a few) to POZ magazine and a “Philadelphia” movie poster. Some of the organizations that fought to
educate and promote safe sex are gone, just like the many of the men of my generation. Not only are we treated to the art, creativity and passion of our elders through this exhibit, we are also soberly reminded that contracting AIDS was, for years, a death sentence. If you have the years behind you to recall the crisis of the early 1980s and well into the ’90s, many of the visuals may bring back almost-forgotten emotions and memories of lives that were taken too early. If you’re in the more-recent generation, you will find a lot of early information, terminology and history. The exhibit will be up through the end of 2017. Take the time to explore, read, learn, remember, dream, cry and hope this month. Those who have pioneered deserve our respect and our appreciation. n — Scott A. Drake
WORLD AIDS DAY SUPPLEMENT
DEC. 1, 2017
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TAKE THE LEAD
Take an active role in your health. Ask your doctor if an HIV medicine made by Gilead is right for you.
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DEC. 1, 2017
PEP & PrEP Factsheet What is PEP?
PEP refers to Post-Exposure Prophylaxis and are medications prescribed to prevent HIV from taking hold in your body if you have already been exposed to the bodily fluids that contain HIV. You have to be exposed from someone who is already HIV-positive for the virus to get into your body. There is a small window of time, only up to 72 hours, in which PEP works. PEP is usually a combination of two HIV-antiretroviral drugs that are taken for 28 days. Blood testing for HIV and liver function are done before, during and after taking PEP to assure you and your doctor no side effects are serious enough to discontinue its use and that you remain negative for HIV. If you have been exposed to HIV through the sexual fluids or blood of someone who is HIV-positive, call Mazzoni Center Clinic during business hours (215-563-0658) or the Emergency Department at Jefferson, Penn or Einstein hospitals .
Remember, with PEP, timewith matters, so matters, seek help as soon possible. Remember, PEP, time so seek help asas soon as possible.
What is PrEP?
PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. The word “prophylaxis” means to prevent or control the spread of an infection or disease. The goal of PrEP is to prevent HIV infection from taking hold in your body if you might become exposed. PrEP provides a barrier that stops HIV from entering your immune cells before you actually acquire the virus. This is done by taking one pill every day. This is one of the same medicines used to keep the virus under control in people who are already living with HIV. Like all HIV medications, your doctor will periodically check your blood for adverse reactions and to make sure you have adequate levels of the medication to be effective. Who should ask about taking PrEP? - Anyone who has an HIV-positive partner - Men who have sex with men who do not use condoms consistently - Heterosexual women who have bisexual male partners - Anyone who injects drugs and shares equipment and their partners - If you’ve had multiple partners and/or an STD within the last six months - People who are at substantial risk of acquiring HIV for any other reason
Things to know about PrEP…
HIV and Aging
Take action, Get tested, Ask questions The Facts • HIV infections are rising in older adults. • People over 50 accounted for 17 percent of new Philadelphia HIV cases in 2010. • Over 38 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS in Philadelphia are over 50. • Condoms prevent against sexually transmitted infections, not just pregnancy. • Providers don’t talk to older adults about HIV testing or sexual health. • If you have ever used injected drugs or shared needles, you are at risk for HIV infection. • HIV does not have symptoms for many years. Educate and protect yourself and your partners!
- You must take the pill, Truvada, every day for PrEP to be effective -Truvada is a strong HIV drug and side effects have been reported
HIV is transmitted by: – Blood – Semen – Vaginal fluid – Breast milk How to reduce your risk: – Use condoms – Get yourself tested every 3-6 months – Get your partner tested – Lower your number of partners – Use clean needles One in five people with HIV don’t know they are infected. Do you?
-Your insurance may pay for PrEP but the co-pay may still be high -Gilead has programs for uninsured and co-pay assistance
Ask your physician if PrEP is right for you.
If you need more information, have a question or have a concern about PrEP, PEP or rapid HIV testing, contact: Action Wellness testing hotline: 267-940-5515 or visit www.actionwelllness.org
*Information courtesy of Action Wellness
Philadelphia PrEP Providers
Philadelphia PrEP Providers
Albert Einstein Medical Center Immunodeficiency Center Einstein Healthcare Network 5501 Old York Road, Paley 1 Phila., PA 19141 215-456-3465 Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (ages 15-24) Adolescent Specialty Care & Karabots Primary Care Center 3550 Market St., fifth floor Phila., PA 19104 (For appt., call Mary Lehman@ 267-4267766) Congresso de Latinos Unidos 216 W. Somerset St. Phila., PA 19133 267-765-2272 Family Practice & Counseling Network Abbottsford Falls 4700 Wissahickon Ave., Suite 119 Phila., PA 19144 215-843-9720 Family Practice & Counseling Network The Health Annex 6120 B Woodland Ave. Phila., PA 19142 215-727-4721
GALAEI 149 W. Susquehanna Ave. Phila., PA 19122 267-457-3912 Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania MacGregor Practice 4 South Perelman Pavilion 3400 Civic Center Blvd. Phila., PA 19104 215-662-6932 Kensington Hospital 136 W. Diamond St. Phila., PA 19132 215-426-8100 (PCP referral required) Mazzoni Center 1348 Bainbridge St. Phila., PA 19147 215-563-0658 Partnership Comprehensive Care Practice Drexel Univ. College of Medicine 1427 Vine St., fifth floor Phila., PA 19102 215-762-2530 Penn Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine
Pennsylvania Hospital Garfield Duncan Building Suite 1B 301 S. Eighth St. Phila., PA 19106 215-829-5354 Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Penn Community Practice 3910 Powelton Ave., second floor Phila.,PA 19104 215-662-9908 Philadelphia Dept. of Health Ambulatory Health Services 500 S. Broad St. Phila., PA 19146 (For appt. call Sophia @ 215-685-2467 or Donielle @ 215-685-2380) Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers John Bell Health Center 1207 Chestnut St. Phila., PA 19107 267-725-0252 PHMC Care Clinic (Public Health Management Corp) 1200 Callowhill St. Phila.,PA 19123 215-825-8225
St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children Nelson Pavilion, first floor south Dorothy Mann Center for Pediatric & Adolescent HIV 160 E. Erie Ave. Phila., PA 19134 (For appt., call Kristi Fults @ 215-4275284) Spectrum Community Health Center 5201 Haverford Ave. Phila., PA 19139 215-471-2761 ext. 2334 Temple Univ. Health System Medical Office Building 3322 N. Broad. St. Phila., PA 19140 215-707-3416 (For appt. call Dun Weah Mayson, RN) Thomas Jefferson University Hospital 1015 Chestnut St. Phila., PA 19107 215-955-7785
PLEASE NOTE: PrEP is available at ALL City District Health Centers
WORLD AIDS DAY SUPPLEMENT
DEC. 1, 2017 CURE STUDY page 21
becoming viremic — and no longer have an undetectable viral load? Being undetectable is my gold standard. Undetectable equals untransmittable. My own questions flashed before me: Will I become viremic and how quickly? How long will I be off my meds? Will I be able to go back on my meds after the study? Will I have drug-resistance issues? How could treatment interruption and a potential spike in my viral load affect me and my spouse? Basically, how could this affect my life? Weighing the negatives, I also saw positives. The new study has 15 participants, so I’d get much more attention and face time with doctors on the cutting edge of HIV research and practice. If the study was successful, I’d be at the head of the line of people receiving it. I’d also receive compensation for many of the study procedures. I decided to give clinical-study research a chance. Before enrolling, I signed an informed consent, which was very helpful and detailed study procedures, associated risks and risks of treatment interruption. It outlined any benefits associated with the study, alternatives to participating in the study and how to withdraw. In the past, there have been significant ethical lapses in clinical studies discouraging people from enrolling, but I hope and believe that those days are behind us. My study will last about a year and requires 24 visits to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md. I receive the Vedolizumab infusion through an IV placed in my arm, which is painless, and I’ve had no side effects or bad reactions. I’ve also had leukopheresis performed, in which white blood cells are isolated and stored for research. After six months, and seven Vedolizumab
infusions, I stopped taking my ART. This was exciting, but scary. I returned to the NIH for testing and examinations every two weeks. If my viral load became detectable, staying above 1,000 for longer than four weeks, I’d have to restart ART. The first blood draw was reassuring — I was still undetectable. Maybe this would work and I wouldn’t ever have to take pills again! Two weeks later, my bloodwork showed a viral load of 828. Though not horrible, it was worrisome. At six weeks, my viral load hit 10,170 and triggered the start of my four-week “watch” period. After being undetectable for so long, I was now viremic. Two weeks later, my viral load reached 12,998. I was two weeks into my watch period with an uptrend in my virus. I had almost forgotten the fear of transmission and becoming sick again. Ten weeks after stopping all my HIV meds, I had another blood draw showing a drop in my viral load to 7,202. My viral load was now decreasing — so did the treatment work? I proposed to wait another two weeks to see what happens, but this would not be an option. Study guidelines were in place for my protection. Though I was disappointed, I was relieved. It’s scary to be viremic. I restarted ART with no problems, and after consulting with my study and personal doctors, I resumed my pre-study regimen. My first follow-up visit was the same routine, except no more infusions of Vedolizumab. Would I be undetectable again? I knew it could take a few months to get there, but was happy to learn my status had quickly gone back to undetectable! After three more visits, my clinical study will be over. A major benefit of being on a study is making suggestions to the scientific and medical
communities — and our community — for improvements in how studies are conducted. We must ensure all members of the community are represented in clinical studies. When a study involves treatment interruption, consideration should be given to transmission education, PrEP and contraceptives. Most importantly, clinical studies including treatment interruption need to be on the forefront of developing faster, easier viral-load tests. During the study, when I went off my meds, I was tested every two weeks. That, coupled with the wait time for results, is too long. A home test would be ideal, so let’s strive for The Delaney Collaboratory to Cure HIV-1 Infection by Combination Immunotherapy (BEAT-HIV Collaboratory) is a consortium of more than 50 top HIV researchers from leading national and international academic research institutions who are working with government, nonprofit organizations and industry partners to test combinations of several novel immunotherapies under new pre-clinical research and clinical studies. The BEAT-HIV Collaboratory has three main goals: Find where and how HIV hides Even after treatment with current medications that render viral load undetectable, there are still a few cells in the body where the virus hides. In order to get rid of the virus, we need to find where and how it hides; then we can try to force it out and destroy it. Make the immune system stronger against HIV
Robb Reichard has worked for over 25 years in support of the HIV/AIDS community in Philadelphia. Since 2004, Robb has been executive director of AIDS Fund, which increases public awareness of HIV/AIDS and provides emergency financial assistance to the most vulnerable people living with HIV disease in the Greater Philadelphia region. Their signature events, AIDS Walk/Run Philly and GayBINGO, support their mission. For more information, visit http://www.aidsfundphilly.org.
something better! As part of this study, I have a voice in insisting all treatment-interruption studies accumulate and distribute data on participant success rates, and the time it takes, to return to undetectable status. I am excited and proud to be a part of this research and better understand the incremental steps we are making in our progress towards an HIV cure. Let’s keep moving forward! I trust my experience will make it easier for you. Consider participating in an HIV cure, as several are about to start recruiting right here in Philadelphia. n By using a medication called Pegylated Interferon Alpha 2b, which may help control viruses, in combination with antibodies that can neutralize HIV, we may be able to reduce the number of cells containing hidden HIV. This could bring us much closer to developing a cure. Introduce new HIV “killer cells” What if we were able to give a patient special cells that would actually seek out and kill the cells in which HIV hides? Some previous studies have already done something similar, but these “killer cells” became infected themselves. With the BEAT-HIV project, we will remove a protein that facilitated HIV infection before giving these cells to the patient, making them resistant and able to destroy cells with hidden HIV. n For more information, visit www.beat-hiv.org. If you are interested in learning more about local HIV-cure clinical studies, please contact Kenneth.lynn@uphs.upenn.edu.
RESOURCES
WORD page 21
ning of the From All Walks of Life Fund. We know that you can’t maintain your health when you don’t have a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in or access to regular health care. We also now know that the medicines that help people with HIV live long and healthy lives also keep them from passing the virus onto others. Keeping people in the health-care system is critical for ending this epidemic. Since our founding, we have been committed to fighting the HIV epidemic until this crisis is over. Advances in treatment and new prevention strategies have now made “Getting to Zero” — zero stigma, zero new infections and zero deaths — an achievable goal. By focusing on direct resources for those with the greatest needs in the Greater Philadelphia region, together we can reach the goal of getting to zero. n
PAGE 27
HIV EDUCATION/ OUTREACH Action Wellness
215-981-0088 www.actionaids.org
Project Safe
866-509-SAFE www.safephila.org
YOUTH AND FAMILY
Empowerment Project 215-564-6388 www.y-hep.org
HIV CASE MANAGEMENT
AIDS Fact Line
The Attic Youth Center
(Pennsylvania) 1-800-662-6080
215-545-4331 www.atticyouthcenter.org
215-981-0088 www.actionaids.org
CHOICE
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
BEBASHI
215-985-3300 www.choice-phila.org
COLOURS Organization, Inc. 215-851-1975 www.coloursorganization.org
Philadelphia FIGHT 215-985-4448 www.fight.org
215-590-1000 www.chop.edu
St. Christopher’s Pediatric AIDS Program 215-427-5284 www.stchristophershospital. com
Valley Youth House
215-925-3180 www.valleyyouthhouse.org
Youth Health
ActionAIDS
215-769-3561 www.bebashi.org
Esfuerzo (Congreso HIV Program)
215-763-8870 www.congreso.net/programs/ h3.php
GALAEI (Gay and Lesbian Latino/a AIDS Education Initiative) 267-457-3912 www.galaei.org
Mazzoni Center
215-563-0652 www.mazzonicenter.org
Philadelphia FIGHT 215-985-4448 www.fight.org
LEGAL RESOURCES AIDS Library 215-985-4851 aidslibrary.org
AIDS Law Project 215-587-9377 aidslawpa.org
Mazzoni Center Legal Services Department
1-866-LGBT-LAW mazzonicenter.org/legal-services
WORLD AIDS DAY SUPPLEMENT
PAGE 28
DEC. 1, 2017
On World AIDS Day, Mazzoni takes time to reflect, hope By Sean Laughlin World AIDS Day is an important day at Mazzoni Center — not just because we go from neighborhood to neighborhood throughout Philadelphia to offer free HIV testing via our mobile testing unit. It is also a day on which we take time to reflect on the losses that HIV/AIDS dealt to the LGBTQ community and highlight the amazing work that we do to fight against the disease. HIV/AIDS has touched every single person who has worked here, with the loss of someone they knew or who was close to them — from people who receive services at Mazzoni Center to advocates and activists in the community, and even family members and loved ones, all lost to this devastating disease. Today, we reflect on the past and the journey that we all have been on since the beginning. AIDS began as a medical mystery and quickly morphed into a public-health crisis for the next three decades. Mazzoni Center was one of the first HIV/AIDS service centers at the beginning of the crisis. Our agency was founded in 1979, a few short years before the HIV/AIDS crisis began in the 1980s. Since then, we have been at the center of this epidemic. The agency responded by incorporating HIV care and prevention services in 1981 and has remained at the forefront of designing and implementing programs and services to combat HIV/AIDS. From the establishment of the first HIV-testing site in Pennsylvania in 1985 and the first sponsored housing for individuals living with HIV in 1986, to opening the region’s first HIVrelated food bank in 1989, Mazzoni Center has led the way in innovative and compassionate care and services for at-risk communities. The urgency of dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis, identifying needs and scrambling to provide adequate support shaped everything about our organization in those early
years. It galvanized the LGBT community in unprecedented ways and brought to life many critically important organizations to provide support and assistance to people impacted by HIV/AIDS. For more than 30 years, Mazzoni Center has had a unique perspective on HIV/AIDS, not simply as a medical condition, but as something that impacts social, emotional and economic well-being.
disproportionate rates. The advances in care and prevention have not translated equally across our communities. This is why groups like the Black and Brown Workers Collective continue to fight against these wrongs in the institutions that offer these services and champion those in the communities that need this advocacy. Mazzoni Center is not at a loss when it comes to all of this. The organization is proud of the work that we do every day, but we know that we have more work to do to address the issues of disparity and inequity that affect our communities and to build stronger relationships with people in the most impacted communities, in particular young MSM of color and trans women of color. We know that we have a long road ahead of us to repair relationships with those who come to us for support and healing, and those who work with us to support and heal the community. After a very tumultuous year, this World AIDS Day reminds us at Mazzoni Center of all the work that we need to continue to do. Our focus is on our continuum of care and continuing to evolve to support injustices and inequities related to resources, including housing, mental health, case management and food security, along with quality medical care and HIV/STI testing services. There is still hope that the work we do, despite the hardships and losses, will lead to an end goal — helping people overcome barriers to build a healthier, more informed and inclusive community and, ultimately, to realize a world without HIV/AIDS. Thirty years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, hope is what got us through this then, and that same hope is what will carry us into a brighter future. n
At first, HIV/AIDS was a crisis for the gay community, whose members lacked broad support or political power, were often closeted and/ or disconnected from family and found themselves suddenly faced with the terror of seeing friends, partners and loved ones dying in the prime of their lives. At first, HIV/AIDS was a crisis for the gay community, whose members lacked broad support or political power, were often closeted and/or disconnected from family and found themselves suddenly faced with the terror of seeing friends, partners and loved ones dying in the prime of their lives. This brought about groups like the AIDS Task Force and ACT UP to fight for the rights of those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Today, racism, poverty, stigma, inadequate information and unequal access to care have meant that people of color, especially young MSM (men who have sex with men) and transgender women, continue to be infected with HIV at
Sean Laughlin is the communications coordinator at Mazzoni Center. For more information about the organization, visit www.mazzonicenter.org.
Philadelphia testing sites CENTER CITY Action Wellness 1026 Arch St. 267-940-5515 Mon.: 11a.m.-1 p.m. Tues.: 10 a.m.-noon Wed.: 1-4 p.m. Thurs.: noon-2 p.m. The Attic Youth Center 55 S. 16th St. 215-545-4331 COLOURS Organization, Inc. 1207 Chestnut St. fourth floor 215-851-1975 Mon. - Tues.: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Wed. - Thurs.: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri.: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
GALAEI 149 W. Susquehanna Ave. 267-457-3912 Mon.-Fri.: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mazzoni Center and GALAEI’s Washington West Project 1201 Locust St. Mon.-Thurs.: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat.: 1 p.m.-5 p.m. 215-985-9206 Philadelphia AIDS Thrift 710 S. Fifth St. 215-922-3186 Second Fri.: noon-4 p.m. Fourth Fri.: noon-4 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Sat.: noon-4 p.m. Second and fourth Sun.: noon-4 p.m.
Planned Parenthood Elizabeth Blackwell Office 1211 Chestnut St. Suite 405 215-496-9696 Mon.-Wed.: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Thurs.: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Planned Parenthood Locust Office 1144 Locust St. 215-351-5560 Mon.: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues. & Thurs.: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Wed.: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. William Way LGBT Community Center 1315 Spruce St. 215-732-2220 Mon.: 4-7 p.m.
Youth Health Empowerment Project 1417 Locust St. third floor 215-564-6388
SOUTH/WEST PHILADELPHIA ActionAIDS West Office 3901 Filbert St. 215-243-2800 Fri.: 1-4 p.m. CHOP 3550 Market St. fourth floor 215-590-3537 Health Center #3 555 S. 43rd St. 215-685-7504
Health Center #4 4400 Haverford Ave. 215-685-7601/7654 Urban Solutions 1408 S. Broad St. first floor 215-755-6462
NORTH PHILADELPHIA Congreso 216 W. Somerset St. 215-763-8870 Walk-in hours Wednesday and Thursday Covenant House Health Services 251 E. Bringhurst St. 215-884-1020
Maria de los Santos Health Center 425 W. Allegheny Ave. 215-291-2500 PHMC Health Connection 1035 W. Berks St. 215-765-6690 Planned Parenthood Far Northeast 2751 Comly Road 215-464-2225 Mon.: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tues.: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed. and Fri.: noon-3 p.m. Sat.: noon-2 p.m. St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children 3601 A St. 215-427-5000
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LEGAL & PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY AMY F. STEERMAN Attorney at Law
Concentrating in Planning for Lesbian and Gay Couples • Probate • Wills • Living Wills • Powers of Attorney
215-735-1006
1900 Spruce Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 www.amysteerman.com
SERVICES & HOME IMPROVEMENT DIRECTORY
Psst, want a good deal on advertising?
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When It Comes To Your Money… Experience Counts Serving our LGBT Community for over a decade. • Retirement Income Planning • Investment Management • Estate Planning • Insurance and Annuities
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PARTNERS IN LAW PARTNERS IN LIFE
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MICHAEL TURNER 215-852-0337 BRIAN TURNER 215-800-5072 Turnerbrothersplumbing@gmail.com
FAX 267-686-5072 R.M.P 43653
If you are celebrating an anniversary, engagement, wedding, adoption or other life event, we would be happy to help you announce it to the community. Send your contact information and a brief description of the event to editor@epgn.com.
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
A Philly POPS
CHRISTMAS Spectacular Sounds of the Season!
PRESENTED BY
DECEMBER
1-19
Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center
Michael Krajewski, conductor featuring
Justin Hopkins, vocalist Peter Richard Conte, organist The Philly POPS Festival Chorus Philadelphia Boys Choir African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Gospel Choir
It’s the tradition that kicks off Philadelphia’s holiday season! Music Director Maestro Michael Krajewski returns to lead an all-new amazing lineup of incredible arrangements and musicians. This holiday season features Philly native and international sensation Justin Hopkins and once again includes The Philly POPS Festival Chorus, the Philadelphia Boys Choir, and the award-winning African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Gospel Choir. With 300 performers on stage and a special musical version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, it’s an extravaganza set to delight the entire family!
TICKETS: 215.893.1999 or PHILLYPOPS.ORG
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
PGN
MAZZOni CENTER
HAs movED!@
Effective May 30 our new home is
1348 Bainbridge Street (corner of Broad & Bainbridge Streets).
Details at: www.mazzonicenter.org
The holidays are on the way and we’ve got something special for you.
PGN gift guides, holiday entertainment and survival tips will be online and in print for two special issues on Dec. 8 and Dec. 15.
Advertisers, contact prab@epgn.com to be included in either or both of these issues.
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Wedding Services Directory
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
Food and Drink Directory
LovasH Indian
236 South St Philadelphia, PA 19147 215-925-3881
Restaurant and Bar www.lovashrestaurant.com EAT IN - TAKE OUT - DELIVERY Open 7 Days a Week Now Order
Online!
The Center City IHOP located at 1320 Walnut St. is now open 24 Hrs on FRIDAY and SATURDAY
THANKS FOR MAKING IT A IHOP DAY Wedding Services Directory Ads in PGN. For Wedding Services designed with you in mind. FOR ADVERTISING INFO CONTACT YOUR PGN AD REP AT (215) 625-8501
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Catering Available - Delivery All Night Long
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
Top Stories Issue Dec. 22, 2017 What do you think the top stories for this year are?
I have a couple of ideas.
So much has happened! How do we decide? It’s hard to recall everything from earlier this year.
Gotta go to epgn.com to look it all up!
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @phillygaynews
Tis the Season . . . for Holiday Dining Reservations. Read PGN’s food reviews every second and fourth week of the month
- and check out our archive of past reviews on epgn.com.
locations in Philadelphia GAYBORHOOD BUSINESSES 12th Street Gym, 204 S. 12th St. • 2101 Condos, 118 S. 21st St. • AACO, 1101 Market St., 9th floor • Action AIDS, 1216 Arch St. • Apt. & Townhouse Rentals, 304 S. 12th St. • The Bike Stop, 206 S. Quince St. • Bioscript Pharmacy, 1227 Locust St. • Boxers PHL, 1330 Walnut St. • Charlie Salon, 203 S. 12th St. • Charlie was a Sinner, 131 S. 13th St. • Chocolate Works lobby, 321 N. 3rd St. • City Hall NE Entrance • Club Body Center, 1220 Chancellor St. • Com-Har Living Room, 101 S. Broad St., 14th floor • Condo Shop, 1415 Locust St. • Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert St. • Cut Salon, 204 S. 13th St. • Danny’s Bookstore 133 S. 13th St. • DBHIDS, 1101 Market St. • Dignity/St. Lukes, 330 S. 13th St. • Dirty Frank’s Bar, 13th & Pine sts. • The Foodery, 10th & Pine sts. • ICandy, 254 S. 12th St. • John C. Anderson Apts., 249 S. 13th St. • Mazzoni Clinic, 809 Locust St. • More Than Just Ice Cream, 1119 Locust St. • Optimal Gym, 1315 Walnut St. • Paolo Pizzeria, 1336 Pine St. • PAT@Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St. • Phila. FIGHT/Aids Library, 1233 Locust St., 2nd floor • Planned Parenthood, 1144 Locust St. • Reading Terminal Market, 12th & Filbert sts. • Salon K, 1216 Locust St. • Scorpio Books, 205 S. Juniper St. • Spruce Street Video, 252 S. 12th St. • Square One, 249 S. 13th St. • Tabu, 200 S. 12th St. • Toast, 12th & Spruce sts. • Triangle Medicine, 253 S. 10th St., 1st floor • U Bar, 1220 Locust St. • Valanni, 1229 Spruce St. • William Way LGBT Community Center, 1325 Spruce St. • Woody’s, 202 S. 13th St. •
OTHER BUSINESSES EAST OF BROAD Bean Café, 615 South St. • Bethel Community Home, 933-935 S. Third St. • Best Western Independence Park Hotel lobby, 215 Chestnut St. • Black N Brew, 1523 E. Passyunk Ave. • Bodhi Coffee, 410 S. 2nd St. • Bridgeview Place, 315 New St. • Class Act Auto Repair, 2042 S. Bancroft St. • Community Behav. Health, 801 Market St. 7th floor • Copabanana, 342 South St. • Essene, 719 S. Fourth St. • Famous 4th St. Deli, Fourth & Bainbridge sts. • Fuel, 1917 E. Passyunk Ave. • Hopkinson House, 604 S. Washington Sq. • Hyatt Regency Hotel lobby, 201 S. Columbus Blvd. • Independence Place Condos, 241 S. Sixth St., lobby in both towers • Independence Visitors Center, 6th & Market sts. • Jackson Place, 501 Jackson St. • One Independence Place, 241 S. 6th St. mailroom • Paper Moon, 520 S. Fourth St. • Philly Bagels, 613 S. Third St. • PGN offices, 505 S. Fourth St. • Philadelphia Java Co., 518 S. Fourth St. • Philly PAWS, 100 N. Second St. • Reading Terminal Market, 12th & Filbert sts. • Rockerhead Salon, 607 S. Third St. • Ruff Life, 25 N. Third St. • Two Independence Place, 233 S. 6th St. • Tiffin Restaurant, 1100 Federal St. • Ultimo Coffee, 1900 S. 15th St. • Wedge Medical Center, 1939 S. Juniper St. • Wireworks, 301 Race St. •
STREET CORNERS 2nd & Chestnut sts. • 2nd & Market sts. • 2nd & Poplar sts. • 2nd & Walnut sts. • 3rd & Chestnut sts. • 3rd & Market sts. • 3rd & South sts. • 3rd & Spruce sts. • 4th & Bainbridge sts. • 4th & Chestnut sts. • 4th St. bet. Arch & Market sts., by Holiday Inn • 5th & Chestnut sts. • 5th & Market sts. • 7th & Pine sts. • 8th & Market sts. • 8th & South sts. • 8th & Walnut sts. • 9th & Market sts. • 9th & Passyunk sts. • 9th & Pine sts. • 10th & Market sts. • 10th & Pine sts. • 10th & South sts. • 10th & Spruce sts.• 11th & Arch sts. • 11th & Locust sts. • 11th & Spruce sts. • 11th & Tasker sts. • 11th & Walnut sts. • 12th & Filbert sts. • 12th & Locust sts. • 12th & Manning sts. •12th & Market sts. •12th & Spruce sts. • 12th & Walnut sts. • 13th & Arch sts. • 13th & Chestnut sts. • 13th & Locust sts. • 13th & Pine sts. • 13th & Spruce sts. • 13th & Walnut sts. • 15th & JFK • 15th & Market sts. • 16th & Chestnut sts. • 16th St. & JFK Boulevard • 16th & Market sts. • 17th & Lombard sts. • 17th & Pine sts. • 17th & Spruce sts. • 18th St. & JFK Boulevard • 18th & Locust sts. • 18th & Market sts. • 18th & Walnut sts. • 19th & JFK • 19th & South sts. • 20th & Chestnut sts. • 20th & Locust sts. • 20th & Sansom sts. • 20th & Vine sts. • 20th & Walnut sts. • 22nd & Chestnut sts. • 22nd & Market sts. • 22nd & South sts. • 23rd & Market sts. • 23rd & South sts. • Broad & Cherry sts. • Broad & Chestnut sts. • Broad & Ellsworth sts. • Broad & Locust sts. • Broad & Lombard sts. • Broad & McKean sts. • Broad & Morris sts. • Broad & Race sts. • Broad & South sts. • Broad & Spruce sts. • Broad & Vine sts. • Broad & Walnut sts. • Main & Cotton sts. • Passyunk Ave & 10th & Reed sts. • Pine & Hicks sts. • South & Delhi sts. • Walnut & Dock sts., by Ritz Movies •
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Family Portrait Get Out and Play Out & About Q Puzzle Scene in Philly PAGE 41
Filthy X-mas John Waters makes ‘Trouble’ for the holidays By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com Out filmmaker, writer and all-around fashion and style icon John Waters is known for pushing boundaries. He’s written and directed films like “Hairspray,” “Pink Flamingos,” “CryBaby” and “Serial Mom,” some of which have gone on to become pop-culture touchstones on screen, television and stage. Now the eccentric filmmaker with the wicked sense of humor is turning his penetrating glare to the holidays with his spoken-word show, “A John Waters Christmas,” Dec. 9 at Union Transfer. Waters’ work might have reached full saturation in the mainstream consciousness with the crossover success of “Hairspray,” but he imagines there are still people out there who might be a bit frightened of the idea of a John Waters Christmas. “I think that people that come aren’t frightened — except they hope to be a little frightened,” Waters joked. “They want me to take them to a world where they might squirm a little bit. I think they’re excited about it but I don’t think they expect to be shocked. I don’t think anybody comes to my show and expects me to do Johnny Mathis’ show — although I do think we should switch shows just to see people’s horror if I did his show and he did mine. I think people are scared of Christmas this year, period, because of everything that’s going on in the world. Or maybe they are looking forward to it as a break. I don’t know how politics
are going to affect Christmas this year.” Waters assured us that there are things warm and fuzzy among the filth and comedic fury of his Christmas stories. “I talk about stuff with my parents,” he said. “I talk about Divine. I talk about memories. Basically it’s a comedy show and, hopefully, even when I bring up something serious, I always make fun of things that I really love. And that’s how I’ve gotten away
with the things I’ve gotten away with my whole life. No matter what I say, I don’t think I’m mean-spirited.” Some people revel in the pageantry of the holidays while others loathe the overblown merriment of the season. Waters said he identifies with both, and each side usually comes together in the
audience for his spoken-word shows. “I address both,” he said. “I understand why people dread it. My God, when people say ‘Merry Christmas!’ to you, I don’t blame people for saying, ‘I don’t believe in the virgin birth.’ I don’t say to you ‘Happy … I don’t know … Muslim holiday.’ So I think it is a Christian holiday but only a certain amount of people in the world believe in it and they act like everybody in the whole world has to believe in it. So I support the Satanic Temple, not because I’m a Satanist but because they challenge church and state, and do it humorously, which I’m all for. I think the time has never been better to use humor as terrorism.” If you would have asked anyone in the early 1970s if the guy who wrote and directed the cult-classic midnight film “Pink Flamingos” would someday be the toast of Broadway and a cultural icon, they probably would not have believed you. And yet here we are. It’s just as much a surprise to Waters. “An ‘icon’ means old,” he said. “You can’t be a 28-yearold icon. Even Justin Beiber, who I love, isn’t an icon yet. You have to have survived it. You have to have kept going. I always am nervous now when I step out on stage and get a standing ovation when I PAGE 36
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walk out. It’s like, wait a minute, that just means you’re old and you’ve made it. If at the end, they like the show, that’s a whole different story. Did I ever think it would happen? It was hard for me to imagine when I was younger being 71 years old. But I was ambitious. There have been many times in my life where I’ve realized this is all gravy and my dreams came true years ago, which makes people puke when they hear you say that. At the same time, I’m still amazed at how all this happened. I worked hard at it but still there is a certain hand that you are dealt and life isn’t fair. For me it’s been very fair, overly fair probably.” One would think there’s a huge difference between writing and directing a film and performing live in front of an audience. But Waters said, for him, they are almost one and the same. “There isn’t that much a difference,” he said. “I started the spoken-word thing when I toured colleges. They would send me out and I would do a 15-minute introduction and then it would get a little longer. Then Divine would come out and we had an act. We didn’t need movies to do it. So in a way, I’m a writer. That’s what I did. I wrote my movies. I never made a movie I didn’t write. I’ve written books. I write my spoken-word shows. I write my art show. So to me, it’s all kind of the same career. I’m a storyteller. I’ve always gotten to know my audiences by touring with the movies. It’s not so different than that. The thing that’s different is that my audience is cool everywhere. When I started, they might send you to some small town in the Midwest and 10 people would show up. Now that same town would be filled with people just as cool as the one in Paris and New York. The great thing about the Internet is that you don’t have to leave where you were born anymore; you just stay and make that cool.”
Besides his Christmas tour, Waters recently released his album “Make Trouble,” an audio version of the 2015 commencement speech he gave at Rhode Island School of Design. The speech quickly because an online sensation, later became available as a book and is now a recoding on Jack White’s label, Third Man Records. “I realized as I gave it that it was going over really well,” Waters said of the speech. “Then I saw it online. It went viral. Nothing surprises me. This year
‘Serial Mom’ and ’Multiple Maniacs’ are being released again in Blu-ray versions and updated. My films keep coming up in different versions. I’m saying with ‘Make Trouble,’ what can I do next? Maybe an opera. I’m always trying to be optimistic and have a new product out. That’s why I write books, so I can keep telling stories and I don’t need anyone but me to write books. Still, writing a book is the longest job. I’ve got a book called ‘Mister KnowIt-All’ that I’ve been working on for two years. But that’s how long it takes to write a book, especially when you have 500 other things that you are doing.” n John Waters will appear 8 p.m. Dec. 6 at Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St. For more information or tickets, call 215-232-2100 or visit www.dreamlandnews.com.
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N. Philly family at center of new doc By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor
us closer. He’s honest with me. After my [accident], I fell victim to the streets. My dad talked to me about that and he got me back in the right direction. Honesty was the key. It made us closer.
Jonathan Olshefski’s poignant observational documentary “Quest,” opening Dec. 1 at Ritz at the Bourse, chronicles Christopher, aka Quest Rainey, his wife PGN: Let’s talk about the accident in the Christine’a, their daughter PJ and his son film. Can you discuss how you coped with William as they eke out their lives in the trauma? You are seen being very brave North Philadelphia. Unfolding during the at times, but also feeling very vulnerable. eight years of the Obama administration, PJR: With the support system of my famthe film details the family’s trials and ily and the people around me, I felt strontribulations, from William battling cancer ger. Everyone was there for me. I had to and a tragedy that befalls PJ to a leaky roof that needs fixing and a friend dealing with addiction issues. In a casual but affecting moment, PJ comes out; another scene has her parents discussing PJ’s sexuality. But the focus of “Quest,” and why it is so compelling, is the family’s resilience. This AfricanAmerican family possesses a quiet dignity that is truly inspiring. Olshefski captures the intimate moments with PJ (LEFT) WITH PARENTS CHRISTINE’A AND QUEST affection. PJ, who is now 18 — she was 9 or 10 when filming started — spoke experience all that stuff but it made me strong. Reality makes you stronger; you with PGN about making “Quest.” have to face it. Everyone in the ’hood knows me. I see others with disabilities, PGN: What was your response to the idea and now I think differently about them. of being filmed for what turned out to be eight years? PGN: You were a bit of a tomboy in the PJR: To be honest, when it started I was first half of the film. What can you say young, so seeing the camera was new and about coming out on camera? cool. As I got older, there was more footPJR: To be honest, I felt like, the way age of me, because my dad wanted me to people look at the gay stuff, it’s hard to be in the film more. I didn’t think the film explain. I pay it no mind. [Being gay] is was going to go anywhere. It was just Jon [Olshefski, the director] with the camera. I common here. In my generation, there are so many gay people my age. was cool with it because my dad and John were friends. He was cool with my family PGN: What did you think of the scene in already. Seeing the film, I reminisce about which your parents discuss your sexuality? certain things because I knew what I was PJR: I think it’s funny. They are fine with thinking at the time we shot them. Now it now. It was a little hard for my dad at the film gives me more courage. I moved first. No one wants their kids to be gay; on from all that I’ve been through. they want them to be perfect. Honesty is the key. If the person really loves you they PGN: Your father has a music studio. You are seen playing drums and later the piano. accept you for who you are. I’m glad my mom and dad aren’t [loving me from a You say in the film you want to be a DJ. distance]. Can you talk about your interest in music, and if/how you plan to pursue it? PGN: The film covers the period in your PJR: I stopped playing the drums because life during the Obama administration. now making beats in the studio is all done What are your observations about his preswith technology. I started doing R&B idency and where we are now? music and making my own songs. I was PJR: Obama, I feel he is our best presithinking about going to college for busident. Even though he couldn’t do as much ness, but I wanted to have my own studio. as he could, Trump’s in office now and I grew up with a studio in my house, so it’s chaos. I wish people could be more why not use what I know? open-minded. People where I live don’t pay attention to politics. We need a savior, PGN: The film is all about your family. How would you describe your relationship someone like Obama. If Obama were in Trump’s shoes now, he would be out of with your parents? there! If Obamacare didn’t have Obama’s PJR: My dad and I are super-close. My name on it, Trump wouldn’t be trying to mom and I are close too, but Dad and I get rid of it. n have music in common, and that makes
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS
1812 Productions’ annual look at news and pop culture has an LGBTQ bent By A.D. Amorosi PGN Contributor
Susie gets a CNN alert and we all say, “Don’t look at it” and then she says, “Oh, I can’t help it.” It’s a lot like that. When Jennifer Childs — the co-found- Every time I open my news feed, I know ing producing artistic director of 1812 that I’m going to encounter something Productions — says that the comedic that will infuriate me. It’s stressful. I troupe’s seasonal, headline-driven, sketch- think all you can do is laugh, though, comic revue “This Is The Week That Is” is when you can. DO: The comment we get the most this a group effort, believe it. year is, “You have so much material!” And that’s true. But I think that’s made it both easier and harder to write the show this year. There is a lot of news to talk about, and it seems like people are more aware of what’s going on politically this year than before; I don’t think I could have picked the FBI director or secretary of education out of a lineup before 2017, and now we can write jokes about them that everyone will get. But the other side of that coin is that so much is happening and the 2017 media disperses it to us so quickly that it’s hard to write anything that ROB TUCKER (FROM LEFT), DAN O’NEIL AND will last. I have a feeling we’ll JENSON TITUS LAVALLEE IN “THIS IS THE be rewriting jokes and revisWEEK THAT IS” Photo: Mark Garvin ing sketches more this year than before because the news Written and performed by the entire team changes so often. (including music director Rob Tucker), 1812’s annual political comedy, now in its PGN: How are LGBT issues tackled 12th year, takes surprising turns when it during the show, if at all? comes to essaying what might be this cen- RT: Unless there is a major LGBT issue tury’s most bizarre presidency. Aiding and dominating the news cycle, I don’t feel abetting in the writing and production of the need for individual issues to be tack“This Is The Week That Is” are three gay led. However, in the same way people men who all have a saucy, stately sense of of color need to be represented in some humor: the aforementioned Tucker, assis- way, it is paramount for there to be an tant director Dan O’Neil and cast member LGBT presence on stage, especially Jenson Titus Lavallee, who will poke fun at if there isn’t a way to tackle an issue our current political climate through Dec. directly. We definitely have both of those in a very big way. 24 at Plays & Players Theatre. JTL: LGBT issues, when brought to the surface, were definitely accounted for, PGN: How scary and outrageously funny but this show does an amazing job of is the news at present? responding to what’s in the moment and RT: I think the country has been living in right now that’s this ridiculous presia state of fear for quite some time. I perdency and all of the women coming forth sonally try to stay away from the “fear place.” I make a conscious effort to not let about sexual harassment. Those were the major themes for us. the news put me there. Of course, there DO: I remember a few years ago, are events, policies and legislation — or before I was involved, seeing “This the lack thereof — that bother and concern me. I suppose that is some version of Is The Week That Is” and there was a joke about how legalized gay marriage fear. I try to use those concerns as spurs changed gay activists’ chants: “We’re for my own awareness and quiet action. On its face, the news, beyond Trump, isn’t here! We’re queer! We’re registered at Crate & Barrel!” The show has always really funny at all. However, I do think tackled LGBTQ issues when they’re in that a show like “This Is The Week ...” the news, because the show is built to can help make these stories funny. That’s reflect and comment on what’s going on. the beauty of satire. It makes these things Without giving too much away, there’s a much easier to grapple with. When one can laugh at the “smoke,” it makes us a bit really fun, gay, shady news segment in the show this year. And it’s there because more willing to deal/cope with the “fire.” of what’s in the pop-culture zeitgeist JTL: The news is ... a lot, as we all know. and who’s in the There’s a great moment in the show when PAGE 41
Theater & Arts Annie Walnut Street Theatre presents the beloved musical about the charming orphan through Jan. 7, 825 Walnut St.; 215-574-3550. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Media Theatre presents the musical adaptation of the Disney classic through Jan. 14, 104 E. State St., Media; 610-8910100.
Patricia Urquiola: Between Craft and Industry The work of acclaimed designer Urquiola, who creates cool, innovative objects for the home and office, is on display through March 4 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100.
Hal Sparks The comedian seen on “Queer As Folk” performs Dec. 7-9 at Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St.; 215-496-9001.
Philadelphia Assembled Initiated by artist Jeanne van Heeswijk, with hundreds of collaborators from across the city, the project explores Philadelphia’s changing landscape and tells a story of radical communitybuilding and active resistance, through Dec. 10 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100.
Hillary Hahn plays Bernstein The Philadelphia Orchestra performs Dec. 7-10 at Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St.; 215893-1999.
A Philly POPS Christmas The Philly POPS get into the holiday spirit Dec. 2-19 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999.
This Is The Week That Is 1812 Productions presents its annual political-comedy show through Dec. 31 at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey St.; 215-592-9560.
John Mulaney The comedian performs 7 and 10 p.m. Dec. 1 at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.; 215-8931999.
Rasheeda Speaking Allens Lane Art Center presents a dark comedy set in the workplace that examines issues of race, power and friendship through Dec. 3, 601 W. Allens Lane; 215248-0546.
TouchTones Arden Theatre Company presents a new musical comedy about love, sex and the fantasy at the other end of the line through Dec. 3, 40 N. Second St.; 215922-1122.
George Lopez The comedian performs 8 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow streets, 610-352-2887.
Old Masters Now: Celebrating the Johnson Collection Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of European art of the likes of Botticelli, Bosch, Titian, Rembrandt and Monet through Feb. 19, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100.
Runnicles Conducts Mozart The Philadelphia Orchestra performs through Dec. 2 at Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St.; 215-8931999. Sinbad The comedian performs 8 p.m. Dec. 1 at Keswick
RIGHTEOUS HUMOR: Comedian, actor and musician Hal Sparks returns to Philly to deliver some much-needed laughs Dec. 7-9 at Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St. For more information or tickets, call 215-496-9001
Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside; 215-5727650.
Transcendents: Spirit Mediums in Burma & Thailand The Fine Art Galleries at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center present internationally known and acclaimed photojournalist Mariette Pathy Allen for the first
public exhibit of her new works, which document transgender lives and experiences around the world, through Jan. 2, 522 W. Maple St., Allentown; 610347-9988. Upright Citizens Brigade: We Know How You Die The sketch/improvecomedy troupe performs Dec. 1-2 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St.; 215-9850420. PGMC: Tinseltown Tidings Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus performs a holiday concert through Dec. 2 at Prince Theater, 1412 Chestnut St.; 215-569-9700.
Music Todd Rundgren The songwriter and rock guitarist performs 8 p.m.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
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Indie artist brings fan-approved music to Philly By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com
THE FOUR QUEENS OF CHRISTMAS: Drag stars Sherry Vine, Latrice Royale, Bebe Zahara Benet and Alexis Michelle converge on Atlantic City for “Christmas Queens,” a holiday-themed drag extravaganza, 9 p.m. Dec. 2 at Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J. For more information or tickets, call 609-317-1000.
Dec. 3 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside; 215-5727650. Morrissey The out rock singer performs 8:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at The Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St.; 215-6253681. LCD Soundsystem The pop group performs 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6-7 at The Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St.; 215-6253681. Gary Numan The new-wave/rock singer performs 8:30 p.m. Dec. 6 at Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St.; 215-232-2100. A Pentatonix Christmas Tour The vocal group performs holiday songs 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow streets, 610-352-2887. Jay Brannan The singersongwriter performs 8 p.m. Dec. 7 at
World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215-222-1400. Get The Led Out The Led Zeppelin tribute band performs 8:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at The Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St.; 800-745-3000.
Nightlife Mimi Imfurst Presents Drag Diva Brunch Mimi Imfurst, Bev, Vinchelle, Sutton Fearce and special guests perform 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 2 at Punch Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St.; 215-606-6555. Anna Crusis Women’s Choir Moira Smiley performs with the choir 7:309:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion, 2111 Sansom St.; 215567-3668. Philly Beauty Ball Bev and Ryan Wyrofsky present an amateur drag charity party with music by DJ Carl
Michaels to benefit The Attic Youth Center 7-11 p.m. Dec. 2 at Voyeur Nightclub, 1221 St. James St.; 215-7355772. Fuck Clothes Go Naked A social nude party designed to make connections, 8 p.m.-3 a.m. Dec. 8 at Tabu, 200 S. 12th St.; 215-964-9675.
Outta Town Chaslyn Sweetwood: “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” The singer and New Hope native performs 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at The Rrazz Room, 385 W. Bridge St., New Hope; 888-5961027. Gin Blossoms The rock band performs 9 p.m.
Dec. 1 at Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Christmas Queens A holiday drag show featuring “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alums Latrice Royale, Bebe Zahara Benet, Alexis Michelle and Sherry Vine, 9 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Kathy Graham: A Swinging Christmas The jazz and cabaret singer makes her Rrazz Room debut 8 p.m. Dec. 8, 385 W. Bridge St., New Hope; 888-5961027. n
Notices Send notices at least one week in advance to: Out & About Listings, PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 fax: 215-925-6437; or e-mail: listings@epgn.com. Notices cannot be taken over the phone.
Out multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Brett Gleason is bringing his new fan-assisted and -approved music to town Dec. 4 at Kung Fu Necktie. Gleason’s latest album, “Manifest,” was crowd-sourced by fans, from whom he also took artistic cues and suggestions for the songs on the albums throughout its creative process. Gleason said that fan input inspired him to take the new album in a slightly different direction than previous releases. “It helped me to change the production a lot,” he said. “On the first record, I used a lot of electronic components. I think a lot of people thought that it was something I was hiding behind. I layered a lot of things and I hid my voice. Most folks wanted me to strip down my sound and put my voice in the front, as opposed as hide it behind electronic elements. Another thing was, on my first record, I used a lot of complex arrangements and a lot of people saw that as something I was showing off with. That was interesting. I’d put a song out and folks would be more interested in a lyric than a time signature. So I’d get more into that lyric and take that in a different direction. It was interesting to see what folks were emotionally engaged by, as opposed to what I thought was cool musically as a musician.” Gleason said he found the creative process for the current album appealing enough that he’s going to continue to seek out fan suggestions and support for future recordings. “I’m trying to take it even further,” Gleason said about crowd sourcing. “It’s a monthly financial support system, but I look at it more like a creative and emotional support system and a way to get 1812 from page 40
cast. Jenson, Rob, and I wrote the sketch together; it’s not something that Jen Childs would have written for the show because it’s not “in her voice” and it’s not her worldview. PGN: So, what’s the trickiest part about satire when it comes to 1812? RT: The tricky thing about satire, for me, is getting the tone just right. “You can
instant feedback on your work. I’m writing a bunch of new songs now and I’m hoping that it will be a process for inspiration and creative feedback as I write, as opposed to after I write.” Gleason also took suggestions from his fans about his latest music video for the song “Expiration Date,” which, in a first for Gleason, features a same-sex romance as part of its storyline. “I had heard for a long time that folks have wanted me to have some sort of
gay romance or content in my videos,” Gleason said. “I’ve been an out artist from the beginning and, though I’ve spoken about it, none of the videos for my songs have had me with another guy or a gay storyline. So that’s something that folks have talked about a lot. The second they heard that song that had a romantic byline through it, that was the first thing they said: ‘Finally, an opportunity to have a gay storyline!’ From my perspective, the only reason I haven’t had any sort of gay romance in my video is that I haven’t previously written about love or romance. It wasn’t something I had written about.” n Brett Gleason performs 8 p.m. Dec. 4 at Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St. For more information or tickets, call 215-291-4919 or visit www.brettgleason. com or www.patreon.com/brettgleason.
make fun of the smoke, but not the fire.” Making fun of the circumstances surrounding an issue keeps the audience on your side. This is especially important with 1812’s productions because their audience members tend to be from across the political spectrum. Get the tone wrong and you can run the risk of alienating them. n For more information about “This Is The Week That Is,” visit http://www.1812productions.org.
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Get Out and Play
Scott A. Drake
Jason Collins talks NBA, youth initiatives Navratilova. Jason Collins came to town mere days after his celebrity death hoax — and looked “It was the only time I was tongue-tied,” no worse for wear. The victim of yet another he said about meeting the tennis great. “I round of such hoaxes recently, he wasn’t was in awe.” even aware he was “dead.” He also spent time with Billie Jean King “To be honest,” he said, “I was very busy last week.” He told the crowd at William Way LGBT Community Center Nov. 21 that his dad fell and broke a hip within weeks of turning 65. Coincidentally, he was in town doing some promotional work with AARP. “People get old,” Collins said. “We all get old. One of the reasons I’m working with TERRI CLARK (FROM LEFT), JASON COLLINS AND AARP right now is to AMBER HIKES Photo: Scott Drake spread awareness of their work. There’s a on more than one occasion and is committed lot of great programs.” Lately, Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay to a charity tennis program in L.A. in early player, has been an ambassador for the basDecember. It’s a program that will involve ketball league, promoting the sport, inclusion many inner-city youth who haven’t had an experience like it before. Ask him how well and diversity. When asked about the NBA he plays and he’ll tell you the flat-out truth. policy regarding the National Anthem (play “I gotta bring it,” he said. “There’ll be kids ers are required to be present and stand), he there who can probably hit the cover off the said he hadn’t had the opportunity to chalball. I can hit well, I just can’t move well. If lenge that rule and wasn’t sure if he would. “For one thing, that floor is wood and the ball comes to me, I’m good.” it’s hard on the knees,” he said. He added, Collins is working to demonstrate that “Taking a knee is an NFL thing but we supeveryone is an example and that the goal is port them.” equity and diversity. He urges those who wit Collins works with a number of youth ness anything other than those ideals to step groups and talks to coaches about sport-reup and get involved. Basically, sidelines are lated mindsets that keep perpetuating. full of people waiting to get in the game — “Something that every male athlete has and more should. heard is, ‘Don’t throw like a girl,’” Collins If you ask Collins if he thought he’d be said. “Just a comment like that that everyone this kind of a role model, he will humbly tell has heard, you’re forcing a division between you all athletes are role models in some way. masculine and feminine. In junior sports, it’s “I get to interact with players and coaches in a different way than playing,” Collins said. the athletes that set the culture. So hopefully “But no matter how you interact, you’re still we can affect the coaches who can affect the going to be a role model to someone.” players and we can change that culture.” Collins came out in 2013 while still play Collins has participated in a number of ing in the NBA — a gutsy move, but many NBA diversity initiatives, but there are still describe his coming out as easy. He didn’t many to join in. Philadelphia is one of them. think so at the time, but it was the way he, “I’ve done events with New York teams his teammates, family and the general public and some on the West Coast,” he said. “And all handled it that made it seem so. in Miami they had an Out and Proud Day While playing, Collins wore the number that I was at. But as for the 76ers … Um, I 98. If you had asked him why when he chose haven’t been invited yet!” that number, he’d tell you it was because Heroes, idols and mentors come in many he fouled a lot and wanted to mess with the sizes. Some are 7-feet tall like Jason Collins. refs. (Basketball refs hold up fingers to repBut size doesn’t matter. So whether you play resent the fouling player. Who knew?) But tennis or basketball or another sport, get the truth of the matter was it was also the involved. And to do that, of course, you must year Matthew Shepard was murdered and get out and play! n was a tribute to the gay college student. Scott A. Drake was the 2015 Sigma Delta Chi national Collins’ other role is in a completely winner for best sports photo and the 2017 Professional different sport: tennis. He’s an avid fan, Keystone Press Awards winner for best sports column has been to Wimbledon more than once in a weekly paper. If you have a person or event you and one of his idols and heroes is Martina think should be highlighted, email scott@epgn.com.
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Family Portrait
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 1-7, 2017
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Suzi Nash
Jason Evans: ’Tis the season for giving back I’m a big friend of PAT. If you don’t know PAT, it’s an acronym for Philly AIDS Thrift, a magical place where you can buy household goods, books and records, electronic parts you never thought you’d be able to find again and the hippest clothes from almost every decade in the past 50 years (and probably more). It’s also a great place to donate those goods you love but just don’t have room for anymore. The main beneficiary of all the goodness is AIDS Fund, but the shop also supports 22 other organizations. To date, PAT has distributed more than $2 million! If you want to get on Santa’s nice list by helping a good cause this holiday season, PAT always has room for more donations and new volunteers. This week we spoke to one of the PAT board members, Jason Evans. In addition to his altruistic endeavors, many of you probably know Evans from the other good spirits he works with, as a Sunday bartender at U Bar. Also an activist, Evans has been giving back to the community since he got involved with LGBT health agency SafeGuards when he arrived in Philadelphia in 1996. Earlier this year, Evans was appointed co-chair of the Mayor’s Commission of LGBT Affairs.
you here to tell you that!” She was like, “I knew this already. I’ve been here before with my friend Carol. Everything’s fine.” PGN: Mom sounds pretty cool. JE: Yeah, she’s real cool. PGN: What’s a fun fact or story about your mom? JE: Well, to start, she’s still around. I was just with her on Thursday. She still lives in the same house I grew up in. She’s not really a bar person, but she’s come downtown and met some of my friends. We’ll also meet up in New Hope; it turned out that a good friend of hers came out as lesbian — or maybe it was bisexual — so they’d come up once in a while when I was working there. PGN: Was your mom her wingman? JE: I don’t know; she was always chill, just laid-back about everything. She’s very accepting and not fazed by anything. She had five sisters and six brothers. All of our family is pretty much like that. Her father was a minister, but I never met him; he passed away before I was born. But we all grew up with a lot of unconditional love.
PGN: Tell me a little about yourself. JE: I grew up in Bucks County, Langhorne to be exact. I went to Neshaminy High School. The first time I moved into the city was in the summer of 1996. I started working at Woody’s as a barback and eventually became a bartender. I worked there and a few other clubs, including a few summers at Shampoo. I was a bartender and manager at the 2/4 Club and …
PGN: What does or did she do? JE: She was a stay-at-home mom, thank God, and once we got old enough, she worked as a receptionist in a nursing home for several years. She has that nice, welcoming personality and gets along with everybody. She’s retired now.
PGN: Wait, when did you work at the 2/4 Club (now known as Voyeur)? JE: I’d say 1998-2003.
PGN: And Dad? JE: My parents separated, and he lives in West Virginia.
PGN: Oh, that was past my time. I worked there in coat check in the ’80s. So we’re both used to crazy late-night hours. JE: Yeah, I don’t do ’em anymore!
PGN: What’s a trait that you got from either parent? JE: I’m a hopeless romantic. I got that from my mother. For me, those little things mean a lot, a rose or a particular song, any romantic gesture gets me. And I got all of that gene. My sister and brother don’t have it; I got their share.
PGN: So how old were you when you first started at Woody’s? JE: I was 24, but prior to that I worked at the Cartwheel in New Hope. PGN: Oh, so you weren’t a baby. JE: To the city I was! PGN: When did you come out? JE: Oh gosh, well my mother’s birthday is in October and I took my mom out to dinner. I was 17 and I took her to the Cartwheel. I was so nervous and halfway through dinner I was about to tell her when she asked me, “So do you ever bring Theresa here?” Theresa had been my high-school girlfriend. I responded, “No Mom, I haven’t been with Theresa in over a year. I’m gay! I brought
PGN: Congratulations! So in between schools, you’ve had quite the varied career. How did you get involved with the Eagles? JE: I was looking for a job and saw an ad online. I applied but thought, Ah, that’ll never happen … It was when they’d just opened the new stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, and it was a game-day job working with VIPs. I got hired and at the end of the season the manager offered me a full-time office job. I ended up staying for four more years! PGN: You’re like me with a history of varied jobs. Tell me about some of yours. JE: Well, I worked for AirTran Airways and that was bizarre. I was interviewed for a job at the ticket counter and they sent me to Atlanta for training. At the training, you learned everything from ticketing to baggage handling. When I got back to Philly, they wanted me to handle bags and when I objected they said, “Well, here everybody does a little of everything.” They’d also promised me a flexible schedule, which
exhibit for a private tour or function. I did that for an entire season. PGN: You’ve worked with VIPs in a lot of your jobs. What’s the most outrageous request you’ve had? JE: Well, I worked at the 2/4 Club and let’s just say I’ve had some requests not fit for print! PGN: So let’s jump back. As a young boy growing up in Langhorne, when did you first start realizing you were gay? JE: Hindsight is 20/20, but I think I knew when I was about 4. I remember my sister had a poster on her wall of some singer — I can’t even remember his name now — but I remember looking at it and feeling, He’s awesome! He was on TV a lot and I was totally fascinated by him. [Laughs] In junior high, I had a huge crush on Alec Baldwin! So I kind of always knew. There was never an “ahha” moment. PGN: Any extracurricular activities? JE: Band, choir, acting … that sort of thing. PGN: And now? JE: I hate to say it, but I just don’t have time. I work full-time at Penn, I go to school part-time at Penn, I’m the co-chair on the Mayor’s Commission of LGBT Affairs, I’m on the board of Philly Aids Thrift and I work at U Bar on Sundays. Sooo …
PGN: And who is “we”? JE: I have an older sister and brother.
PGN: So what song would someone play to woo you? JE: Sam Cook! Or Etta James. Something from the ’50s or ’60s. PGN: So after Neshaminy High School did you go on to college? JE: No, it wasn’t my time. I’m actually in college now. When I turned 40, I enrolled at Community College of Philadelphia and took a few classes there and then I applied to Penn and got in. I’m about three-fourths of my way through to getting my undergrad degree, pre-law.
PGN: Not much room in that schedule. JE: No. Once a month, I go to dinner with a friend in a similar situation. We make a plan to get out of the house and catch up at some place neither of us has tried. And I’ve started working out with a trainer at 12th Street Gym, Joe Burke; he’s great! He becomes your friend and it doesn’t seem like work. It’s a big plus for me. also turned out to be false. But I turned out to be one of their best gate agents. I knew how to deal with people when they were angry because a flight was late or some other problem, so even if the schedule put me outside, whichever supervisor was on duty would put me inside instead. I also worked at the Franklin Institute. A friend brought me in when they were doing the King Tut exhibit the first time. Again, we were handling the VIPs, people or companies who would rent out the entire
Photo: Suzi Nash
PGN: Tell me what the commission does. JE: We work with the office of LGBT Affairs, which is overseen by Amber Hikes. We work on initiatives that the mayor and office would like to see, and in turn, we let them know what kinds of things the community needs and wants. We also help people in the community to communicate with each other, but a lot of it is getting people to the right resources. Often, we’ll have PAGE 44
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people say, “Oh, we really should have such and such” and we’ll say, “Actually, there’s a group or program already doing that” and just connect them to the services they need. Luckily, Amber has transformed the office and we are more outfaced, more accessible. You can always find someone on the commission to talk to. In my case, everyone knows they can find me at U Bar on Sundays. So if you need a commissioner, I’m there. People come in and ask questions and I don’t mind. If it’s something too complicated or too long to solve while I’m working, we can set a time for later. PGN: Any programs you’re working on this month? JE: There’s a city ordinance that says that single-stall bathrooms are not supposed to be gender-specific so we have a night planned where we are going to go around and check bathrooms in bars, restaurants and stores to make sure they’re in compliance. PGN: That’s great! So let’s talk about what’s going on at Philly Aids Thrift, one of my favorite places. JE: Mine too! Well, as you probably know, it’s a thrift shop that sells just about anything and our proceeds go to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This year’s special grant awards went to 23 Philly-area HIV/AIDS service organizations. PGN: I love the fact that PAT gives free store vouchers to Philly HIV/AIDS service providers to give to clients in need. JE: Yes, it’s great for people who might need new clothes for work or, God forbid, got evicted and lost everything; you can come to the store and get what you need. I don’t know if you’ve been there lately but that store has everything. We just expanded about a year-and-a-half ago and we now have a full-sized furniture section with the loveliest things up there. But the section I’m proudest of is our HIV-testing site right in the store. Testing is available on the weekends but I’m hoping we can expand that. I’m also working on expanding it to other testing because there’s more than just HIV/ AIDS out there. For instance, syphilis is one of the silent STDs running rampant in Philadelphia and I don’t think people are as aware as they need to be. PGN: PAT has expanded in two ways: not only the square footage at Fifth and Bainbridge streets but also the acquisition of the old Giovanni’s Room location. JE: Yes! And I’m happy to say it’s doing very well. In addition to selling books and household items, we’ve also been doing book signings and readings at the location. It’s been very exciting. It’s helping get people back onto that side of town. It’s nice to see.
PGN
PGN: Yeah, the last time I was at the main store for something other than shopping was for a Fringe show. It was held in the furniture department so I got to sit on a barcalounger for the show! JE: That’s great. We have a lot of community things happening in the store but we also get out into the community. The folks from the stores have tables at almost every function in the area. It’s not a gay store, it’s not a straight store, it’s a microcosm of people from all walks of life. And there’s something for everyone at the store. They’re great community partners. We just surpassed the $2-million mark for the amount of money we’ve donated to the cause. PGN: That’s amazing. In addition to finding great things, it’s also a great place to donate stuff. I have two boxes next to my front door right now and one of the things I love at PAT is that everyone is so respectful. Some places turn up their noses at items — “Yeah, we don’t take those … ” — but PAT people always act as if everything you bring is gold: “If we can’t sell it, we’ll put it in front and someone will take it.” JE: Yeah, they have great sales too! A room where everything is under $1 and special Sunday sales … PGN: OK, let’s go to some random questions: Speak anything other than English? JE: German. I just took two years of German at Penn, just don’t ask me to try to speak it at this hour. PGN: Celebrity encounter? JE: Oh gosh, a lot of them over the years. In the ’90s, I used to work at Palmer Social Club, which was an afterhours bar, and we’d get a lot of celebrities coming in after their shows at Shampoo, which had just opened. When I was at 2/4 Club, I remember Janet Jackson came in and it was really cool. One of the DJs at Palmer was dating Jill Scott — this was before she became famous — and she’d just hang out. On occasion, she’d grab the mic and sing with him, so years later when she blew up I was like, “Holy shit! I know her!” PGN: And what’s working at U Bar like? JE: It’s great! Over the years, I’ve worked several places — Woody’s, Voyeur, Palmer, 2/4, The Cartwheel, you name it — but after a while I didn’t enjoy the fast pace of having to get 100 drinks served in 30 minutes at a crowded bar. It’s great for banks, but I like being able to talk to people. That’s what we have at U Bbar. It truly is your neighborhood bar where everybody knows your name. n For more information about Philly AIDS Thrift, visit www.phillyaidsthrift.com. For more information about U Bar, visit www. ubarphilly.com. For more information about the Mayor’s Commission on LGBT Affairs, visit https://beta. phila.gov/departments/office-of-lgbt-affairs/.
Q Puzzle Plummer’s Helper Across 1. Prick 5. Rubbed with rubber 11. Some go to hail to get one 14. Circle over St. Peter’s head 15. Like some candle at St. Mary’s 16. Park of NYC 17. With 36-Across, current movie with a major role recast 19. Magneto to the X-Men 20. “Fabu!” 21. France’s CÙte d’___ 22. Where Boy Scouts sleep together 23. Toward Dinah? 25. Patron of Wilde’s homeland, briefly 27. Angelou with some Mexicans of old? 30. Joe Cocker’s “You ___ Beautiful” 33. Stonewall Jackson’s soldiers 36. See
17-Across 39. Tin Woodsman’s tool 40. Calls for 41. Three of Caesar’s people 42. Recast character in this puzzle’s movie 44. Liberace fabric 45. Major blood carrier 46. “A Room of One’s Own,” e.g. 48. Nuts to a lesser degree 51. Periodical boners 55. Ornament in _Cleopatra_, perhaps 57. Chains around a knight 60. Shakespeare’s Andronicus 61. Honolulu gift 62. Director who recast Christopher Plummer in the role of 42-Across 64. Son of Prince Valiant 65. Noble or Valby 66. “No” voter 67. Signal that goes either way
68. Least significant 69. Cruise obnoxiously Down 1. Her name is Alexander 2. Maupin stories 3. Islam’s deity 4. Copulatory recipients 5. Second person 6. Nero’s city 7. All-inclusive 8. Source of stuff that may run down your face 9. Frequent foe of Navratilova 10. Laurie Partridge portrayer Susan 11. Where students eat it 12. Shakespeare’s river 13. ___ poet (Ginsberg as a vegetarian)? 18. 60 minutes with Frida 22. Source of poi 24. Initial gay bar activity 26. Fondles clumsily 28. Initial stake 29. Tennessee,
but not Williams 31. Like a Muscle Mary who does situps 32. Garfield’s pal 33. Indian head 34. Trade show, for short 35. Hides of hairy guys? 37. Flirts with, with “on” 38. Meredith’s “Family Ties” role 40. Zip 43. Place for Young men? 44. Like Lord Byron’s works 47. They’re performing, in “Fame” 49. Nellielover in “South Pacific”
50. “M*A*S*H” company clerk 52. In accord 53. “CosÏ fan ___” 54. No longer lying with one’s partner 55. Melodramatic cry 56. Peter by the piano 58. Eurythmics’ “Would ___ to You?” 59. Part of Mapplethorpe’s equipment 62. Band fronted by Michael Stipe 63. “But on the other hand ... “
PGN
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Thinking Queerly
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