Annual event raises money for Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative
Tynesha Wells, 39, has not been to a gynecologist in two years although she knows it is important for her health to do so.
As a self-identified stud, Wells said she does not like facing the strange looks that sometimes come when she enters a doctor’s office dressed like a man.
“When I have gone they haven’t been sensitive at all,” Wells said about past experiences at a gynecologist’s office. “I know health wise I need it but do I want to go through the humiliating process to do it. You’re already in a vulnerable situation.”
Wells’ partner is feminine and doesn’t feel uncomfortable going for her annual exam.
What resources are needed to meet the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Georgians and how can organizations provide those resources on such issues as aging, lifestyle and health?
That’s what the Phillip Rush Center hopes to find out after it recently received a $35,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta to conduct a broad needs assessment for the state to determine how to best serve LGBT residents.
“This is the first state of the community … a broader snapshot of LGBT Atlanta and throughout the state,” says Linda Ellis, executive director of the Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative.
The East Point Possums Show, the first event in Atlanta’s Stonewall Week, raised just over $10,000 for Atlanta Pride and the Atlanta Health Initiative at its 13th annual fundraiser on June 19.
Some 28 acts took the stage and wowed a crowd estimated at more than 1,500. From drag queens to drag kings and songs from Ke$ha to Lady Gaga, the annual show was a hit for the LGBT crowd as well as the straight people who come each year to enjoy the antics and fun of one of the largest drag shows in the Southeast.