Cheryl Courtney-Evans co-founded Transgender Individuals Living Their Truth in 2007 after deciding it was time to have an organization offering resources to all transgender people.
“I thought it was time for there to be an organization for trans men and trans women … the first one in the area to be co-ed,” she says.
Courtney-Evans founded TILTT with Lisa Newsome, now with Someone Cares, an HIV/AIDS group helping people of color and transgender people. The goal of the new group was to not segregate but rather bring different groups of people together.
Courtney-Evans has been employed in the past by La Gender Inc., an organization working primarily with transgender women, and Aniz Inc., an organization that offers HIV prevention to families and provides support and resources to those affected by HIV.
Sound is often the string that holds the LGBT community together, from biting comments from a drag queen to protest chants at the capitol. Being unable to hear can leave some LGBT people feeling shut out.
“To me sound systems and megaphones are useless, so unless there’s an interpreter present, I can’t understand what’s going on,” says Jeffrey Payne, a former International Mr. Leather and founder of the Sharon St. Cyr Fund, which helps LGBT people pay for hearing aides and provides interpreters to gay events.
Dustin Neighbors has been slowly losing his hearing for years, and is starting to become a minority within a minority — a hearing-impaired gay man.
Aging is a part of life that many LGBT people are apprehensive about — and for good reason. As it stands now, LGBT aging adults have little infrastructure to support the unique challenges they face. The Atlanta chapter of SAGE — Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders — hopes to change that.
SAGE Atlanta is a nonprofit dedicated to aging adults in the LGBT community. The group just launched a schedule of weekly meetings, held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursdays at the Rush Center.
Doug Carl, program director for SAGE Atlanta, notes that LGBT elders face a variety of issues, including access to healthcare, financial stability and social isolation.
Southern Bears host monthly meeting tonight at Amsterdam Atlanta
Annual fundraiser benefiting CHRIS Kids tonight at 14th Street Playhouse
A thirteen-year-old boy provided the cast and crew of Seasons of Love a living reason why they donate their time and talent to raise money for CHRIS Kids.
Since its inception, the variety cabaret has raised over $300,000 to help CHRIS Kids provide housing, counseling and support for homeless youth in Atlanta. But a chance encounter brought the immediacy of their work home to Director Mike Beecham.
“One of the first days of rehearsals, we were at a gym and across the street there was this 13-year-old kid who was new to the streets and he was asking for things to keep him warm. He had tears in his eyes as he was asking for things,” Beecham says, remembering how the boy was looking for anything to help him get through what would be one of his first nights on the street.
Our listings of health, arts and community organizations throughout Ga. and the Southeast
MEGA Family Project offers support to prospective gay parents
Jeffrey Kalinsky’s annual gala benefits AIDS, breast cancer support
Local HIV / AIDS organization AID Atlanta is hosting a happy hour today from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Woofs for gay and bisexual men new to the organization.
AID Atlanta is looking for participants to discuss the program, fill out a little bit of information and enjoy a few drinks while finding new ways to discuss safer sex.