Pride In Our Health

In recent weeks, media reports on monkeypox - a rare pox virus typically carried by rodents in Central and Western Africa - have skyrocketed as unusual outbreaks have occurred in Europe, North America, Israel, and Australia. With monkeypox now declared to be a global health emergency, public concern is high. This is particularly true in the LGBTQ community, due to the majority of cases being reported around gay and bisexual men.

While raising public awareness around monkeypox is important, there has also been a lot of misinformation being put out around how this disease is spread and who is at risk. On today’s episode, we’ll be sharing with you the facts about monkeypox.

Today’s guest is Dr. Sean Cahill, Director of Health Policy Research at The Fenway Institute.

Since the early 1990s, Fenway Health’s annual fundraising galas have been cornerstones of the greater Boston LGBTQIA+ community’s social calendar. The Dinner Party, created in 1992, was a formal and fun evening to raise vital funding for Fenway, to shine a spotlight on women’s health, and to throw a fabulous celebration of LBTQIA+ women and honor their many contributions to health care for all.

Two years later, Fenway Men’s Event was launched. This celebration of philanthropy and community soon became one of the hottest nights out for Boston’s LGBTQIA+ community and its allies. Tens of thousands have danced, dined, laughed, and enjoyed our signature events over the years, and we couldn’t be more thankful to you all.

After two years of virtual events due to COVID-19, the Men’s Event and Dinner Party have been reborn as one spectacular evening of celebration and community. The inaugural Fenway Health Gala will be held May 24 at historic Fenway Park.

The Dinner Party and the Men’s Event are cherished parts of Fenway Health history, and we are excited to see their legacies live on through the Gala.

Today’s guests are Taylor Brown and Mary Beth McInerney. Taylor and Mary Beth are Co-Chairs of this year’s Fenway Health Gala. Taylor is also a former Men’s Event Co-Chair, and Mary Beth is a former Dinner Party Co-Chair.

In 2015, nearly 28,000 people took the US Trans Survey, the largest survey of trans folks ever in the US. It was a major milestone in the collection of data on the lived experiences of a community that has been historically been both under and misrepresented in this country.

Much has happened since then. There have been some incredible victories in the fight for transgender and gender diverse rights. Unfortunately, there have also been many attacks on this community, from physical violence against individuals to legislative discrimination targeting the daily lives of trans folks, particularly youth. Now more than ever, it's important to ensure that the voices of transgender and gender diverse people are heard and counted. The 2022 US Trans Survey aims to do just that. Let’s learn more.

Today’s guest is Alex del Rosario, Outreach Manager for the US Trans Survey at the National Center for Transgender Equality.

To take the US Trans Survey, please visit ustranssurvey.org.

Right now, the United States is seeing an unprecedented number of anti-transgender legislation being introduced and signed into law. These hateful bills use disinformation and scare tactics to paint a wildly inaccurate picture of trans and gender diverse people, and directly attack the life-saving care that these populations need. Part of the reason why they’re being successful is that much of America – and far too much of the medical community – is still woefully uninformed when it comes to gender-affirming care.

In response to the growing need for more comprehensive and compassionate care models, The Fenway Institute has published the first case-based textbook to address the comprehensive health care needs of transgender and gender diverse adults.

Today’s guests are Dr. Jennifer Potter and Dr. Alex Keuroghlian.

Over the past two years, America has in many ways been forced to look itself in the mirror. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare widespread health care inequities and the devastating impact they have on low-income and BIPOC communities. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright, and so many other Black folks at the hands of police sparked not just nationwide protests, but a long overdue reckoning with the racism embedded in our society and in our systems of power.

In June of 2021, Fenway Health made a bold announcement: As part of its new Strategic Plan, the 50-year-old community health center is making a commitment to being an anti-racist organization. This resolution included the publication of a Racial Action Equity Plan, designed by a team of employees from across Fenway to ensure that racial equity is being addressed in all facets of the organization. But what does it mean to not just denounce racism, but to really commit to the work of anti-racism every day? Today, we’ll be speaking with two members of the team that drafted Fenway’s Racial Equity Action Plan to learn more.

Today’s guests are Adrianna Boulin, Manager of Community Engagement, and Tfawa Haynes, Coordinator of Group Psychotherapy Services.

December 1 marks World AIDS Day, a time to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and honor those we have lost to the epidemic. In the early days of the AIDS crisis, many of our friends, family, co-workers, and other loved ones were suffering and dying from this horrible disease. Fear and discrimination were prevalent—even in health care—and those with HIV/AIDS had limited options.

Today, thanks to incredible advancements in medical treatment, HIV is largely considered to be a manageable chronic illness. But even now, 40 years after the first diagnosis, marginalized people continue to be most at risk for both contracting and dying from AIDS. People who use injection drugs and people who are unstably housed are among the most vulnerable – and the least likely to access medical care. The team at Fenway Health’s AIDS Action Green Street location in Cambridge, MA is working to change this, one person at a time.

Today’s guest is Dr. Julia Fleming, Physician and Clinical Researcher at Fenway Health.

November is Transgender Awareness Month, a time to honor our transgender and gender diverse community and recommit to making the world a safer and more equitable place for all – including in health care. Last episode, we learned about the founding and early years of our Trans Health Program and the incredible people who made it happen. Now, let’s take a look at where the Trans Health Program is today, how it’s continued to grow, and how its staff and patients rose to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today's guest is Steph DeNormand, Trans Health Program Manager. Steph joined Fenway in 2018. Since then, they have lead the Trans Health Program through years of growth and challenges, including those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

November is almost here, and with it comes the annual Transgender Awareness Month. This month honors our vibrant transgender and gender diverse community, celebrates the progress made for transgender rights, and shines a light on the discrimination and violence still faced by transgender people. Across the country, health care services for the trans community have improved greatly in recent years, but there is still much to be done. Here Fenway Health, we’re proud to provide comprehensive and affirming care for people of all gender identities and expressions. Each year, we see over 5,100 transgender and gender diverse patients. But even here, there was a time when providers were unequipped – or even unwilling - to care for this community. Over 15 years ago, a small group of dedicated people changed that. Let’s learn how.

Today’s guest is Dr. Ruben Hopwood. Dr. Hopwood has worked in mental health and social services across several states since 1978. He has worked with trans and gender diverse people in the Boston area since 2005 and was manager of the Fenway Health Trans Health Program from 2006-2019.

This year marks 50 years since Fenway Health was founded by activists and nursing students who shared a common belief: that health care is a right, not a privilege. Fenway’s history isn’t just about the building of a health center, however – it’s about the building of a community. We are forever in debt to the folks who have done – and continue to do - the hard work of community building over these five decades. Today, let’s hear one of their stories.

Today’s guest is Paul Glass. Paul has a long history of working to improve health care for marginalized people and creating community spaces. His work with Fenway includes championing a groundbreaking study on HIV and men of color for The Fenway Institute, and collaborating with the LGBTQIA+ Aging Project to address the needs of queer and trans elders of color.

Learn more about the LGBT Elders of Color group at www.lgbteldersofcolor.com.

It has been said that great things come from small beginnings. Here at Fenway Health, our small beginning was in a humble basement clinic, dreamed up by neighborhood activists and staffed by volunteer nursing students. The folks who founded Fenway Health in 1971 had a belief: that health care is a right, not a privilege. As we celebrate 50 years of Fenway Health this year, this is the perfect time to take a look back at some Fenway Health history.

Today's guest is Dale Orlando, Executive Director of Fenway Health from 1986 to 1990.