APPENDIX A

The Lesbian and Gay Health and Human Services Network

he New York State Lesbian and Gay Health and Human Services Network is a forty member coalition of institutions and organizations from across the state that provide healthcare and support services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals. Founded in 1994, the Network's ultimate goal is to strengthen the community-based, non-profit network of organizations serving LGBT New Yorkers through the sharing of information and technical support, and through advocacy for government funding to help its members provide needed services. The activities of the network are coordinated by the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation, an organization founded to educate, organize, and advocate for the general benefit of LGBT individuals throughout New York State.

The groups that form the Network provide a wide array of community-based services including primary and preventive healthcare, crime victim assistance, family counseling, and social support and education. Member organizations serve diverse groups of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people such as seniors, people of color, or youth.

Many of the Network's member organizations are profiled later in this report. Other equally important organizations are described briefly below:

• African Ancestral Lesbians United for Social Change - committed to the spiritual, cultural, educational, economic and social empowerment of African ancestral lesbians and women of color living in New York City.
  
  
• Asian Women Healing Ourselves - a coalition of Asian and Pacific Islander women dedicated to addressing the health concerns of Asian and Pacific Islander lesbians and bisexual women in the New York City area.
  
  
• Aya Institute - a group of people of African descent in New York City dedicated to education, spiritual and mental health.
  
  
• Bronx Lavender Community Center - with its sister organization, the Bronx Lesbian and Gay Health Care Consortium, the Center provides support to individuals and families struggling with issues of sexuality, as well as information and referral services for lesbian and gay social organizations.
  
  
• Capital District Lesbian and Gay Community Center - strives to improve the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in the Albany capital district region.
  
  
• Colombian Lesbian and Gay Association - a group working to combat the HIV crisis among Colombian lesbians and gay men in the New York metropolitan area, as well as to increase the visibility of this population and to advocate for their civil and human rights.
  
  
• Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley (GAGV) &150; an organization serving the greater Rochester area which publishes the Empty Closet, provides peer support groups, and conducts sensitivity training in schools and community organizations.
  
  
• Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network – the largest national organization of teachers, parents, students, and concerned citizens working together to end anti–gay bias in K–12 schools. GLSEN has a network of over 40 local grassroots chapters across the country and a New York–based national office that provides support to these chapters.
  
  
• Gay & Lesbian Switchboard of Long Island – serves as a source of information, referral and peer counseling for residents of Long Island by telephone seven days a week.
  
  
• Gay Men of African Descent – committed to empowering gay men of African descent through education, social support, political advocacy, and health and wellness promotion programs, it serves youth through seniors in New York City.
  
  
• Gay Men's Health Crisis – founded by volunteers in 1981, GMHC is the oldest and largest not–for–profit AIDS organization in the United States. It offers hands–on support services to more than 9,500 men, women and children with AIDS and their families in New York City annually, as well as education and advocacy for hundreds of thousands nationwide.
  
  
• Greater Utica Lambda Fellowship – targeting the counties of Oneida, Herkimer, and Madison, provides outreach and support to gay and lesbian people in a non–threatening environment.
  
  
• GRIOT Circle – an intergenerational and culturally diverse Brooklyn–based organization providing social services and support programs for older lesbians, bisexuals, gay men, two–spirit (Native American term for gay and lesbian) and transgendered people of color.
  
  
• Hetrick Martin Institute – serves thousands of lesbian and gay youth and their families each month from all five boroughs of New York City through the Harvey Milk School and other programs.
  
  
• In Our Own Voices – a collaborative organization serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people of color in the Albany capital district region, provides a variety of programs and services in the pursuit of the physical, mental, political, cultural, and economic survival and growth of this diverse community.
  
  
• Lavender Lamps – a New York City–based organization for lesbian and gay nurses. It offers support, discussion groups and a newsletter.
  
  
• Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center – founded in 1983, the Center is a comprehensive, multi–service, community–based organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered communities in New York City. The Center provides a safe and secure place for more than 300 community–based organizations and 60 self–help support groups that serve over 5,000 people weekly.
  
  
• The Loft – serving as a community center, provides group support, health education, and HIV counseling to Westchester and to visitors from as far away as Sullivan County.
  
  
• Long Island Gay and LesbianYouth – from its Bay Shore office, provides family, group, and individual counseling to gay youth and their families.
  
  
• Metropolitan Community Church of New York – strives to create a spiritual home for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community. MCC/NY provides religious services, food pantries, pastoral care, adult and child religious education, nutrition programs, support groups for transgendered people and those over 45 years of age, youth advocacy, annual health and wellness fair for LGBT seniors, and referral and advocacy services across the state.
  
  
• New Neutral Zone – a program of the Greenwich Village Youth Council, serves New York City's LGBT youth and their straight allies ages 15 to 22 as a drop–in center. The center offers counseling, recreation, peer outreach and leadership, and arts programming in a youth–directed space.
  
  
• People of Color in Crisis – educates the African–American and Caribbean gay and bisexual communities in New York City about the risks of HIV.
  
  
• Pride Community Center of Central New York – located in Syracuse, offers programs that empower individuals to accept and celebrate their sexual and gender identities and become active members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community, as well as the community at large.
  
  
• Pride for Youth/Long Island Crisis Center – provides an array of health and wellness services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
  
  
• Pride Senior Network – encourages and promotes services that foster the health, well being, and quality of life for the aging lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in New York City.
  
  
• Senior Action in a Gay Environment – is the nation's oldest and largest agency providing social services, complete case management, individual and group counseling, and social and recreational support to 1,500 lesbian and gay seniors each month in the New York metropolitan area. SAGE also provides educational and professional training and technical assistance on gay and lesbian aging issues. It has independent affiliates in Syracuse and Buffalo, in addition to other cities across the nation.
  
  
• Unity Fellowship Church/Breaking Ground – located in Brooklyn, provides education and support services for gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people ages 18 to 25 and their families.
  
  
• WJCS/Center Lane – located in Westchester County, Center Lane offers a drop–in center, discussion groups, social activities, a peer leadership program, and individual and family counseling for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. Its services are utilized by adolescents from Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and the Bronx.