Woodside clinic offers legal aid to HIV patients

By Dustin Brown

Times-Ledger
10.24.2002

For people in Queens who are living with HIV, the options for finding legal guidance are limited.

Although they could find free services by going into Manhattan, job and family commitments often stand in the way. While legal clinics in their neighborhoods may cater to their communities, HIV can be a taboo subject they are afraid to broach because of possible discrimination.

Now a small storefront that is off the beaten path in Woodside — yet still within a thriving immigrant community — has introduced the borough’s first legal clinic to help people who are infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

Queens Pride House is partnering with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the oldest AIDS organization in the country, to provide free legal assistance every Friday out of its offices at 67-03 Woodside Ave.

“The partnership will enable us to better serve the needs of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) people in Queens, including people who are HIV positive, many of whom are recent immigrants or people of color,” said Pauline Park, the secretary of Queens Pride House. “That’s a population that is generally reluctant to seek legal services within their communities of origin because of fears of discrimination.”

The legal clinic, which has been operating since Sept. 15, will officially open Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception with City Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights).

The center is designed to cater to the people who are most difficult to reach. A typical client would be a closeted bisexual or gay man with limited English proficiency “who is afraid to seek social services, who is afraid to have an HIV test, who is afraid to get legal counseling about the implications of that,” Park said.

“They’re the ones who need the services most and they’re the most reluctant to come forward,” she continued. “That’s really who we hope to reach.”

People can set up appointments to visit Queens Pride House and consult with an attorney from GMHC, which investigates the situation and helps the client navigate through the legal issues.

“If you’re HIV-positive and you’re, let’s say, an immigrant or undocumented, or you have a housing problem or you have a family issue, there are certain things that the law will help you with,” said Evelyn Tossas Tucker, the legal director at GMHC.

Although the agency already offers such services in its Manhattan offices, the legal clinic in Queens provides access to a broader range of people.

“If you’re closer to the people in the community, it makes it a little easier for them, more convenient,” Tucker said.

Because many people still view AIDS as a disease that exclusively afflicts gay white men — the population that was hardest hit when the epidemic first surfaced more than two decades ago — minorities and immigrants often fail to recognize that they are at risk themselves, Park said.

“They may say … ‘I just don’t hang out with people who are likely to have AIDS,’” Park said. “That’s really extremely dangerous because anyone can be HIV-positive or become infected or transmit the virus.”

Although the service is provided in an LGBT community center, Park believes the site affords the anonymity many people desire because it is not in a heavily trafficked area.

“It’s a convenient location, but it’s a little bit removed,” Park said. “The fact that it’s not part of a visible commercial strip, that is in effect the Main Street for one of the immigrant communities, is helpful.”

This article originally appeared in the 24 October 2002 issue of the Times-Ledger papers.

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GMHC Expands Legal Reach to Queens

Pride House in Woodside home to effort focused on new Americans

By Matthew Coleman

Gay City News
1-7 November 2002

Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GHMC) opened a new legal services program this week in Queens in cooperation with Queens Pride House and the City University of New York School of Law. The clinic, named GMHC@Queens Pride House, is positioned to help the borough’s under-served communities. The Woodside-based clinic, which offers a variety of services, specializes in providing free legal assistance for people living with “a triple whammy,” according to Ana Oliveira, executive director of GMHC.

“The triple whammy refers to people who are LGBT, HIV positive, and undocumented immigrants,” Oliveira said. “These are all obstacles to becoming a legal immigrant. Unfortunately, immigrants who are HIV-positive are at greater risk of deportation. This program will help advise people of their rights and assist with legal issues, such as deportation and naturalization.”

The legal clinic, which has been operating for the past two months, officially opened October 29 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Pride House. City Councilmember Helen Sears cut the ribbon and spoke of the need for these services in Queens. “It’s important to have such a program here at Pride House,” Sears said. “The storefront location lends itself to the sense of community these services will attract.”

The clinic is staffed with a paralegal, an intern from the CUNY Law School, and an attorney from GMHC’s Legal Services and Client Advocacy. The program provides legal assistance for a wide variety of services, including immigrant cases, discrimination cases, landlord/tenant issues, estate planning, and family law. The location at 67-03 Woodside Avenue will serve the large, immigrant LGBT population in Woodside, Corona, and Jackson Heights. Translators of Spanish, Chinese, and other foreign languages are provided for clients.

“Many of the clients we serve live right here in Queens,” Evelyn Tossas-Tucker, director of GMHC Legal Services and Client Advocacy, said. “Many of them are not comfortable going into Manhattan for GMHC’s legal services. This location is really an extension of our services already offered by GMHC.”

Pauline Park, a secretary at Queens Pride House and a representative of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy, agreed that the program is important to the area. “We’re delighted to expand much-needed legal services for a marginalized population,” she said. “These services are desperately needed here. In addition to legal assistance, the clinic will help promote greater awareness and acceptance of people living with HIV/AIDS in the area.”

Like Oliveira’s “triple whammy,” Park also spoke of the added stigma of LGBT immigrants living with HIV/AIDS feel in accessing services from mainstream providers. “Often, people are so fearful of this stigma that it prevents them from venturing beyond their local communities for much help,” Park said. “The free clinic will address those concerns by offering an alternative right where the people

reside.”

Queens Pride House was formed in 1996 to provide a safe space for LGBT individuals and to meet the special needs of populations, such as youth, women, and immigrants, who are often insufficiently supplied with services. Pride House and GMHC officials agreed that the clinic was a logical and important step toward reaching that goal. “As GMHC widened its scope over the years, we have gotten more involved with immigrant rights,” Marty Algaze, director of communications for GMHC, said. “Queens has a large ethnically diverse immigrant community. There is a real need in this neighborhood for these services.”

Funding for these free services comes from GMHC, the nation’s first AIDS services association, and the Stonewall Community Foundation, an LGBT advocacy organization.

In addition to on-site legal assistance, the program anticipates working with other local organizations, such as AIDS Center Queens County and Safe Haven, in providing services in Queens through cooperation and referrals.

The legal clinic at Queens Pride House is open Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 718.651.4945 or 212.367.1040 or visit www.queenspridehouse.org or www.gmhc.org.

This article originally appeared in the 1-7 November 2002 issue of Gay City News.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more info., contact:

Daniel Castellanos
Executive Director
(718) 429-5309
(646) 285-6931
dcastellanos@queenspridehouse.org

Pauline Park
Vice-President, Board of Directors
(718) 424-4003
paulinepark@earthlink.net

Queens Pride House
76-11 37th Avenue, Suite 206
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
(718) 429-5309
http://www.queenspridehouse.org/

New York, 6 July 2010 — Queens Pride House is appealing to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community for support in the face of possibly devastating state funding cuts. The only LGBT community center in Queens, Pride House has not yet received a definitive response from Gov. David Paterson as to the disposition of approximately $80,000 in grants from the State of New York that are hanging in the balance as the governor threatens to veto funding appropriated by the state legislature for scores of community-based organizations throughout the state.

“As you may already know, many non-profit organizations are struggling with funding, and Queens Pride House has been as vulnerable as any to the negative impact of the downturn of the economy in general and the State of New York’s budget crisis in particular,” executive director Daniel Castellanos wrote to members of the Queens Pride House mailing list in a message posted to the list on June 30.

“In addition to the uncertainty over our current funding from the State of New York, we have received some very disappointing news regarding funding from the New York City Council and New York State Assembly,” Castellanos continued. “Due to these funding constrains, we have been forced to make some very painful decisions in order to keep our doors open. Most painful of all was the difficult decision to lay off two valued members of our QPH staff,” said Castellanos. “We have had to reduce our drop-in hours, eliminate some program activities, and postpone some upcoming events. Our services to Spanish-speaking immigrants have been also impacted by the loss of bilingual staff.”

“The consequences of a veto by the governor will be the most dire for the most vulnerable people we serve, including those with health and social service issues, especially for clients who are homeless or unemployed,” said Pauline Park, vice-president of the board of directors.

“Of the three state contracts totalling approximately $80,000, we have expended about $50,000 on the contracts, including payroll and other expenses,” noted Castellanos. “Loss of these contracts could force us to cut back on as much as one-third of our client services and dismiss one full-time and three part-time employees,” he added.  Queens Pride House has been awarded an Assembly grant through the LGBT Health & Human Services Network consecutively for eight years, with the current amount of that grant standing at $25,000.  QPH has also received a Senate grant in the amount of $40,000 and an grant of $15,000 from outgoing Senator George Onorato of Queens, who is retiring this year. “Our proposed workplans, contract period, and budget were approved by the New York State Department of Health and those contracts were issued,” Castellanos pointed out.

Queens Pride House was founded in 1997 and is based in Jackson Heights, which is part of Council District 25. In previous years, Queens Pride House had received funding from former Council Member Helen Sears, who was defeated in September 2009 by openly gay Council Member Daniel Dromm. The election of the first openly gay elected officials in the borough of Queens in November 2009 seemed to some members of the LGBT community to herald a new era in the history of the community, but both Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-25) and Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (D-26) declined funding requests from Queens Pride House for fiscal year 2010-2011. In previous years, Queens Pride House had received funding from former Council Member Helen Sears (who was defeated in September 2009 by Dromm) as well as from her predecessor, John Sabini.

“The loss of any of our state or city grants would seriously compromise our ability to support partnerships with some groups serving underserved individuals and their families,” added Rosa Bramble Weed, a member of the Queens Pride House board who also runs the Positive Life program, a program for Latino HIV positive individuals supported by Queens Pride House. In fact, the community center also provides subsidized space to two substance use groups, two arts organizations, and several non-profit organizations serving immigrants.

However, Queens Pride House has received a small grant from Council Member Julissa Ferreras (D-21) to continue Charla!, a support group for Latina lesbians offered in partnership with Las Buenas Amigas (a group for Latina lesbians in New York City). “Charla is a monthly discussion group that meets every 3rd Tuesday of the month at Queens Pride House and focuses on health and emotional issues of interest to Latina lesbians in New York,” noted Bramble Weed.

“We hope that our funding stabilizes,” Castellanos added. “However, these steps we have taken might not be enough to cover potential cuts to our funding.” Castellanos concluded the June 30 appeal with the recognition that “We know that this is a difficult time for many members of the community as well as for our community center, and we ask for your patience, understanding, and support during this difficult time of adjustment. We are more than ever in need of donations and the active participation of volunteers, who will play an important role in keeping our community center open so that we can continue to serve the LGBT community of Queens.”

# # # #

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Council Member Helen Sears (D-25) with Pauline Park

An Open Letter to the LGBT Community in Queens re Helen Sears & the Race in City Council District 25

On September 15, Democratic primary voters all over New York City will go to the polls to pick the Democratic nominees for City Council in 51 districts throughout the five boroughs. Here in City Council District 25, we have the opportunity to return someone to office who has been a strong ally of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Queens. Since she was first elected in 2001, Helen Sears has co-sponsored every piece of LGBT-specific and LGBT-inclusive legislation introduced during her two terms in the Council, including:

— The transgender rights law (prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or expression) enacted in 2002.

— The Dignity in All Schools Act (a safe schools law prohibiting bias harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression as well as race, ethnicity, religion and disability) enacted in 2004.

— The equal benefits law (‘Dominique’s Law’), domestic partnership benefits legislation enacted by the City Council in 2004 (which was ultimately invalidated by the Court of Appeals).

— Res. 1961-2009, calling on President Obama to issue an executive order that would prohibit discrimination in federally-assisted housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

— Res. 0773-2007, calling on Congress to enact the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the federal hate crimes bill which would provide federal assistance to states and local jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes.

— Res. 1170-2007 (adopted in 2008), calling on the president of the United States, Congress and the U.S. Department of Defense to repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue’ statute and allow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people to serve openly in the military.

— Res. 0755-2003, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Bowers v. Hardwick and invalidate the Texas sodomy law (which the court did in Lawrence v. Texas in 2003).

In addition to co-sponsoring this legislation, Helen Sears signed a letter from the Speaker of the City Council calling on the New York state legislature to enact a marriage equality law. Helen also shows her support of the community every year by marching in the Queens LGBT Pride Parade and participates in the Day Against Hate as well as speaking out against hate crimes against members of our community. As Council Member, Helen Sears has also provided funding for LGBT community organizations in the borough and the city, including:

Queens Pride House
AIDS Center of Queens County (ACQC)
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
Momentum AIDS Project

In the course of eight years in the City Council, Helen Sears has demonstrated a strong commitment to LGBT equality. The Lesbian & Gay Democratic Club of Queens was founded by Danny Dromm, one of Helen’s primary opponents; in the December 2005 issue of the LGDCQ newsletter, the club noted,

“On November 7th, the club was honored to host Council Member Helen Sears who Represents: Parts of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Rego Park, Woodside, Corona. Ms. Sears spoke passionately about her commitment to securing full LGBT rights and reminding the audience that she has been a long time supporter. Discussion also ranged around issues directly affecting her Council District along with issues that affected the entire City. Each time Ms. Sears attends the club, she wows us with her ability to speak on a wide range of issues of importance to our members. (Its no wonder she was re-elected in a landslide the next day to 4 more years.)”

The LGBT community of Queens could not have a stronger ally in the City Council than Helen Sears, and I urge you to vote to re-elect Helen Sears as the Council Member for the 25th district.

Pauline Park
Jackson Heights

25 August 2009

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