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Local news in brief
Theater outing proves helpful for the Alston House; GLOV elects new leaders
Transgender Health Empowerment's Earline Budd at the Alston House benefit. THE runs the Alston House. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Alston House benefit called a success
A Black History Month outing at D.C.’s Studio Theater and a post-theater reception at the nearby Playbill Café on Feb. 13 served as a “successful” benefit for the Wanda Alston House for LGBT homeless youth, according to Alston House official Brian Watson.
The Alston House, named after the late D.C. lesbian activist and city official Wanda Alston, provides housing and supportive services to homeless LGBT youth, “most of whom have been abandoned or kicked out of their homes because of their identity,” according to an announcement promoting the benefit.
The D.C. non-profit organization Transgender Health Empowerment created the Alston House and operates it through funding provided, in part, by the city and through private contributions.
Among those attending the benefit were D.C. Council member Sekou Biddle (D-At-Large), who is running to retain his seat in an upcoming special election; and three candidates competing against Biddle for the seat — former Ward 5 Council member Vincent Orange and candidates Jacque Patterson and Joshua Lopez.
Jeffrey Richardson, who was named earlier this month by Mayor Vincent Gray as director of the city’s Office of GLBT Affairs, also attended.
Others attending included gay activists Phil Pannell, Rick Rosendall, and Kurt Vorndran, who served as hosts of the event.
GLOV elects new leaders
Members of Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV), a D.C. group that monitors anti-LGBT hate crimes, elected A.J. Singletary as the group’s chair and Hassan Naveed as vice chair during GLOV’s annual meeting on Feb. 10.
Singletary and Naveed, who ran unopposed and were elected by acclamation, succeed Kelly Pickard and Joe Montoni, who served as the organization’s co-chairs during the past year.
At Singletary’s recommendation and with Naveed in agreement, members voted earlier in the meeting to change the leadership structure from two co-chairs with equal responsibilities to a chair and vice chair system.
Singletary, an Arkansas native, says he’s been a D.C. resident since 2008 and has been active with GLOV for the past three years. Naveed said he moved to D.C. last year from Santa Barbara, Calif., where he worked with an anti-LGBT violence group at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
GLOV is a project of the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community, which has offices and meeting space at 1318 U St., N.W. GLOV’s mission, according to a statement on its website, is to work to reduce violence against LGBT people through community outreach, education and monitoring of incidents of anti-LGBT hate crimes. The group also assists victims of anti-LGBT violence and participates in the training of D.C. police officers on LGBT-related issues.
Singletary said his objectives for GLOV in 2011 include expanding its outreach to lesbians and minorities within the LGBT community and continuing to work with the police department, the mayor’s office and the City Council to improve reporting of anti-LGBT violence and developing strategies to reduce hate violence against LGBT people. He said GLOV would continue to participate in police training on anti-LGBT violence.
He also called for GLOV to develop its own report on hate crimes targeting LGBT people in the District. The police department’s annual report on hate crimes has shown that the highest number of such crimes target LGBT people. But activists have long complained that the police report does not reflect the true number of anti-LGBT hate crimes, which they believe is far higher than the officially reported figure.
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The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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