Local
National LGBT youth advocacy group to close doors
NYAC officials say money woes led to shutdown decision
The National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC), a Washington, D.C.-based national organization that advocated on behalf of LGBT youth for more than 18 years, announced on Monday that it would close its doors for good on May 13.
“The organization has been experiencing financial hardship for years,” the group said in an announcement on its Facebook page. “This is a very difficult decision and was not made lightly.”
The group’s interim executive director, Asha Leong, told the Blade the NYAC board struggled over the past six months to obtain new sources of revenue from foundations and other donors at a time when its declining donor base was made worse by the national recession.
Leong said that in recent years, at least 80 percent of NYAC’s annual budget of between $400,000 and $500,000 came from a single federal grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said the CDC lowered the grant from $427,500 last year to $406,125 for NYAC’s current fiscal year. The grant was for HIV testing and prevention programs targeting black and Latino gay male, bisexual, and transgender youth.
She said a mostly new board of directors led by board president Amita Swadhin of New York scrambled over the past six months to reverse the organization’s narrowing donor base and dependence on a single federal funding source for most of its budget.
“We have for many years largely been an HIV/AIDS organization,” said Leong, who joined NYAC as interim director in January. “This government contract has been the bulk of our work, which has been another struggle because I think that our past vision was not only a health involvement organization but also to be an LGBT youth empowerment development organization.”
The NYAC website shows that the group currently has four employees, including Leong, along with interns and volunteers. Its offices are located at 1638 R St., N.W., near Dupont Circle.
LGBT leaders familiar with NYAC this week praised its work on LGBT youth, saying the group became a pioneer in recognizing during its early years the need for addressing youth-related issues.
“Like others, I was sad to hear that NYAC will be closing its doors,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force. Carey served as NYAC’s first full-time executive director in the late 1990s.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Carey said “the staff, board, youth and adults associated with NYAC over the years have changed the lives of thousands and thousands of LGBTQ youth in ways that are profound, inspirational and will carry on long into the future.”
Andrew Barnett, executive director of D.C.’s Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), which was among the local organizations to receive support from NYAC, praised NYAC for its work.
“For the past 18 years, NYAC has been a key national leader by empowering LGBTQ youth to be a part of the movement for social justice for all,” Barnett said. “NYAC’s youth organizing programs have raised the voices of LGBTQ youth from all over the country.”
Adam Tenner, executive director of the D.C.-based Metro Teen AIDS and one of NYAC’s founding board members, said the group’s demise may be part of a pattern he sees both in LGBT and non-LGBT non-profit organizations.
“When the bulk of a group’s funding comes from one source, it can create an unevenness that’s hard to correct,” said Tenner, who long ago left the NYAC board. “As to what finally did in the agency, the imbalance of the funding mix and the lack of a clear, actionable vision in the organization over the past five or six years” played a significant role, he said.
“And unfortunately, this amazing group of people who currently serve on the board I think got there too late to really save it,” he said.
District of Columbia
Blade welcomes fall intern
Alexis McLean is student at University of North Florida
The Washington Blade this week welcomed Alexis McLean as its fall intern.
Alexis is studying political science at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. She is interning with the Blade as part of a continued partnership with the Washington Center.
“I am looking forward to spending my time in the fall with the Washington Blade, as this is a new experience for me,” said Alexis. “I have not experienced any journalist jobs in the past so this would be my first time, and I am excited to better my writing and communications skills with this internship.”
Alexis’s internship with the Blade ends in early December.
Rehoboth Beach
SUNFESTIVAL takes center stage as Rehoboth Beach closes out summer
Labor Day Weekend bustling with events, including David Archuleta performance
Labor Day Weekend marks the unofficial end of summer in Rehoboth Beach, but there will be no shortage of LGBTQ events, with CAMP Rehoboth’s annual SUNFESTIVAL taking over town this weekend.
Thursday (9/3)
Get your Labor Day Weekend started early Thursday night with happy hour from 5-7 p.m. at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub, followed by Naughtee Bingo hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 8:30 p.m.
After bingo, the party continues with Dancing at Diego’s from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Aqua Bar & Grill will also kick off its Labor Day Weekend festivities Thursday with a DJ spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Friday (9/4)
The weekend ramps up Friday night at Aqua, where DJ Matt Bailer will keep the dance floor moving from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Over at Diego’s, DJ Steve Sidewalk will then take over Diego’s for Freedom Friday from 9 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Saturday (9/5)
The main event of the weekend arrives Saturday with the opening night of CAMP Rehoboth’s SUNFESTIVAL.
Billed as the ultimate party to close out the summer, SUNFESTIVAL has become one of Rehoboth’s signature Labor Day Weekend events. The annual celebration sells out each year, with proceeds benefiting CAMP Rehoboth.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments available at the cash bar while attendees are invited to socialize and find their seats.
Saturday night will feature local singer Ashley Williams as the opening performer, followed by headliner David Archuleta. The event will also feature a live auction.
Back across town Saturday, Aqua will continue its Labor Day Weekend DJ lineup from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Diego’s will also have plenty happening, with ‘Splash Party’ hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 5 p.m., followed by a Saturday Dance Party with Brett Oosterhaus from 9 p.m.- 1:30 a.m.
The Blue Moon hosts its popular Legends Show at 9 p.m. It’s an all-live singing show by the Blue Moon cast of celebrity impersonators.
Etienne Pilon has taken Rehoboth by storm this summer. Check out the talented singer/pianist at The Pines from 7-10 p.m.
Sunday (9/6)
Sunday’s SUNFESTIVAL event will shift the focus to the dance floor, with globally renowned DJs Robbie Leslie and James Anthony scheduled to perform. Doors open at 7 p.m., with dancing continuing until 1 a.m.
On Sunday, Aqua will throw its annual White Party, with DJs spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Guests are encouraged to dress in white for the holiday weekend celebration.
Diego’s will host its Sunday High T-Dance with Pamala Stanley at 5 p.m. Later that evening, DJ Tannr will be spinning at 9 p.m.
John Flynn is on the piano from 6-8 p.m. at the Blue Moon.
Monday (9/7)
The final day of Labor Day Weekend brings one last chance to hit the dance floor before summer officially winds down.
Aqua will close out its five-day Labor Day Weekend celebration with DJ Biff from 3-7 p.m.
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools now need parent permission to call trans students by preferred names
Conservative groups challenged system’s policy
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Anne Arundel County Public Schools staff cannot use transgender students’ preferred names if their parents oppose it, according to an internal document reviewed by the Banner, a change that comes after conservative groups challenged the school system’s approach to gender identity.
Teachers union president Kristina Korona told members in an Aug. 20 email that the new guidance undermines district policy on acceptance and inclusivity and “will begin harming affected students immediately.”
Previously, the district didn’t require parental permission to use a high school student’s chosen name and pronouns corresponding to their gender identity, the internal document says. Now it does. The change comes as parents challenge the suburban school system’s gender identity policy and regulation in court and the Trump-Vance administration threatens the district’s funding.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Markey’s primary win deemed success for LGBTQ activists
Top Bulgarian court rules government must legally recognize trans people
Lou Chibbaro Jr. documentary wins award from NLGJA
Beloved D.C. ‘Old Catholic’ Bishop Charles Braun dies at 86
Blade welcomes fall intern
San Francisco, long a queer safe haven, remains competitive for homebuyers
E-INFOSOL leaders encourage youth to pursue tech careers
Milo Yiannopoulos deported to UK
New book examines Trump cuts to LGBTQ healthcare
