Local
Trans group struggles with financial crisis
T.H.E. hit by IRS tax liens, possible suspension of city funds
Longtime activist Earline Budd is reportedly among THE staffers experiencing problems getting paid. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Transgender Health Empowerment, a non-profit group that has provided a wide range of services for D.C.’s transgender community for more than a decade, is struggling with a financial crisis that has prevented it from paying its employees on time and has triggered staff layoffs and resignations, according to multiple sources familiar with the organization.
Public records at the D.C. Recorder of Deeds office show that the IRS filed at least 10 liens against THE over the past three-and-a-half years. Most are due to THE’s failure to pay employee payroll taxes, the records show.
Sources familiar with the situation say the liens prompted the D.C. Department of Health to suspend some or all of its funding for THE for HIV/AIDS-related services. The funding suspension reportedly was triggered by a procurement rule that restricts city funding for vendors or contractors that are in violation of the law, including federal tax law, the sources said.
A former THE employee and current client said they each were told by THE staffers that a delay in city funding forced the group to cut back on its drop-in services at its headquarters at 1414 North Capitol Street, N.W., and to limit services to clients by appointment only.
“The whole month of March we didn’t get a paycheck,” said the former employee, who was laid off in April because of THE’s financial problems, the former employee told the Blade.
Among THE employees not getting paid or getting paid late are THE official and longtime transgender activist Earline Budd, THE Director of Programs Brian Watson, and transgender activist Jeri Hughes, sources familiar with the group said.
Top officials with THE and the Department of Health have not responded to repeated requests by the Blade for information about the cause of THE’s financial problems and the status of city funding for the group.
“At this particular time, there’s no comment,” Brian Devine, THE’s finance manager, told the Blade. Devine said THE Executive Director Anthony Hall also had no comment.
“We just had a board meeting and that was one of the issues we spoke of,” said Devine, adding that the board decided not to issue a statement about the situation at the present time.
DOH spokesperson Najma Roberts said she would make inquiries about the THE funding status when contacted by the Blade last week. As of press time this week she had not responded.
The Blade filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the DOH deputy general counsel, Phillip Husband, on April 3 seeking the information that the department has yet to release through Roberts, the press spokesperson. Husband said the department usually takes up to 15 business days to respond to a FOIA request.
“My biggest concern is THE’s clients,” said transgender activist Ruby Corado, director of Casa Ruby, an LGBT community center in Columbia Heights that caters to the Latino and transgender communities.
Corado said some of THE’s clients have been coming to Casa Ruby after being told that THE’s drop in center had curtailed its services.
Corado and other transgender activists called THE the D.C. area’s preeminent service provider and advocate for the transgender community.
They note that THE also operates the city’s only housing facility dedicated to homeless LGBT youth. The facility known as the Wanda Alston House has been nationally recognized as an innovative resource for LGBT youth that offers counseling, employment and vocational training, and other services.
Among THE programs funded by DOH is its highly acclaimed Comprehensive Risk Counseling Services or CRSC program, which offers risk reduction interventions for preventing HIV infection among transgender people, especially transgender women, whom experts say are at high risk for HIV. THE also offers HIV testing and counseling.
“THE is a transgender institution for D.C.,” Corado said. “There are a lot of people counting on its services, especially those living with HIV. It is an organization that cannot go away,” she said.
“So the question I have is what is the Department of Health doing about this,” Corado said. “Why aren’t they talking about what happens to those clients? Are those clients OK?”
Transgender activist Alexandra Beninda, who serves on the D.C. Human Rights Commission, was among those who praised THE for its work in the transgender community but said she was unaware that the group was having financial problems.
She said she hoped the community would rally in support of THE but expressed concern that news of the group’s problems had not gotten out to those who might be willing to help.
Mara Keisling, executive director of the D.C.-based National Center for Transgender Equality, said she, too, was unaware of the THE financial problems.
“They are the centerpiece for local transgender efforts,” Keisling said.
Records of the IRS liens against THE filed with the D.C. Recorder of Deeds show that between March 2010 and earlier this year the group owed the IRS a total of $260,075. The records don’t show how much of that amount was for unpaid taxes and how much, if any, was for interest and penalties.
The records show that THE has since made payments of $91,912 to pay off the back taxes and currently owes the IRS $168,163.
As a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, THE doesn’t pay taxes on its income from donors or from government grants and contracts. The records indicate that most of the money owed is for employee payroll taxes.
Due to THE’s refusal to comment on the matter it couldn’t immediately be determined what caused the underlying financial problems that prevented THE from paying its employee payroll taxes.
Ron Simmons, executive director of the D.C. AIDS service group Us Helping Us, which also receives city funding, said smaller community based groups like THE sometimes encounter cash flow problems when the city takes too long to reimburse the group for its services. He said DOH in the past has taken 90 days or longer to reimburse vendors and service providers.
“Among other things, they are the only LGBT homeless shelter for youth,” Simmons said. “We absolutely can’t let them go under,” he said of THE.
THE’s most recently filed IRS 990 finance report that is available for public viewing is for the fiscal year of Oct. 1, 2009 through Sept. 30, 2010.
The report shows that THE’s income for the year was $960,834 and its expenses came to $1,093,816, with a deficit of $132,982.
District of Columbia
Adams Morgan queer bar broken into and vandalized
Sinners and Saints targeted Thursday night
On Thursday night, Sinners and Saints, a popular queer bar in Adams Morgan and the only QTBIPOC (queer, trans, Black, Indigenous and people of color) bar in D.C., was broken into and vandalized with homophobic slurs, according to a recent Instagram post from the establishment.
“Last night, our bar — the only QTBIPOC bar in DC — was broken into and hate-crimed during DC Black Pride, a time meant for celebration, resilience, and joy — and on the eve of WorldPride 2025. We are heartbroken, but we are not broken,” the post read.
The statement was accompanied by a slideshow showing the damage: the front iron gate door and its glass counterpart shattered, glass strewn across the floor, and the word “FAGGOT” scrawled in black ink on the wall.
“This space exists to protect and celebrate queer and trans BIPOC communities, and this attack only strengthens our resolve,” the post continued. “We will NOT be silenced. We will NOT be intimidated. We will NOT back down.”
“To those who tried to harm us: hate fuels our defiance. To our community: we see you, we love you, and we will continue fighting for you. Sinners and Saints is resistance. We will rebuild. We will STAY OPEN. And we will keep our doors — and hearts — wide open for all who need refuge.”
They ended the message with a call to action: “Stand with us. Share this. Show up. We keep us safe.”
“What happened was truly disheartening, but we won’t be silenced,” co-owner Fazeel Ashraf told the Washington Blade. “QTBIPOC spaces are so important in this current political climate. I’d love to do a phone interview with one of my fellow partners.”
Despite the heartbreak surrounding the break-in and what Ashraf described as “a hate crime,” the LGBTQ community quickly rallied in the comments, offering support and assistance.
“Please let us know how we can help!” wrote Nik Battaglia. “I’m a handy queer with handy queer friends — I can fix shit, paint shit, and am happy to stand guard outside.”
Even national figures chimed in.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Laganja Estranja commented, “Incredible response! I believe in you. Sending so much love and strength.”
The Blade reached out to the Metropolitan Police Department regarding the break-in but has not received a response.
To view the damage, and some of the LGBTQ community’s supportive statements, visit the Sinners and Saints’s Instagram page.
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Congratulations to Raffi Freedman-Gurspan on being appointed Associate Director, Federal Funding & Infrastructure Office, at the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration & Finance. Freedman-Gurspan will be returning to her hometown of Boston and joining Gov. Maura Healey’s Administration. Freedman-Gurspan served in both the Obama and Biden administrations as well as worked in LGBTQ and redistricting advocacy during her 11 years in D.C.
Freedman-Gurspan was the first openly transgender person on the White House staff when she worked for President Obama. She most recently served at the U.S. Department of Transportation in former Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s office, as Deputy Director of Public Engagement. Previously she worked with the National Redistricting Action Fund/The All On The Line Campaign, as Deputy States Director. She worked for the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) as Director of External Relations. In the Obama White House, she worked in the Office of Public Engagement, as Senior Associate Director. She was the White House Liaison to the LGBTQ community responsible for management of all public inquiries on matters regarding LGBTQ people, including recommending public responses to senior leadership, assisting in drafting administration talking points, and coordinating stakeholder engagement with the White House offices. She worked with the White House, Presidential Personnel Office (PPO), as Outreach and Recruitment Director.
Prior to that she was on the staff of Commonwealth of Massachusetts, House of Representatives Office of State Rep. Carl Sciortino, as legislative director, and worked for the City of Somerville, Health Department, Office of Commissions, Somerville, Mass., as LGBTQ Liaison.
Freedman-Gurspan served on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the Presidentially Appointed Council; and as a member, and Board Member, Boston University, College of Arts and Sciences, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Norwegian, concentration in Nordic Studies, from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.
District of Columbia
Murdered Israeli embassy officials were supporters of D.C.’s LGBTQ synagogue
Bet Mishpachah calls fatal shooting outside Capital Jewish Museum ‘devastating’
The two Israeli embassy officials who were shot to death outside D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum Wednesday evening, May 21, were strong supporters of Bet Mishpachah, D.C.’s LGBTQ supportive synagogue, according to a statement it released.
“We are especially devastated by the loss of our dear colleague and friend of Bet Mishpachah, Sarah Milgram, and her soon to be fiancé, Yaron Lischinsky,” the LGBTQ synagogue said in a May 22 statement.
“Sarah was the liaison between Bet Mishpachah and the Israeli Embassy, working closely with our staff and clergy,” the statement says. “Her warmth, professionalism, and deep commitment to building bridges within the Jewish community made her not only a trusted partner but a beloved part of our extended congregational family,” according to the statement.
A statement also released on May 22 by the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia says Chicago resident Elias Rodriguez, 30, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder along with other weapons related charges in connection with the shooting deaths of Milgram and Lischinsky.
Officials with the D.C. police and the FBI, which has joined D.C. police in continuing to investigate the case, have said Rodriquez arrived in D.C. from Chicago one day prior to the shooting and appears to have targeted an event taking place at the Capital Jewish Museum for violence at the time it was hosting an event called “Young Diplomats Reception,” in which Israeli Embassy officials were in attendance.
Police and FBI officials have said Rodriguez allegedly shot Milgrim and Lischinsky after they left the Capital Jewish Museum at the conclusion of the event. The museum is located at 575 3rd Street, N.W.
“Surveillance footage reportedly shows Rodriquez walking past the victims before turning and firing multiple rounds,” the U.S. Attorney’s statement says. “After the victims fell, he allegedly continued firing at close range, including as one attempted to crawl away,” it says, adding, “Investigators recovered a 9 mm handgun and 21 spent shell casings at the scene.”
Police have said Rodriguez walked into the Capital Jewish Museum after the shooting and was detained by security guards until D.C. police arrived. Witnesses said he began to shout, “free, free Palestine” before police took him into custody.
“Make no mistake, this attack was targeted, antisemitic violence,” said Steven Jenson, an FBI assistant director working on the investigation. “The FBI will continue to pursue all leads and use all available resources to investigate this heinous murder,” he said in the statement.
The fatal shooting took place five days after the Capital Jewish Museum opened a special exhibition called “LGBT Jews in the Federal City” on May 16. “This landmark exhibition explores a turbulent century of celebrations, activism, and change in the nation’s capital by D.C.’s LGBTQ+ Jewish community,” the museum said in a statement announcing the exhibition.
Photos and documents related to Bet Mishpachah make up a prominent part of the exhibition.
During a May 22 press conference organized by the U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, to provide an update on the investigation into the two murders, Pirro and FBI official Jensen referred to the two murders as a hate crime and terrorist act.
In response to a question from the Washington Blade asking if investigators were looking into whether the LGBTQ exhibition at the Capital Jewish Museum might have played some role in Gonzales’s motive for targeting the museum, Pirro responded to the question.
“So, we are looking into absolutely everything,” she said. “There is so much information we’re looking at. And I must tell you, coming from New York, I’ve never seen the cooperation and coordination that I’m seeing here. It was immediate. It was instant. It was coordinated. And my hat’s off to this area. We’re going to clean it up, thank you,” she said in ending the press conference.
Josh Maxey, Bet Mishpachah’s executive director, said he and Israeli Embassy official Milgram became friends during their two-and-a-half-year interaction working on joint events between the embassy and Bet Mishpachah.
“This became a wonderful two and a half years journey of putting events together, of hosting events together, doing different programs for the community,” Maxey told the Blade. Among the activities the two worked on, he said, was the embassy’s annual LGBTQ Pride event.
Maxie said his own grieving over the death of Milgram and her boyfriend Lischinsky was heightened by the fact that he spoke with her by phone on the day of the shooting shortly before she arrived at the Jewish Museum over plans about this year’s LGBTQ Pride events.
“Sarah really championed us to be included in Israeli events,” Maxey said. “And so, I am just devastated that this true embodiment of an ally was so viciously and violently taken away from us.”
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