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Chase Brexton to host town hall on trans health

Topics include medical services, insurance issues

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Speak Fire, gay news, Washington Blade
Speak Fire, gay news, Washington Blade

Chase Brexton Health Services, 1111 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Chase Brexton Health Care will hold a town hall on Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. to provide the latest information on transgender health care, including details regarding policy, coverage and open enrollment. The event, which will bring together Chase Brexton providers, members of the organizationā€™s LGBT Health Resource Center, and representatives from FreeState Legal Project, will take place in the sixth floor employee lounge of the Chase Brexton Mt. Vernon Center, 1111 N. Charles St. in Baltimore.

Attendees will learn about new developments in trans health coverage and medical services. But the town hall will also provide organizers with an important opportunity to hear from members of the community attempting to access care.

ā€œLaw, policy and insurance coverage are changing rapidly and access to transition-related care is increasing,ā€ said Beth Brolund, a staff therapist and case manager at Chase Brexton. ā€œWeā€™ve been working to help trans individuals navigate a complicated system and the problems that we know about.Ā We need to hear from the community to get a better picture of what experiences people are having, what the needs are and how we can be of the most help.ā€

Among those joining the town hall will be Dr. Rachel Bluebond-Langner, an assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who will discuss her transgender surgery servicesā€™ recent experiences with health insurance issues.

ā€œTrans individuals often feel lost when trying to complete their transition safely in the medical world,ā€ explained Chase Brexton provider Jill Crank, CRNP. ā€œWe would like to provide a forum to discuss what Chase Brexton offers in terms of primary and trans-related care, as well as highlight the promising changes (and challenges) in working with insurance companies to cover these services.ā€

Crank added, ā€œOur ultimate goal is to become the place of choice for trans individuals seeking any type of healthcare, and we want them to know they are not alone in the fight for trans health equality.ā€

Though there have been advancements in LGBT legal rights, many obstacles still remain, particularly in securing access to health care.

ā€œWith open enrollment season upon us for plans in the Maryland Health Connection and many other private health insurance plans, it couldnā€™t be more timely to share information about what plans cover transition-related care and what obstacles still remain,ā€ said Jer Welter, deputy director and managing attorney at FreeState Legal.

The town hall is the first in a series of meetings planned to discuss many aspects of trans health and address community needs.

ā€œIn the rapidly changing landscape of transgender health care and coverage, we all still believe that this is an issue of social justice,ā€ Nate Sweeney, executive director of the LGBT Health Resource Center, pointed out.Ā ā€œTransgender individuals should not have to jump through extra hoops to get their health care needs met. This team of the FreeState Legal Project, Chase Brexton, and the LGBT Health Resource Center are glad to be working on this project together to try and address this injustice.ā€

 

Corey Lacey contributed to this report.

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Maryland

Former College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn disbarred

One-time official serving 30-year prison sentence for child pornography possession, distribution

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Patrick Wojahn (Mugshot courtesy of the Prince George's County Police Department)

Patrick Wojahn, the former mayor of College Park who resigned after law enforcement executed a search and seizure warrant and discovered a ā€œvery large quantityā€ of child sexual abuse material on his cellphone, has agreed to be disbarred in Maryland.

Wojahn, 49, a Democrat who served as mayor from 2015 to 2023, later pleaded guilty in Prince Georgeā€™s County Circuit Court to 140 counts of possession and distribution of child pornography and was sentenced to 30 years in prison ā€” plus five years of probation.

In an order on Friday, Maryland Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader granted a joint petition for disbarment by consent and noted that Wojahn agreed that his actions constituted professional misconduct.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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District of Columbia

Sentencing for Ruby Corado postponed for second time

Former Casa Ruby director pleaded guilty to wire fraud

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Ruby Coradoā€™s sentencing is now scheduled for April 29. (Washington Blade file photo by Ernesto Valle)

The sentencing in D.C. federal court for Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of the now-defunct LGBTQ community services organization Casa Ruby on a charge of wire fraud, has been postponed for the second time, from March 28 to April 29.

A spokesperson for U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who is presiding over the case, said it was the judge who postponed the sentencing due to a scheduling conflict. The earlier postponement, from Jan. 10 to March 28, came at the request of Coradoā€™s attorney and was not opposed by prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C.

Corado pleaded guilty on July 17, 2024, to a single charge of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors. The charge to which she pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for D.C. says she allegedly diverted at least $150,000 ā€œin taxpayer backed emergency COVID relief funds to private offshore bank accounts for her personal use,ā€ according to a statement from the U.S. Attorneyā€™s office.

Under the federal wire fraud law, for which Corado is being prosecuted, she could be subjected to a possible maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and restitution requiring her to repay the funds she allegedly stole.

Court observers, however, have said that due to Coradoā€™s decision to waive her right to a trial and plead guilty to the lesser charge, prosecutors will likely ask the judge to hand down a lesser sentence than the maximum sentence.

An earlier criminal complaint filed against Corado, which has been replaced by the single charge to which she has pleaded guilty, came at the time the FBI arrested her on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Md., shortly after she returned to the U.S. from El Salvador.

At the request of her attorney and against the wishes of prosecutors, another judge at that time agreed to release Corado into custody of her niece in Rockville, Md., under a home detention order. The release order came seven days after Corado had been held in jail at the time of her March 5 arrest.

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Virginia

Pride Liberation Project announces additional Va. school board protests

Student-led group challenging Trump-Vance administrationā€™s anti-LGBTQ policies

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LGBTQ students demonstrate at Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, Va., in June 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Following their recent protests at school board meetings in Virginia to challenge the Trump-Vance administrationā€™s anti-LGBTQ policies, a student-led rights group on Wednesday outlined plans to continue their actions.

The Pride Liberation Project released a statement in early March announcing their ā€œMarch Month of Actionā€ after their first round of protests. The Pride Liberation Project on Wednesday issued another press release that provided additional details.

ā€œQueer students will rally at local school board meetings across Virginia, as they call for education leaders to reject the Trump-Muskā€™s administration escalating attacks against queer people.ā€ said Conifer Selintung on behalf of the Pride Liberation Project. ā€œSince taking office, the Trump-Musk administration has ignored the real issues facing our schools ā€” like declining reading scores and the mental health crisis ā€” and tried to bully queer students into the closet. Alongside other hateful attacks, theyā€™ve attacked nondiscrimination protections, banned gender-affirming care, and whitewashed history.ā€

The Pride Liberation Project press release also included a statement from Moth, an LGBTQ student at McLean High School.

ā€œI want to be able to go to school as myself, just like any other student,ā€ said Moth. ā€œTo do that, I need my school board to stand up to bullies.ā€

The Pride Liberation Project has also released a schedule of rallies it plans to hold this month.

The first rally took place at the Prince William County School Board meeting in Manassas on Wednesday. A second event took place at the Roanoke County School Board meeting on Thursday.

Additional rallies are scheduled to take place in Rockingham and York Counties on March 24, Loudoun County on March 25, and Fairfax County on March 27.

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