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Hope amid the holidays
Locals talk about escaping homelessness, overcoming family estrangement and surviving a major health scare
Reevs O’Neal says he was skeptical upon arriving at Casa Ruby but he now credits the center with helping him become self-sufficient. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
As the streets get darker and colder, there is a ray of warmth and light nestled in D.C. in the form of Casa Ruby, a local shelter and transitional housing center for LGBT youth.
Washington Blade staff was invited into Casa Ruby’s transitional housing center and ushered off the dimly lit street into the bright, warm entrance. In mid-December, the home was still waiting to receive its Christmas tree. But even without a tree, the cozy feeling of holiday cheer was present in the jokes and laughter echoing in the hallway between staff and residents and the comforting smiles passed along to one another. Holiday dinners are planned this year with help from the community including those who offer to cook meals and even those who offer to pay for catering.
The center feels like home and that’s because it is one. The staff’s warm and welcoming attitude has created a safe haven for its residents proving that traditional family roles aren’t the only way to create a family.
Casa Ruby, founded in 2012 by Ruby Corado, provides services for LGBT-identifying youth ages 18-24. Their services include a hypothermia center with 16 beds, an emergency shelter with 10 beds and transitional housing with 10 beds. More than 95 percent of the staff identify as transgender or gender non-conforming people of color. They work to provide housing and comfort to those in need with the goal of transitioning them back into jobs and apartments of their own.
Reevs O’Neal, 26, was kicked out of his home in North Carolina. The lack of resources for trans people in his area and his connection to friends in D.C. led him to the District where he connected with Casa Ruby. At first, O’Neal had reservations about the shelter.
“I was very skeptical of it because the continuing theme in my story has been finding somewhere that I thought was safe and it not actually being safe,” O’Neal says. “I sat down with Ruby and we had a really good one on one and it was the first time I had even met her. I was reassured instantly.”
After staying at Casa Ruby for six months, Corado was able to connect O’Neal with low-cost housing. O’Neal was also able to get a job as a house monitor in the emergency shelter. O’Neal says he loves his job because of the family atmosphere.
“We’re a very tight-knit, but open group,” O’Neal says. “I can come into work and it’s like I’m surrounded by people who I love and who I know love me like all the clients. We’re just all very accepting of each other. It’s just like the family aspect of it; it’s amazing.”
Interim Director Lourdes Ashely Hunter has a similar success story. Hunter arrived to D.C. homeless and unemployed with a master’s degree in public administration from Rutgers University. Despite her education, Hunter says her identity prevented her from succeeding.
“As a black, trans, indigenous woman, gender non-conforming person, it’s so challenging to find gainful employment that also affirms my identities and allows me to show up to work whole,” Hunter says. “What’s so magical about this place is that it’s run by the people that it serves. Everyone here has experienced something that our communities are living right now.”
Last Thanksgiving, Hunter joined the dinner as a client of Casa Ruby. This year, Hunter was present at the dinner as the interim director (Corado is taking extended leave in 2016 for health reasons). Hunter says she felt inspired by Corado’s position and understands the power her own leadership can have.
“So for me to now be in this role is so powerful … When I was homeless and didn’t have a job it took for me to see someone in a leadership role like Ruby Corado to say it’s possible,” Hunter says.
Current resident Chris, 22, has high hopes for his own success story. Chris arrived in D.C. seven months ago from Lincoln, Neb., after being kicked out of his home. He worked with the governor of Nebraska as a teenager and is interested in politics, particularly issues surrounding homelessness.
“Since living here, homelessness and youth homelessness is a big issue for me because without Casa Ruby, I wouldn’t be here and I’d probably be who knows where right now,” Chris says.
Chris is currently working on his GED. In his free time he enjoys hanging out with friends and lobbying on Capitol Hill. In the future, he hopes to run for elected office in D.C. The passion he has for his work is supported by Casa Ruby, something other housing programs may not be able to say.
“It takes a lot of compassion and understanding and passion. A lot of times for the shelters that are city run that’s not a requirement of the staff. That’s just the narrative that we’re trying to shift,” Hunter says.
Chris (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
An uphill journey
By Joey DiGuglielmo
Much has been written about the employment challenges facing trans people, income inequality, the exorbitant cost of living in an increasingly gentrified Washington, strained family relations for out folks and more. Benny Rodriguez has lived it all.
Rodriguez, a 24-year-old Virginia native who “hopped around a lot” between New York and Virginia, is 24 and has been out as a trans man for about two years.
He’s down to three part-time jobs now — a few days a week at an art store, part-time at an Indian restaurant and an on-call bartender at Phase 1. At one point he had four jobs and also worked at Busboys and Poets but gave it up because he says it wasn’t financially worthwhile. Combined he makes about $1,600 a month — enough to rent a room in a house with a family with two small children in Columbia Heights.
“There’s been no issue with me being trans and I preface that with the fact that I am two years now on hormones so I pass almost all the time,” Rodriguez says. “That makes it easier … and I can be more stealth than I used to be. When I first started (transitioning), I had to sort of convince people that I was really trans. I had to conceal a lot.”
Rodriguez formerly performed with the D.C. Kings but since that group folded earlier this year, he now does occasional shows with the D.C. Gurly Show “pretty regularly.”
In many ways, Rodriguez says, 2015 was a tough year.
“It’s definitely been up and down,” he says. “Certainly not the worst year I’ve ever had, but it was a year of growing.”
Family life is tough. He’s “definitely grateful my Mom still talks to me.” Other relatives are “kind of estranged.”
“I had to cut ties with them,” he says. “They were toxic and it was to the point where it was more harmful than helpful to be with them so I don’t really say much to many of them, my father especially. I want to say that my situation is unique, but I really don’t think it is. I think it’s pretty common for trans people in general to lose touch with their families. … It’s so hard for many people to wrap their head around.”
Rodriguez will spend Christmas with a friend’s mother whom he says is “kind of like a second mother who helped raise me.” He’s not a big Christmas or holidays person in general but does say he “quite enjoys” this time of year.
He’s excited about the top surgery he’s having in late February. Through decent D.C. health insurance and the services of Whitman-Walker, he won’t have to pay for it. He wishes his mom could be there with him but says he has a good network of friends who will help him recover.
Despite depression and constant reminders of life’s challenges, Rodriguez says he senses he’s been dealt this hand for a reason.
“Things get very hard to get through sometime but I feel very strongly that I have some sense of purpose,” he says. “Whether it’s just to talk to people or change lives or achieve some sort of human greatness, I’m not sure but I feel like I have a job to do and that job is not fulfilled. Knowing that kind of keeps me going.”
Benson Rodriguez say the holidays are tough when family relations are strained. (Photo courtesy Rodriguez)
A second chance
Robby Dean (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
By Joey DiGuglielmo
Robby Dean collapsed in the cafeteria at his job as a department specialist for Safeway in Lanham, Md., on Aug. 7.
It was a scary episode in which he recalls not being able to see, hear or breathe, yet still being conscious. His blood pressure plummeted and he was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center where it was discovered that he had a “very large” saddlebag pulmonary embolism — essentially a blood clot of the lungs that was “saddle bagged” on both sides of his pulmonary artery.
It was difficult finding a place to have the clot removed but it was quickly deemed an emergency case. A doctor who’d seen his chart and tests said the life-threatening condition could not be delayed even a few hours.
His boyfriend of three years met him at the hospital. Doctors were able to go in through his neck, remove part of the clot and dissolve the rest through blood thinners.
“I had no idea what a pulmonary embolism was until after the surgery when I looked it up,” says the 48-year-old Gainesville, Ga., native. “The first statement said these are usually found during an autopsy.”
The only warning signs had been a few episodes of dizziness in the weeks prior. Except for some weight issues following a car accident a few years ago, Dean was in good health. Despite only being in the hospital for the weekend, it took him a month to recover sufficiently to return to work full time.
Singing the Sondheim song “Being Alive” in “The S Show” — he sings tenor in the Gay Men’s Chorus — took on added poignancy at their recent Home Cooked Cabaret events.
“It’s very emotional and hard to get through without crying,” Dean says. “It taught me to listen to my body more and not avoid the doctor and take better care of myself.”
He’s spending Christmas at home with his family in Georgia for the first time since he came to the Washington area six years ago. He says his health scare made him look at life differently.
“You have to cherish every moment you have with the ones you love,” he says. “You never know when it might be your last time seeing them. Going through something like this really reminds you how short life can be.”
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Award-winning D.C. chef reaching new culinary heights
Anthony Jones of Marcus DC competing on ‘Top Chef’
In Anthony Jones’s kitchen, all sorts of flags fly, including his own. Executive chef at award-winning restaurant Marcus DC, Jones has reached culinary heights (James Beard Award semifinalist for Emerging Chef, anyone?), yet he’s just getting started.
Briefly stepping away from his award-winning station, Jones took a moment under a different set of lights. Recently, he temporarily gave up his post at the restaurant for a starring small-screen slot on the latest season of “Top Chef,” which debuted in March. (The show airs weekly on Bravo and Peacock).
Before his strategic slice-and-dice competition, however, Jones, who identifies as gay, draws from his deep DMV roots. In the years before “Top Chef” and the top chef spot at Marcus, he was born and raised in Sunderland, Md., in southern Maryland, near the Chesapeake.
Early memories were steeped in afternoons on boats with his dad bonding over fishing, and wandering the garden of his great-grandparents spread with fresh vegetables and a few hogs. “It was Southern, old-school ethics and upbringing,” he said. “Family and food went hand in hand.” Weekends meant grabbing bushels of crabs, dad and grandma would cook and crack them. Family members would host fish fries for extra cash. In this seafood-heavy youth, Jones managed time to sneak in episodes of the “OG” Japanese “Iron Chef” show, which helped inspire him to pursue a career in the kitchen.
Jones moved to D.C. after graduating from college, ending up at lauded Restaurant Eve, and met famed chef Marcus Samuelson, who brought him to Miami to be part of the opening team for Red Rooster Overtown. After three years, Jones moved back to D.C., where he ran Dirty Habit, reinventing and reimagining the menu, integrating West African flavors and ingredients.
Samuelson, however, wouldn’t let a talent like Jones stay away for too long. Pulling Jones back into his orbit, Samuelson elevated Jones to help him open his namesake restaurant Marcus DC, which has been named a top-five restaurant by the Washington Post. Since then, Jones has been nominated as a semifinalist for the RAMMYs Rising Culinary Star in 2026 and won the Eater DC’s Rising Chef award in 2025.
Samuelson’s Marcus is a tour de force interpreting the Black Diaspora on the plate, from the American South to West Africa, along with his signature “Swedopian” touches. Yet it’s Jones who has deeply informed the plate, elevating his own story to date. Marcus DC is primarily a seafood restaurant, which serves Jones well.
“Where I’m from is seafood heavy, and as I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve moved away from meat.” Veggies and fish are hero dishes. His own dish, Mel’s Crab Rice, was not only lauded by the Washington Post, but is framed by his youth carrying home the crustaceans from Mel’s crab truck. It’s a bowl of Carolina rice, layered with pickled okra, uni béarnaise, and crab. Jones also points to a dish on the opening menu, rockfish and brassica, paying respect to a landmark D.C. institution, Ben’s Chili Bowl. Jones reverse engineered a favorite bowl of chili that’s seafood instead of meat forward, leveraging octopus and rockfish along with different riffs of cauliflower: showing his intellectual, creative, and cultural sides.
While “Top Chef” is showing Jones’s spotlight side, he also lets his identity show at work. “In the kitchen, I make sure we’re inclusive. We don’t tolerate discrimination. Everyone that’s here should feel confident to express themselves. There are so many different flags in the kitchen.”
Jones says that he didn’t fully express his gay identity until fairly recently. He felt reluctant coming out to certain family members, “you’re scared to tell them about being different,” he says, and while that anxiety ate at him, “I’m lucky and fortunate to have unconditional love and that weight off my shoulders.”
Today, “I’m me all the time, Monday to Sunday. I’m honest with people, and my staff is honest with me.”
“Being a chef is hard,” he says, “and being a chef of color is even more difficult.”
Yet his LGBTQ identity is a juggling act, he says. “I need to keep that balance, because once someone finds out something about you, their opinion can change, whether you want it or not.”
Being on a whole season of TV cooking competition, however, might mean millions more might have an opinion of him (Jones has appeared on TV already, on an episode of “Chopped”). To prepare, he says, “I’ve just kept a level head. It’s just an honor to be on top chef with amazing people happy to be there.”
Plus, this season is set in the Carolinas, and Jones attended Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, N.C. “It’s a full story of my life, now a monumental moment for me.”
Jones also recently was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. “JBF has been a north star, a dream for so long. I always had this goal on my wall.”
Being at the top spot at Marcus DC, making waves through his accolades, and cooking on Bravo means that Jones is highly visible. “I think that if someone has a similar background to me, and can see our story, trajectory, and success, they can have more ability to be themselves. This is my goal.”
Back at Marcus, Jones has plenty up his chef’s white’s sleeves. A new spring menu is in the works. He’ll be launching a new tasting menu “dining experience,” he says, and has plans to work on more events and collaborations with chefs and friends to bring in new talent and share the culinary wealth.
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Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths
The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.
This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.
This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.
Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis
Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers
ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES
- Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives - Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream - Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC - Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency - Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision - Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry - Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine - Queen Adesuyi (they/she)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice - Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) - Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra - Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer - Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital - Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space - Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Diana Rodriquez (she/her)
— Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women - Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader - Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation - Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle - Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle
LEGEND AWARDEES
- Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau - Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP - leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography - Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University - Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation - AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU - RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart - Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Founder of NBJC, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign - Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group - Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame - Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction) - Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Board Chair - Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade - Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer - Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures - Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association - Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Collective - Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted - Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies - Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter - Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington - Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit - Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio - Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT - J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network
a&e features
D.C. springs back to life with new, returning events
Cherry blossoms, Rehoboth season kickoff, and more on tap
Longer and warmer days are back meaning: It’s time to get out of the house and enjoy Washington D.C.’s many events. Below are a few to check out this spring.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts will host “Making their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection” until Sunday, July 26. This exhibition illustrates women artists’ vital role in abstraction, considers historical contributions, formal and material breakthroughs and intergenerational relationships among women artists over the last eight decades. For more details, visit. NMWA’s website.
Art in the Attic will host a pop-up on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. at 1012 Madison St., Alexandria, Va. There will be a variety of vendors selling products across different modes of art. For more details, visit Eventbrite.
Play Play will host “Indoor Recess – The art of play” on Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. This event will embody classic recess energy, including opportunities to build and experience community and connections through games, movement, art stations, and creative freedom. Tickets are $12.51 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Spark Social will host “Gay Bar Crawl on U Street” on Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. This will be a fun night out in gay D.C. with other gay people, whether you’re visiting D.C., new to the area, or just looking to expand your social circle. Many crawlers have formed lasting friendships and even romantic relationships after just one night out. Tickets are $35.88 and are available on Eventbrite.
Creative Suitland Arts Center will host “EFFERVESCENT: House of Swann” on Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. This will be a gay, good time where we will celebrate love, joy, wellness, and visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community. Tickets start at $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
SWAG Works DC will host “Unapologetically Her” on Saturday, March 14 at 2 p.m. at 701 E St., S.E. This event is a powerful celebration of womanhood, resilience, creativity, and self-expression in honor of Women’s History Month. This all-women exhibition highlights the diverse voices, stories, and artistic perspectives of women who create boldly, live authentically, and stand confidently in their truth. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
9:30 Club will host “Gimme Gimme Disco: A Dance Party Inspired by ABBA” on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. There will also be a “Donna Summer Power Hour – The Queen of Disco” segment during this event. It’ll be one hour of music with no skips. Tickets are available on 9:30 Club’s website.
Harder Better Faster Stronger will host “Heated Rivalry Rave” on Friday, March 20 at 9 p.m. at Howard Theatre. This event is open to all ages. Tickets are available on the theater’s website.
CAMP Rehoboth hosts its 25th annual Women’s+ FEST, April 9-12 in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Entertainers include headliner Mina Hartong, a comedian, storyteller, and founder of Lez Out Loud; and singer Yoli Mayor. There are dances, dinners, pickleball, and much more. Details and tickets at camprehoboth.org.
Also in Rehoboth Beach, the Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is set for Friday, May 15 featuring Ashley Biden, who will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau. State Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall will also speak. More speakers and the venue to be announced soon.
The annual D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off March 21 at DAR Constitution Hall and culminates with Petalpalooza on April 4, the day-long, outdoor street party with music and art, stretching across Navy Yard, and ending with fireworks over the Anacostia River.
Women’s FEST returns to Rehoboth Beach next week
Belarusian lawmakers approve bill to crackdown on LGBTQ rights
Calendar: April 3-9
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