Local
LGBT youth discussed at D.C. judicial conference
Legal experts highlight problems in criminal justice system
Legal experts discussed problems faced by LGBT youth in the criminal justice system on April 12 at a workshop session as part of the 2019 annual District of Columbia Judicial and Bar Conference in which D.C. Superior Court judges, defense lawyers, and prosecutors participated.
Four attorneys and a social worker with D.C.’s Whitman-Walker Health were among the panelists at a conference workshop session called “Trauma & The Law: Best Practices for Supporting LGBTQ Youth.”
Timothy Elliott, a licensed independent clinical social worker at Whitman-Walker, told those attending the session that studies show LGBT youth are eight and a half times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers if they are denied support from parents and caregivers. He and others speaking at the session said this development should be taken into consideration when judges, defense lawyers and prosecutors participate in criminal cases involving LGBT youth.
One issue that often comes up when transgender young people are charged with criminal offenses, some of the panelists said, is how to address them when they have not legally changed their birth name but use a different name and identify as a gender opposite of their birth gender.
Superior Court Judge Zinora Mitchell-Rankin, who attended the workshop session, told the panelists she explains to transgender defendants before her in court the court record must use their legal name, “but what name would you like to be called” in the courtroom?
Angela Buckner, as Assistant U.S. Attorney who volunteers as an attorney for Whitman-Walker, advised fellow attorneys to ask the judge if it would be OK to use the defendant’s preferred name and pronoun. Buckner said the types of offenses LGBT youth are sometimes charged with are unlawful entry, theft, use of illegal drugs, and simple assault.
Attorney and Whitman-Walker legal services director Amy Nelson said some LGBT youth are sometimes arrested ON prostitution-related charges when circumstances force them into sex work to survive on the streets. She and other panelists said many LGBT youth become homeless after being rejected by their families.
In addition to Nelson, Elliott, and Buckner, the others serving as panelists at the workshop session were Connor Cory, a Whitman-Walker staff attorney specializing in immigration issues; Jess Davis-Ricci, Whitman-Walker staff attorney; and Melissa Sellenvaag, licensed independent social worker and Director of Training and Education for the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing.
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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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