District of Columbia
Real life drama unfolds at Int’l Overdose Awareness Day event in D.C. park
HIPS staffers render aid to unconscious man on sidewalk
Many of the close to 200 people that turned out on Thursday, Aug. 31, for an International Overdose Awareness Day event at a small park in Northeast D.C. known as Starburst Plaza witnessed officials with the local harm reduction services group HIPS rush to the aid of a man who lost consciousness.
One of the HIPS staffers rendered aid before D.C. Emergency Medical Services Department technicians arrived on a fire truck. The EMS technicians provided further treatment to the man, including placing an oxygen mask on his face, that resulted in his regaining consciousness.
He was taken to a hospital by an ambulance that arrived on the scene a short time later.
HIPS, whose offices and drop-in center are located a few blocks away from where the event took place, was one of its lead organizers. HIPS and about a half dozen other community-based organizations that provide services for drug users and sex workers set up tables and handed out literature on the sidewalk at the site of Starburst Plaza.
Longtime D.C. transgender rights advocate Earline Budd, who works for HIPS, said members of the LGBTQ community, including transgender women of color, have been among those who have lost their lives to opioid overdoses. Budd pointed to large photos displayed at the event of three trans women who died from an opioid overdose within the past year.
“Lives of members of our community are being lost in what is truly an epidemic, and we can no longer ignore this,” Budd said.
Also participating in the event was Devon Trotter, who serves as chair of the HIPS board of directors.
“We hope that today just brings awareness to the epidemic that we have here in this country and in our community – the opioid epidemic,” Trotter said. “We know that drug use isn’t going to stop,” he told the Washington Blade.
“So, we need to ensure that folks get access to support and resources to use their drugs safely, to be able to know what’s in them without fear for their lives,” he said. “A day like today is also important because it brings awareness to those who we have lost and those who are struggling,” said Trotter.
Among the other organizations that collaborated with HIPS and set up tables at the event to distribute literature about opioid overdose prevention were Whitman-Walker Health; the emergency services organization Forensic Nurse Examiners; the drug user support group Revise, Inc.; and the advocacy and support coalition Decrim Poverty D.C.
Also attending the event were members of the D.C. police department’s LGBT Liaison Unit.
L.J. Sislen, one of the officials with Decrim Poverty D.C., said the coalition advocates for support services for drug users and for decriminalization of drug use and possession.
“You can’t get well in a cell,” she said, referring to the frequent arrest and incarceration of people experiencing addiction on charges of illegal drug possession. “We believe that eliminating criminal penalties for drug use is one of the most effective ways for us to address the worsening drug overdose crisis,” Sislen said.
Vito Maggiolo, a spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said the man treated and placed in the ambulance at the D.C. Overdose Awareness Day event was listed as being in “potentially serious condition.”
But he said under city privacy laws, he is unable to provide further details of the man’s condition or to disclose which hospital he was taken to. Maggiolo said that all firefighters are trained as emergency medical technicians and can provide the same emergency treatment to someone suffering from an illness or other emergency medical condition as the medical technicians assigned to an ambulance.
In a related development, the White House and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra released statements commemorating International Overdose Awareness Day and announced additional federal funding for programs that address opioid addiction and overdose prevention.
“Today, on International Overdose Awareness Day, the Biden-Harris administration is recognizing all those who have lost someone to an overdose,” the White House statement says. “President Biden declared August 27 through September 2 as Overdose Awareness Week to focus the nation’s attention on the devastation caused by illicit fentanyl and other drugs,” says the statement.
“During this week of recognition, we reaffirm our commitment to beating this epidemic – in memory of those we have lost and to protect the lives we can save,” the statement says.
In the separate HHS statement, Becerra outlined recently implemented programs of the Biden administration and HHS that allocate more than $450 million to support the administration’s Unity Agenda efforts to address the overdose problem.
“Drug overdose does not discriminate – rich or poor, Black or white, urban or suburban, drug overdoses reach every corner of our society,” Becerra said. “On this Overdose Awareness Day, we reflect on the toll that substance misuse takes, both in terms of lives lost and immeasurable pain it brings to families and communities,” he said.
(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story reported that a HIPS staffer administered Narcan to the unconscious man. A HIPS spokesperson later told the Blade that Narcan was not administered.)
District of Columbia
Over 2,000 turn out for Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest
Drag performer Tara Hoot serves as MC, Gay Men’s Chorus of DC performs, attendees shout for Trump to keep ‘hands off’ Kennedy Center
More than 2,000 supporters of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts turned out on Sept. 18, for a rally in support of the performing arts center and a vocal protest against President Donald Trump’s threats to permanently close the center and possibly demolish it.
The event was organized by a group called Hands Off the Arts, which initially called for participants to form a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center’s main building following a rally on the plaza in front of the building.
However, due to a decision by the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center’s board of trustees to close the center earlier in the week and install fencing around part of the building, participants could only form the chain around part of the building, according to organizers.
Drag performer Tara Hoot, who co-organized the event and served as master of ceremonies for the rally preceding the “human chain,” said the large turnout could have fully surrounded the building at least twice had the fencing not prevented a full encirclement.
Among the musicians and singing groups that performed at the rally was the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, which, like other rally performers, had performed at the Kennedy Center in past years. They drew loud applause after singing one of their favorite songs from the Broadway musical show Ragtime, which includes the lyrics, “Will justice be demanded by 10 million men? Make them hear you. When they hear you, I’ll be near you again.”
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Prior to their performance, Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s artistic director, Thea Kano, spoke at the rally, reminding participants that shortly after the Trump takeover of the center last year, Kennedy Center officials cancelled a concert the chorus was scheduled to perform there for World Pride 2025.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the cancellation was due to a scheduling conflict, but chorus members and LGBTQ activists believe it resulted from policies put in place by Trump and his leadership team at the Kennedy Center following Trump’s statements that he would end controversial “woke” performances that he claimed the majority of Americans disapprove of.
“Now this building sits empty in silence,” Kano told the crowd at the rally. “Let us raise our voices together and bring back the Kennedy Center as it was intended, a place where American culture could be celebrated and elevated, embracing the vibrancy with the spectrum of identify without censure and without politics,” she said.
Among the others who spoke at the rally were U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), and D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large).
Most speakers, along with LGBTQ participants in the hands-around-the-building event expressed strong opposition to Trump’s demand that the Kennedy Center name be changed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
At Trump’s request, his appointed board initially made that name change and placed Trump’s name on the front wall of the building along with the Kennedy name. But following legal action taken by opponents who pointed out that Congress must approve such a name change, a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building. Trump has said he will take steps to reverse that order and has said he will stop plans to renovate the Kennedy Center building and possibly demolish it if his name is not restored in the Kennedy’s Center’s official name.
Throughout the Sept. 18 rally, LGBTQ participants repeatedly responded to the Trump threats by shouting, “Hands Off!”
Chris Raleigh, one of the founders of Hands Off the Arts and a lead organizer of the Sept. 18 event at the Kennedy Center who spoke at the event told the Washington Blade that more similar events are being planned and he welcomes the support the event has received from the LGBTQ community.
“The LGBTQ community was here first, and we’re following them,” he said. “They’ve been the spearhead; they’ve been the vanguard. And I’m so thankful for heroes like Tara Hoot,” he said, adding, “It’s because they know what it means and how this is a safe place – the theater – for many LGBTQ people.”
The DMV’s own furry group was on full display on the Metro on Sept. 12.
Shutterpaws is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Maryland.
The furry group has been doing the FurRide event since 2024 and has blown up in popularity for furries around DMV. They showcased themselves on the Silver and Blue Lines near the Smithsonian on Sept. 12.
“A lot of careful planning goes into running these events, with the goal being a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone who attends,” says Zayre, a Shutterpaws staff member. “There’s a lot that you learn just by trial and error, and as Shutterpaws hosts more and more events, our team of event organizers continues to learn and refine our approach to keep things running smoothly and finding new ways to engage with our community.”
With a larger growth of participation in the community comes many challenges with the group, especially when it comes to the Metro rides and organizing.
“The biggest challenge that we face as organizers is keeping things fresh and finding new and engaging venues to host events,” says Zayre. “Recently we saw a lot of success hosting a meet at On Target Battlezone, an indoor NERF gun battle arena where our crew was welcome to show up and play both with and without a fur suit.”
Nevertheless, Shutterpaws receive overwhelming support from the community and partners.
“Across the DMV there are so many amazing places to host a Shutterpaws event so we can pursue our mission of helping connect fur suiters and photographers, and we’re blown away with the amount of support we’ve received from our community partners,” says Zayre.
Shutterpaws plans to do more events for anyone in the DMV who is interested.
Their next event in collaboration with DC Fur Meet will take place at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) on Saturday. Visit Shutterpaws’ website for more information.
District of Columbia
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
Drag performer Tara Hoot among event organizers
An organization called Hands Off the Arts has announced it is holding a protest on Friday, Sept. 18, in which between 400 and 800 participants are expected to create a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center to voice their strong objection to President Donald Trump’s call for possibly demolishing the Kennedy Center.
“Hands Off the Arts is organizing a rally Sept. 18 against the president’s defacing of JFK’s memorial, his removal and censorship of art, and the threat to demolish the center if he can’t remake the site in his image,” a statement released by the group says.
The statement says the event will start with a rally at 6:30 p.m. on the Kennedy Center steps and culminate with a “human chain” around the building. “There will be musical performances, testimonials from current and former employees, along with other special guest speakers,” it says
A separate announcement by the group says longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in past years, was among the organizers of the Sept. 18 protest.
The planned protest follows Trump’s decision last year to use his authority to replace the existing members of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors with new members loyal to him. Over the objection of longtime Kennedy Center supporters, the Trump-appointed board changed the name of the center, at Trump’s request, from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
But following the threat of legal action by opponents who pointed out that the name change could not be legally made unless approved by Congress, the name change was cancelled, with Trump saying he would take steps to restore it later.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reports in a Sept. 13 news story that because of negative publicity related to Trump’s actions, the Kennedy Center was facing “fiscal collapse” and possible bankruptcy and could be forced to shut down as early as this week.
According to the Post report, a 57-page document presented to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees says the center was facing a financial and structural building crisis, with the recent collapse of part of the building’s inside ceiling, indicating the building was unsafe for employees and the public. Among other things, the document says the Kennedy Center may not be able to make payroll or pay for routine maintenance “within a matter of weeks,” the Post reports.
Some LGBTQ advocates were among those who joined others in boycotting the Kennedy Center to express their objections to Trump’s actions, including a statement by Trump that he objected to the Kennedy Center’s practice of hosting drag performances.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington has been among the LGBTQ performing arts groups and artists that have performed at the Kennedy Center.
“With the future still very much uncertain, now more than ever, the Center needs you to stand up for freedom of expression and against authoritarian overreach into arts and culture institutions,” the Hands Off the Arts group says in its announcement of the Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest.
“You have the opportunity to make a difference — show up with Hands Off the Arts and show your power as part of Hands Around the Kennedy Center,” it says.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
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