District of Columbia
Gay men make up 82% of D.C. monkeypox cases
Mayor calls on at-risk residents to apply for vaccinations
D.C. Department of Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt told reporters at a Monday press conference that as of Sunday, July 17, there were 122 reported cases of monkeypox in the District of Columbia and that 82 percent of those cases involved individuals who identify as gay.
Nesbitt joined D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser at the press conference to provide an update on the cityās response to the monkeypox outbreak. They each urged city residents to visit a newly released Department of Health website at PreventMonkeypox.dc.gov to obtain the latest information about the viral illness and whether they may be eligible for the vaccine that can prevent people from becoming infected.
āIt is important to note, it is extremely important to note that while the majority of the cases during this outbreak are occurring in individuals who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community, this is not a disease of the LGBTQ+ community,ā Nesbitt said.
āAnyone can contract monkeypox, and it is important that we do not create a stigma at this time and that we encourage individuals to be on the lookout for symptoms,ā she told the news conference.
Based on monkeypox case numbers reported nationwide by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, D.C.ās 122 cases represent the highest number of monkeypox cases per capita compared to any of the 50 states.
āWe do have 122 cases as of yesterday,ā Nesbitt said at the press conference. āThe average age or the median age, rather, is 32. And the age range is 18 to 64,ā she said. āThe majority of cases are occurring in individuals who are 30 to 34 years old. Sixty-three [percent] of the cases are occurring in individuals who identify as white,ā she continued.
āNinety-six percent of the cases are occurring in individuals who identify as males,ā Nesbitt said. āAnd 82 percent are occurring in individuals who identify as gay.ā
In response to a question from the Blade, Department of Health spokesperson Kimberly Henderson said on Tuesday that Nesbitt was referring specifically to individuals who self-identified and self-reported their sexual orientation as āgayā when Nesbitt stated that 82 percent of the D.C. monkeypox cases were among people who identified as gay.
A joint statement released on Monday by the mayorās office and the DOH says monkeypox is a potentially serious but rarely fatal viral illness āthat can be transmitted from person to person through direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids.ā The statement says the virus is often spread during āintimate physical contact between people, including sex, kissing, and hugging.ā It says it also can be spread when a person touches fabrics, such as bedding, or towels used by a person with monkeypox.
āThe initial symptoms of monkeypox often include flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes followed by a rash and lesion on the skin,ā the statement says. āThe rash can look like pimples or blisters that appear on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus,ā according to the statement.
Mondayās press conference took place on the sidewalk outside the headquarters building on 14th Street, N.W. of Whitman-Walker Health, the LGBTQ supportive heath care clinic that is among the community-based organizations partnering with the city to address the monkeypox outbreak.
āIām pleased to be here with Whitman-Walker,ā Bowser told the press conference after she was introduced by Whitman-Walker Health CEO Naseema Shafi. āI want to thank you and your entire staff for working with D.C. Health and for continuing to work with D.C. Health in the coming weeks and months,ā Bowser told Shafi.
The mayor said that as of Monday, about 2,600 people in the city had been vaccinated with their first dose of the two-dose vaccine regimen. She urged residents to go to the newly created website to determine how best to apply for an appointment for the vaccine if they believe they could be at risk for monkeypox.
āWe are especially working with reaching out to members of the LGBTQ+ community, specifically to gay and bisexual men, because those are the communities most affected by the virus at this moment,ā Bowser said. āBut we also want the public to understand that this is not something that can only affect the LGBTQ+ community,ā she said. āAnd we should all understand the basics of the virus and what we need to look out for.ā
Nesbitt said the Department of Health was also working on monkeypox services with the D.C. group Us Helping Us, People Into Living, which has provided AIDS related services and other healthcare services for Black gay men and Black transgender women for the past 30 years, according to its website.
Dr. Sarah Henn, Whitman-Walkerās Chief Health Officer, told the Blade that Whitman-Walker began taking steps to test and treat its patients and others for monkeypox as soon as the first case in the U.S. was diagnosed in Massachusetts earlier this year. When asked if the LGBTQ supportive health clinic has had monkeypox patients, Henn said, āOh yes, weāve had quite a few.ā
She added, āWe have quite a few in treatment. And we have others that weāre watching who have more mild disease and weāre watching to see how they do. And weāre testing anywhere from two to seven patients daily for monkeypox.ā
The statement released by the mayorās office and the DOH says the city has so far received 8,300 doses of the monkeypox vaccine and has administered approximately 2,600 doses.
It says that currently, to be eligible for the vaccine in D.C., a person must be a D.C. resident, 18 years of age or older, and fall into one of these categories:
ā¢ Gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men and have had multiple (more than one) or any anonymous sexual partners in the last 14 days.
ā¢ Transgender women or nonbinary persons assigned male at birth who have sex with men.
ā¢ Sex workers (of any sexual orientation or gender).
ā¢ Staff (of any sexual orientation or gender) at establishments where sexual activity occurs such as bathhouses, saunas, or sex clubs.
āAll residents are invited to pre-register for a vaccination appointment, and those who are not currently eligible will be contacted if eligibility changes and appointments are available,ā the statement says.
District of Columbia
200 turn out for āLove Festā Drag Story Hour at Freddieās
Performer reads stories to kids and parents as three protest outside
Between 200 and 250 people, including parents and their children, turned out on Saturday, May 4, for a āLove Festā Drag Story Hour brunch hosted by the Arlington, Va., LGBTQ establishment Freddieās Beach Bar and Restaurant.
Local drag performer Tara Hoot, who read childrenās stories and handed out coloring books to the kids attending the event, was joined by members of the Gay Menās Chorus of Washington, which sang several songs before Hoot began reading from childrenās books in keeping with the tradition of drag queens conducting Drag Story Hour events across the country.
The May 4 event at Freddieās in the Crystal City section of Arlington took place four weeks after the start of a similar event hosted by Freddieās was delayed by a bomb threat, forcing those who had arrived to exit through a rear door and wait in a parking lot as Arlington police conducted a search of the premises with a bomb sniffing dog. No trace of a bomb was found.
All the customers, including parents and their kids, were invited back inside and the show took place as planned.
No similar threat occurred at the May 4 event. But three male protesters assembled on the sidewalk next to the parking lot behind the Freddieās building, with one of them shouting from a bullhorn passages from his Bible that he said indicated the Drag Story Hour event was an āabomination.ā
The three protesters were outnumbered by nearly a dozen counter protesters who were members of the Rainbow Defense Coalition, an LGBTQ organization. They carried bright, rainbow-colored umbrellas while chanting messages of support for the Drag Story Hour event.
Freddie Lutz, Freddieās Beach Bar owner, called the event a āsmashing successā that brought an āoutpouring of love from the community.ā Lutz released a flier on social media promoting the Love Fest event shortly after the earlier event interrupted by the bomb threat as a showing of love “to stop the hate.”
“Join us for the next story time brunch dressed in your favorite rainbow/hippie outfit” and “carry your favorite homemade signs of support,” Lutz said in his promotional flier. He came to the event dressed in what he called his hippie protest outfit.
Lutz said while the protesters did not interrupt the event, he was concerned that their shouting was scaring some of the kids as they and their parents walked by the protesters to enter Freddieās.
āI went out back and tried to talk to one of them and it was kind of like talking to a brick wall,ā Lutz told the Washington Blade. āHe was screaming at the parents that were crossing their kids on the crosswalk,ā Lutz said. āAnd I said, youāre screaming at those kids, youāre scaring them.ā
Lutz said the man told him he was yelling at the parents, not the kids. āAnd I said, no youāre not. The kids are hearing you. Youāre scaring them.ā
Added Lutz, āAnd to have such a fun-loving, happy show and then walk out on the sidewalk to that is very disheartening. Itās really sad. I told him my God is a forgiving and loving God.ā
One of the protesters, who declined to disclose his name, said he and his two fellow protesters came to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
āWe want them to know this is an abomination to the Lord,ā he told the Blade. āWe want them to know those children donāt have a voice and theyāre being brainwashed in there. Weāre here to call out their sin.ā
Stephanie Krenrich, who brought her two-year-old daughter to the event, said she strongly disputes the claims of the protesters.
āI brought my daughter here because I think that it was a beautiful and wonderful show, and it was great for her,ā she said. āAnd I think itās pretty offensive when people come to Arlington and tell parents what to do, especially for something so beautiful and so fun and so wholesome,ā she told the Blade.
āSo thatās why I brought her,ā Krenrich said. āI think that itās really important that we stand up for our values and people just being themselves, being happy and being them.ā
Among those who attended the event were four elected officials from Arlington ā Virginia State Sen. Barbara Favola, Virginia State Del. Adele McClure, Arlington County Board member Maureen Coffee, and Arlington and Falls Church Stateās Attorney Parisa Dehgani-Tafti.
Also attending was Nick Benton, editor and publisher of the LGBTQ supportive Falls Church, Va., News Press; and Kellen McBeth, president of the LGBTQ group Equality Arlington.
āIt was fantastic to see so many people come out to support Freddieās, to support the LGBTQ+ community,ā McBeth said. āIt was a great event and weāre happy to be a part of it.ā
District of Columbia
Another successful Taste of Point fundraiser
Scholars praise financial, networking support
The Point Foundation hosted its annual Taste of Point DC fundraising event on Thursday with nine participating restaurants, a drag performance, and a silent auction.
The event was hosted on the rooftop of the Room & Board on 14th Street, with an afterparty at Shakers. Point donors, scholars, and alumni circled the rooftop eating chips and guacamole from Mi Vida and drinking Pinot Grigio from Barkada.
After about an hour of mingling the events began with event committee member, Kelly Horton and Kevin Kim Wright, chief of staff welcoming the crowd and speaking about the importance of their presence during this pivotal time in queer youth history. Then, Wright welcomed BIPOC Scholar Katherine Guerrero Rivera, saying she was a model of a Point scholar.
āWeāre always impressed with all of our scholars and Katherine is another example of a student who is deeply engaged in their campus life and a myriad of projects, everything from creating her own podcast to being a part of a number of student organizations.ā Wright said.
Rivera said that the Point Foundation scholarship helps her resist the pressure to drop out. She pointed out that just over 50 percent of Latina students who attend college graduate.
āThe Point BIPOC Scholarship is not just financial support, Point has connected me with hundreds of people like me studying on campuses across the country.ā she said.
Rivera is a criminology major and poetics minor at University of Maryland and said she hopes to use her degree to bring knowledge to her community through art and advocacy. She said it is important for her to take academic jargon and make it accessible to her community.
āToo often, the history of LGBTQ and people are ignored and silenced during our education,ā she said. āI want to use my access to higher education and the chance to develop my creative skills to bring light to societal issues.ā
She finished her speech with applause for the audience, then Horton came back with drag queen Tara Hoot to discuss ways donors could continue to support the Point Foundation.
After the lineup of events Wright said he felt great about the event, because it was a celebration of Pointās scholars.
āSome are interning for United States senators, some are volunteering for leading national non-profits, so to be able to celebrate all thatās being done here is truly amazing,ā
Wright continued, thanking the D.C. restaurant community for consistently showing up in force to support Point.
āThis really helps to paint the picture that this movement is growing,ā he said. āPeople believe in this mission to provide LGBTQ young people with the opportunity to pursue their higher education goals, to improve their leadership abilities and then go on to make a significant impact on society.ā
CLICK HERE to see more photos from Taste of Point.
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member proposes change for Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs
Parker also seeks increased funding for LGBTQ programs in FY 2025 budget
D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Councilās only LGBTQ member, has asked his fellow Council members to support a proposal to change the Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs to become a āstand-alone entity outside the Executive Office of the Mayor to allow for greater transparency and accountability that reflects its evolution over the years.ā
In an April 30 letter to each of his 12 fellow Council members, Parker said he plans to introduce an amendment to the cityās Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Support Act to make this change for the LGBTQ Affairs Office.
His letter also calls for adding to the cityās FY 2025 budget two specific funding proposals that local LGBTQ activists submitted to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser that the mayor did not include in her budget proposal submitted to the Council. One calls for $1.5 million to fund the completion of the build out and renovation for the D.C. Center for the LGBTQ Communityās new building in the cityās Shaw neighborhood and $300,000 in subsequent years to support the LGBTQ Centerās operations.
Parkerās second budget proposal calls for what he said was about $450,000 to fund 20 additional dedicated LGBTQ housing vouchers as part of the cityās existing program to provide emergency housing support for LGBTQ residents and other residents facing homelessness.
āThe Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs currently manages about 90 vouchers across various programs and needs,ā Parker said in his letter to fellow Council members. āAdding an additional 20 vouchers will cost roughly $450,000,ā he wrote, adding that dedicated vouchers “play a crucial role in ensuring LGBTQ+ residents of the District can navigate the complex process of securing housing placements.ā
In her proposed FY ā25 budget, Bowser calls for a 7.6 percent increase in funding for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which amounts to an increase of $132,000, bringing the officeās total funding to $1.7 million.
āTo be clear, I support the strong work and current leadership of the Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs,ā Parker says in his letter to fellow Council members. āThis push for change is in recognition of the officeās notable achievements and the significant demands being placed on it, which require a greater level of accountability.ā
Parker told the Blade in an April 30 telephone interview that he believes Japer Bowles, the current director of the Office of L|GBTQ Affairs is doing an excellent job in operating the office, but he believes the office would be able to do more for the LGBTQ community under the change he is proposing.
āMaking it a stand-alone office versus it being clustered within the Community Affairs division of the mayorās office, it will get more attention,ā Parker told the Blade. āThe leadership will have greater flexibility to advocate for the interest of LGBTQ residents, And we will be able to conduct greater oversight of the office,ā he said, referring to the Councilās oversight process.
Parker noted that other community constituent offices in the mayorās office, including the Office of Latino Affairs and the Office of Veterans Affairs are stand-alone offices that he hopes to bring about for the LGBTQ Affairs Office. He said Council member Brianne Nadeau, who chairs the Council committee that has oversight for the LGBTQ Affairs Office, has expressed support for his proposal.
Also expressing support for Parkerās proposal to make the LGBTQ Affairs Office a stand-alone office is the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission Rainbow Caucus. Vincent Slatt, the caucusās chairperson, submitted testimony last week before the D.C. Council Committee on Public Works and Operations, which is chaired by Nadeau, calling for making the LGBTQ Affairs Office a stand-alone office outside the Executive Office of the Mayor.
Slatt also stated in his testimony that the office has a āchronic staffing shortageā and recommended that at least three additional staff members be assigned to the office.
Daniel Gleick, the mayorās press secretary, told the Blade the mayorās office is reviewing Parkerās budget proposals, including the proposed change for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
But in testimony at a May 1, D.C. Council budget hearing before the Councilās Committee on Executive Administration and Labor, Lindsey Parker, Mayor Bowserās Chief of Staff, appeared to express skepticism over making the LGBTQ Affairs office a stand-alone office. Lindsey Parker expressed her thoughts on the proposed change when asked about it by Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), who chairs the committee that held the hearing.
āI would proffer that it doesnāt matter whether the agency is within the EOM [Executive Office of the Mayor] or not,ā Lindsey Parker told Bonds. āThey will still be reporting up into one would argue the most important agency in the D.C. government, which is the one that supports the mayor,ā Lindsey Parker said. āSo, itās the closest to the mayor that you can get,ā she said āSo, you could pull it out and have a different budget chapter. I actually think thatās confusing and convoluted.ā
Lindsey Parker added, āThe Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs, with their six FTEs right now, if they were a stand-alone function they wouldnāt have all the non-personnel services in order to operate. They need to be under sort of the shop of the EOM in order to get those resources.āĀ
By FETs Lindsey Parker was referring to the term Full Time Equivalent employees. Ā