August 6, 2010

Cool to Be Gay

Not so long ago being openly gay at school was not really an option for students.  60 Minutes' Charlotte Purdy meets some extraordinary young people who are proud to be out at school and are forging the way for other gay students to be open about their sexuality.  Click here to see the video.

July 28, 2010

Urban Explorers at Hetrick-Martin

This summer, young people from The Hetrick-Martin Institute will transform the agency’s multi-media room into a public art incubator for the highly-anticipated Man in the City Project.

This public art exhibition is lead by Robert Smith, Executive Vice President at Macy’s Inc., and co-chair of our Board of Directors, and is created by Artist John Sauvé in cooperation with the Marc Ecko Foundation, Sweat Equity Enterprises and the Sauvé Art Foundation.   The program includes visits with distinguished artists such as Marc Ecko, James Moritz, Rod Grozier, and representatives from the Keith Haring Foundation.
 
The Man in the City project is a site-specific work of art by sculptor John Sauvé. Young people from The Hetrick-Martin Institute will direct all aspects of the Man in the City public art project from concept to finished installation.  Students will learn about public art, landscape architecture, photography, film, writing and, most importantly, achieving a goal. 

Under the direction of the young people from The Hetrick-Martin Institute, 14 large-scale sculptures will be installed on the pathways and sidewalks located on the Highline in New York City, near the southern most entrance (Gansevoort Street, south of Standard Hotel).  The project will run from August 13 through August 20, 2010.

Contact Jeremy Bradley, Assistant Director of Development for more information.

June 22, 2010

All Our Children: Strategies to Prevent Homelessness, Strengthen Services, and Build Support for LGBTQ Youth

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg received the final report of recommendations from the City’s Commission for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Runaway and Homeless Youth.  The Commission began its work in October 2009 and was charged with developing strategies to address the unique needs of LGBTQ youth.  Thomas Krever, Executive Director of The Hetrick-Martin Institute served on the committee.  Many of the strategies outlined in the report can be undertaken immediately, and the Mayor has directed the City’s Department of Youth and Community Development to raise the age limit from 21 to 24 in its drop-in centers. The Mayor also directed the agency to reach out to New York State regarding regulatory changes that would require other runaway and homeless youth residential programs to serve the expanded age range.  Click here to read the full report.

June 21, 2010

Maison 24 Opens Seasonal Fire Island Store to Tap Well-Heeled Vacation Home Owners

Maison 24, which opened its Bridgehampton, N.Y., store in 2008 selling a mix of traditional and trend-setting home décor and accessories, is testing out a seasonal store in the summer vacation destination of Fire Island Pines.

The 660-square-foot store opened May 14 and will stay open through the summer. The idea is to cater to the affluent customers with vacation homes in the area.

The store also has a social mission aspect: Visitors to both of Maison 24's locations can purchase "I Kiss Boys" and "I Kiss Girls" tote bags designed by the youth members of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School.  The tote bags were a creation of the youth members’ invovlement with Polo Fashion School – a collaboration between the Institute and Polo Ralph Lauren.  The sale of these tote bags will support the mission of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which is the nation's oldest and largest social services organization serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning teenagers.

May 20, 2010

Legislation to Protect LGBT Students from Bullying at School

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined Senator Al Franken and 21 of their Senate colleagues to introduce the Student Non-Discrimination Act to protect students who are (or are perceived to be) lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender  (LGBT) from harassment, bullying, and violence at school.

“All children should always feel safe and secure in our schools,” said Sen. Gillibrand. “While at school to learn, some students are forced to endure harassment, violence, bullying, and intimidation because of their sexual orientation. This is completely unacceptable. Our laws ensure that all students have access to public education in a safe environment free from discrimination, and these laws must  guarantee  these same protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. This is the only way to ensure that every student has the opportunity to achieve his or her God given potential.”

“Kids need to feel safe in their schools in order to learn,” said Sen. Franken. “Our nation’s civil rights laws protect our children from bullying due to race, sex, religion, disability, and national origin. My proposal corrects a glaring injustice and extends these protections to our gay and lesbian students who need them just as badly. No student should have to dread going to school because they fear being bullied.”
 
“We have a responsibility to provide every student with a safe and inclusive learning environment,” said New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “For the past two years, we’ve been working with advocates and community members to expand our Respect for All program in New York City. However, this is an issue of national scope and I thank Senator Gillibrand for recognizing this. Because of her work on the Student Non-Discrimination Act students across the nation will be provided create safe, supportive learning environments, and I commend her for this act of leadership.”

"The Hetrick-Martin Institute, our nation's oldest and largest LGBTQ youth service provider commends Senator Gillibrand and those vanguards of human rights who recognize that education - free of discrimination, bullying, victimization and abuse - is not a privilege, but a right,” says Hetrick-Martin Institute Executive Director Thomas Krever.  “We applaud this act of legislation that sends a profound message to our nation's most vulnerable population; its youth, and to those that care for them, adults, that equality for all and the dignity that accompanies it, will now be fully realized and that all young people - regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity truly do matter and actions contrary to this will no longer be tolerated."
 
Surveys indicate that nearly nine in 10 LGBT students have been bullied, and a recent study conducted by doctors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that LGBT youth are bullied two to three times more often than their heterosexual peers.

The harassment LGBT youth experience in school deprives them of equal educational opportunities by increasing their likelihood of skipping school, underperforming academically, and eventually dropping out.  It can also have a detrimental effect on their physical and mental health.  Left unchecked, this harassment can lead to life-threatening violence and suicide.
 
The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) would establish a comprehensive federal prohibition against discrimination in public schools based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.  It would forbid schools from discriminating against LGBT students or ignoring harassing behavior.
 
SNDA would also provide meaningful and effective remedies (loss of federal funding and a legal cause of action for victims) for discrimination in public schools based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, modeled after Title IX.

SNDA is co-sponsored by Senators. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Robert Menedez (D-N.J.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii).

May 20, 2010

Building a Network of Gay Entrepreneurs

from the New York Times

There are some 1.2 million gay-owned businesses in the United States and about 29,000 of them belong to local gay chambers of commerce. StartOut is a new nonprofit networking group for gay entrepreneurs. This month, StartOut volunteers plan to teach teenagers about entrepreneurship at the Hetrick-Martin Institute, a New York City nonprofit organization that serves gay youths. Mr. Spedale and a few colleagues will play the part of investors, critiquing the teenagers as they come up with and present business ideas, discussing how to get clients, sell products and complete other entrepreneurial tasks. Read the entire article here.

Hetrick-Martin Reaches Thousands Through Social Networking Grant

Funded through the Office of Minority Health, Department of Health and Human Services, The Hetrick-Martin Institute now partners with Columbia University’s Project STAY to embark on an incredible expansion of our HIV Prevention Services and our testing efforts. Hetrick-Martin will disseminate HIV education information, testing reminders, and general safe sex tips via a to-be-installed SMS texting system. Youth will be able to sign up to our personal texting list and receive automated reminders, with messaging crafted through our CHAT Youth Internship.  Hetrick-Martin will increase our community presence as an HIV education leader by training groups of 18-24 year old individuals as HIV Prevention Peer Educators. These Peer Educators will deliver workshops, performances, and educational seminars to youth audiences at other local community-based organizations, detailing the dangers of HIV, the benefits of regular testing and knowing one’s status, open avenues to access HIV care, and the benefits of safe sex and positive communication. To book a visit click here.  Peer Educators will utilize new media formats (Twitter, Facebook, and Hetrick-Martin’s own website) to craft animated vignettes, flash videos, and splash pages that will engage visitors and participants in expanding their HIV prevention knowledge and receive regular testing. It is our goal to reach several thousand youth via text and web messaging over the course of this grant.

Hetrick-Martin featured on "Life in the Fab Lane"

On Sunday, April 25, The Hetrick-Martin Institute was featured on the reality television show "Life in the Fab Lane" featuring Kimora Lee Simmons, board member and volunteer at the Institute.  This exclusive episode featured scenes of Kimora's recent visit to the after-school programs at Hetrick-Martin and a spotlight on the 2009 Emery Awards where Kimora served as mistress of ceremonies.  Keep an eye on your local listings for re-runs of this episode on the Style Network.  Visit the show's site and see a clip of the episode by clicking here.

Pride Goes East

Pride Goes East is a celebration of Pride on the East Side that will benefit The Hetrick-Martin Institute.  Kicking off on May 20th and lasting the entire month of June, PGE will play host to a bevy of cultural events including Performance Space 122 and Dixon Place, as well as amazing shopping and dining, various boutiques and eateries, such as By Robert James and Lucky Jack's, throughout the East Village and Lower East Side. 

Click here to learn more.

Vaginal Davis Is Speaking From the Diaphragm
May 15-27, Wed-Sat 8PM, Sun 6PM
Performance Space 122, 150 1st Ave at E. 9th St.
www.ps122.org
Taking the format of legendary talk shows like Dinah!, Ms Davis isn't interested in assimilating into the mainstream entertainment complex, but instead wishes to dissect a TV staple by presenting guests from the worlds of literature, dance, theatre, film and art she has intersected in her career as an artist.

Red Mother
May 27-June 6, Thurs-Sat 8PM, Sun 2:30PM
La MaMa First Floor Theatre, 74A East 4th Street
www.lamama.org
Muriel Miguel, the acclaimed Native American performer and co-founder of the Obie-award-winning collective Spiderwoman Theater, has cast herself as a Mother Courage character in her newest play, "Red Mother." Murielle Borst, Artistic Director of The Silvercloud Singers and Dancers, and Miguel’s daughter, is director and choreographer.

LAVA: Loving & Daring
June 3-20, Wed-Sun 7:30PM June 12, 13, 19 & 20 3PM
Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St
www.dixonplace.org
Loving & Daring celebrates Lava’s 10 year retrospective as New York’s OBIE and Bessie Award winning all-female integrated dance, theater, and acrobatic troupe. The signature LAVA works combine athletic physicality, intellectual rigor, social commentary, and multi-media theatricality. Loving & Daring bursts with highlights from a decade of explosive choreography, which integrates daring irreverence, color, and surprising audience participation.

Bull Dyke Chronicles
June 5 & 12, 9:30PM
Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St.
www.dixonplace.org
Shelly Mars & Kirby (DP's mascot) offer a night of bull-dyke bullshit, artistry and edgy performance. Shake your tails off.

The Final Episode of Room for Cream
June 5, 5PM & 6:30PM
La MaMa E.T.C., 74A  East 4th Street
www.lamama.org
Lacey Chambers and Portia Morrison continued to get hot and heavy in the most inappropriate places, therapist Wendy struggled with her desire for younger patient Francesca Beam, Julie pursued a dangerous love connection with mysterious newcomer Bella, and Dire Owens grappled with the possibility that Cream might close its doors for good.

To Believe
June 6-27, Thurs-Sun 1-6PM
La MaMa La Galleria, 6 E. 1st St.
www.lamama.org
When faced with impossible questions, mortality or dire situations, people turn to unconventional means or practices for answers. The artists in To Believe are a mixture of skeptics and believers, participants and observers. Through their work they consider the actions taken to achieve self-fulfillment and enlightenment through the otherworldly.

Black Girl Ugly
June 10-26, All performances 8PM except June 26 7:30PM
WOW Café Theatre, 59-61 E. 4th St.
www.wowcafe.org
It ain't easy comin' up Black, not to mention female. Ever considered how difficult it is to cultivate a healthy self-image surrounded by white media? Courtney Dowe, Li’l T. and Chiquita Brooks take you into the collective subconscious of Black Girls trying to hold fast to their love of self.

The Coffeehouse Chronicles
June 19, 3PM
La MaMa E.T.C. The Club, 74A East 4th Street
www.lamama.org
Deals with the gay history of Off-Off Broadway, with guests Robert Heide, Robert Dahdah and others, and will include a DVD appearance by revered gay playwright Robert Patrick.

Too Much PRIDE Makes the Baby Go Gay: 30 Gay Plays in 60 Straight Minutes
June 25 & 26, 10:30PM
The Kraine Theater, 85 E. 4th Street
www.nyneofuturists.org
30 plays reveal the struggle, the joy, the power of being out and proud in NYS in support of acceptance and freedom for all the world's citizens. The award-winning New York Neo-Futurists will be raising money to benefit LGBT advocacy in Uganda through the Fund for Global Human Rights, in an effort to combat proposed legislation that could make it a criminal offense to be gay, with punishment by imprisonment and even execution.  

The Gay Divorce Show
June 26th, 10:00pm WOW Cafe Theater, 59-61 E. 4th St. www.hypergender.com In this salute to Queer Pride, HyperGender Burlesque will bring you some beloved burlesqueers who will excite, shock and make you feel at home among the strange, bizarre and campy.  What better way to warm up for the all night debauchery but with the help of sexy, naked queers?

East Side Scavenger Hunt
June 19, 1PM-5PM
Via Twitter all over the East Side!
https://twitter.com/PrideGoesEast
Interested in the secrets of NYC’s hottest neighborhoods?  Looking for an afternoon of friendly competition and FAME?  Then join our scavenger hunt on Saturday, June 26th from 1PM-5PM, where you will compete to uncover the secrets of the Lower East Side & East Village, clue by clue.  The winner will receive prizes and be crowned King or Queen of the Lower East Side 2010 at the end of the day. Sign-up to get the rules via our website or by direct messaging us on Twitter.

Ladies’ Brunch
June 20, 1PM-4PM
www.pridegoeseast.com
Get your brunch one "bite" at a time when you join Pride Goes East for an afternoon of shopping and delectable brunch sampling provided by Spitzer's Corner on Sunday, June 20th from 1pm-3pm. LES clothing and accessories boutiques, including gourmet food and natural cosmetics purveyor, MastihaShop; eco-friendly boutique, Kaight; and adult toy and discovery shop, Babeland, will each be offering a different brunch "bite" to satisfy your cravings, so make sure you hit all stops! Make a purchase at participating retailers of $50 or more and you’ll be rewarded with prizes! For anyone who considers themselves a lady.

Gentlemen’s Night Out
June 24, 6PM-9PM
www.pridegoeseast.com
On Thursday, June 24th, Pride Goes East will sponsor a Gentlemen's Night Out shopping crawl at several on the Lower East Side men's clothing and accessories stores from 6pm-9pm, including well-tailored separates designer By Robert James; rare and UK-specific menswear source Any Old Iron; and punk rock denim, leather and t-shirt designer, The Cast. Enjoy a unique and complimentary beverage in each shop. Retailers will also reward shoppers who spend over $50 with prizes, so be sure to check out all participating stores!

BTGay Band
June 24, 9PM-11PM
Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie
www.pridegoeseast.com
A special presentation of BTK Band, NYC's hardest-drinking improvised storytelling rock band, in their Pride celebration performance, BTGay Band! Raconteurs regale the audience with true stories from their lives while music and lyrics are improvised to turn their stories into songs.

Downtown Double Feature
June 26, 1PM-5PM
Millennium Film Workshop, 66-68 East 4th Street, Lower Level
www.pridegoeseast.com
Come catch two films that started as plays down on East 4th Street, RENT and Torch Song Trilogy at Millennium Film Workshop. RENT, the smash hit musical that started at New York Theatre Workshop, dramatizes the lives of artists in Alphabet City in the late 80’s via rock-ballads. Torch Song Trilogy, the movie version of three plays by Harvey Fierstein that originally appeared at La MaMa E.T.C., focuses on Arnold Beckoff, a torch song-singing Jewish drag queen living in New York City in the late 1970 and 1980s. A teen friendly event with FREE cupcakes provided by the Lower East Side Girls’ Club.

Shop-a-thon
June 19th-26th
At any sponsoring business
Show your Pride by shopping on the East side at sponsoring business from June 19th to June 26th and a portion of your purchase will be donated to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk School. All week long, shoppers mentioning Pride Goes East at check-outs will be rewarded with free FAB Passes, which offer year round discounts to theaters through-out the East Village and Lower East Side.

MARCH 23, 2010

The Marble Faun speaks out ...

Jerry Torre, the young man who appeared in the original Grey Gardens documentary speaks out about The Hetrick-Martin Institute. 

Reaching out for help was futile at the time of my having runaway from home.  My first priority was to find housing, food and then finish High School.  My early years were a mix of abandonment and abuse, both physical and emotional.  There was no support from within my family, to reach out to my father would only result in beatings.  Choices were few, yet the ones I had to make needed to be based on preserving my being for hopefully better days in my future.  My future has been evolving since I had run away from home and continues to the present day.  Read more here ... 

Hetrick-Martin is hosting its annual School's Out cocktail party at Grey Gardens on June 12th.  Details and tickets are found here.

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

HMI on CNN Headline News

Breaking News! Thomas Krever, HMI's Executive Director, appeared on CNN Headline News on Friday, February 12 at 7 pm EST (channel 58 in Manhattan).  Click here to watch the clip on "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell."  Krever discusses bullying in schools and Hetrick-Martin's mission in serving LGBTQ youth.

Thomas Krever Featured on AsIAmFM

As part of the recent American Psychoanalytic Association's National Meeting held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, Thomas Krever, Executive Director of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School, participated on a panel to discuss the psychodynamic impact of being bullied. In particular, Krever addressed the experience of homosexual or transgender children who are bullied.

Click here to hear the discussion with Krever about this important issue and the role that the Hetrick-Martin Institute serves in providing a safe environment in which teens may continue their education.

December 29, 2009

Helping Youths Who Struggle With Identity

by Jennifer S. Lee, New York Times

Vidari DeGuzman was a New York City teenager searching for acceptance when he first came to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, a service organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youths. Now 24 and with reassignment surgery behind him, he is a youth worker at the institute, located in the East Village.

Making the connection: The Hetrick-Martin Institute really changed my life, honestly. As a youth, I went there when I had nowhere else to go to. It was a place where they accepted me for who I was, and I always thought that if I had a chance to go back and help create a safe space for someone else, I would do so. When I was a youth there, the staff were like our mothers, our fathers. As a staff member now, I find that I take these kids home with me. I look at the young people as the reason I get up every morning.

Click here to read more.