Bronx News Network

Health Conference Looks to Improve Care For Transgender Community

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Freddy Molano and Catherine Abate (right) of CommunityHealthcare Network, with transgender activistAshley Love, at last week’s conference.(Photo courtesy Community Healthcare Network) On Friday, health care providers and transgender advocates gathered at Lincoln Hospital for a day of discussions on the specific health needs of the borough’s transgender population-a group organizers say is often overlooked by the medical community at large.The event was hosted by the nonprofit health care provider Community Healthcare Network and the Bronx Pride Center, the borough’s only LGBT advocacy organization. “Bringing together over 150 service providers and consumers has put transgender health on the health agenda for the Borough,” said Bronx Pride director Dirk McCall. “We look forward to taking the next steps towards full equality for the transgender community.”Advocates say the transgender population has a unique set of health needs and faces several barriers when it comes to accessing proper care, including a lack of health insurance, using street hormones, self medicating, and significantly higher rates of HIV/AIDS infection.The conference also sought to draw medical providers’ attention to the social barriers and discrimination the trangender people face, and how to address those issues when providing health care.”The city has a transgender population of significant size, and they need someone to advocate for them,” said Dr. Monica Sweeney, Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control.Community Healthcare Network runs a health service program geared specifically for transgendered patients, launched in 2004. Based at the Bronx Health Center on 975 Westchester Avenue, the program offers primary care, hormone therapy, screening and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, mental health services, HIV testing and counseling, workshops, interventions, support groups, and more. For more information, call 718-320-6765.

Bronx News Network

At 110, A Bronx Church Tries to Reinvent Itself

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Editor’s note: Been meaning to post this story that first appeared in the May 4 edition of the Norwood News. So here it is. Photo slideshow by Adi Talwar. See more of Adi’s work at rawlat.com/adi.By Lulaine CompereIf not for an official from a faraway West African nation, the Church of the Holy Nativity in Norwood would have seen its 110th birth year come and go without so much as a peep.“One of our wardens from Sierra Leone got us to celebrate our 110the anniversary,” says Richard Kelly, a longtime parishioner.That Holy Nativity, an Episcopalian congregation, was reminded of its lengthy local history by a man from Sierra Leone, says a lot about the state of the church. Some long-standing church members, like Kelly, remain.

Bronx News Network

In Living Wage Battle, Vacca Remains Unconvinced

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Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared in this week’s Norwood News, out today.Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. at a rally last week in support of the living wage bill. (Courtesy Borough President’s Office)The City Council held a long-awaited hearing on a controversial living wage bill last Thursday, with both sides of the debate testifying about the potential effects of the legislation in a session that lasted over two hours. The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, sponsored by Bronx Council Members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma, would require developers of projects receiving taxpayer subsidies of more than $100,000 to pay workers $10 an hour with benefits, or $11.50 without. The bill, which sprang from the living wage fight that derailed a plan to develop the Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping mall, has the support of every Bronx Council member, with the exception of James Vacca, who had said he was waiting for a hearing on the issue before taking a side.“He’s wary of any legislation that might prevent jobs, and I’m not sure he’s convinced,” said Vacca spokesman Bret Nolan Collazzi, in a phone interview after the hearing. “We’re not planning on signing on at this time,” he said.The legislation currently has the support of 30 Council Members; 34 are needed to override a mayoral veto.The assertion that a living wage mandate would kill jobs was put forth in a report released by the city’s Economic Development Corporation last week.

Bronx News Network

Bronx News Roundup, Wednesday, May 18

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Lots going on today in the Bronx, like the distribution of the latest Norwood News in the Fordham, University Heights, Bedford Park and Norwood communities and some other stuff. We’ll roll out the NN stories in this space over the next few days, but don’t wait for that. Pick up your copy today. Ok, I’m done plugging. On to the news!Weather: Flood Watch still very much in effect today, with thunderstorms possible after 2 p.m. Keep galoshes, emergency row boat, handy.