Callen-Lorde Community Health Center

As things heat up into the summer, keep an eye out for ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBDs). Most New Yorkers get tick bites when they are outside of the city, but cases are reported in more brushy or wooded areas, commonly in parts of the Bronx or Staten Island.

The most common TBDs include: include Lyme disease, babesiosis and anaplasmosis. There are also growing cases of Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS). Primarily caused by lone star tick bites, it can create a mild to severe allergic reaction to the alpha-gal molecule which is found in meat and other animal products.

Here's what you can do:

- Avoid or be cautious of brushy or wooded area.
- Shower within 2 hours of coming in doors.
- Use EPA-registered insect repellent.
- Check for ticks after outdoor activities!
- Tell your provider if you think you may have been bitten and if you find a tick that has bitten you, try to save it for testing!

Enjoy the warm weather and stay safe!

Thea was a compassionate and dedicated care provider. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Adelphi University and later became the Director of the Psychiatric Clinic at the International Center for the Disabled and was a Clinical Consultant in Rehabilitation at St. Vincent's Hospital.

In 1963, she met Edie Windsor. The two remained engaged until 2007, when the pair was married in Toronto, Ontario, under the Canadian Civil Marriage Act. After Dr. Spyer's passing, Edie was required to pay federal estate taxes on her inheritance of her wife's estate because federal law did not recognize their marriage. The legal dispute that followed concluded the in the landmark civil rights case United States v. Windsor, which held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

Her legacy of compassion continues today through the Thea Spyer Center, a behavioral health clinic housed within the Callen-Lorde Chelsea location, that continues to care for patients regardless of identity or ability to pay.

This take care of yourself and our community by checking your status!

Keep practicing resistance by getting tested, staying informed and celebrating with an afternoon of music, giveaways and more!

National HIV Testing Day
When: June 23, 3:30 - 6:30
Where: Union Square, NYC
DJed by
Hosted by:

Everyone has an HIV status, check yours!

It's the first weekend of Pride Month and you can catch us at these Pride Events through the next week!

Seven Days in June: Candlelight Vigil and Rally
June 5 at 7pm, NYC AIDS Memorial

Papi Juice Party at Brooklyn Bridge Park
June 6 at 4 to 10pm, Brooklyn Bridge Park at Pier 6

Kiki Coalition Youth Pride Fest
June 6 at 2 to 9pm, Pier 84: 555 12th Ave @ 43rd St.

Queens Pride
June 7 at 12 to 6pm, Jackson Heights

Say hi!

You're invited!

Earlier this week, and announced our new Party and Prevention kits. These kits, which will be distributed to our communities at no cost throughout June at the Callen-Lorde Chelsea clinic, are designed to keep people safe and educated while they have fun.

Each kit includes an OraQuick HIV self-test, PrEP on-demand, DoxyPEP, naloxone, fentanyl and xylazine test strips, condoms, l**e, dental dams, lip balm, sunscreen, hand sanitizer and Plan B (by request).

You can pick up a pack on June 5 and 6, June 12 and 13, June 26 from noon-3:00pm at the Callen-Lorde Chelsea located at 356 West 18th Street.

Kits will also be available on June 23 from 3:00-6:30pm in Union Square Park as part of NYC’s National HIV Testing Day event!

Stay informed. Stay safe. Have a good time.

For we wanted to highlight the career and impact of a singular talent: Andre De Shields.

This Broadway legend and Tony Award winner has been nourishing audiences with his distinctive style and presence for decades. For most of this time, he has also been living with HIV, having been diagnosed in the earliest years of the crisis. He has lost partners to AIDS, including long-term partner playwright Chico Kasinoir.

In response, De Shields has become a fierce advocate for AIDS awareness and activism. His commitment to both his art and his beliefs has informed his legacy as a prominent q***r elder in New York theater, a role he also personifies in , the re-imagined, ballroom-immersed revival of CATS.

Although many long-term survivors are thriving, just as many face challenges and need the support of our community. Want to get involved? Check out the volunteer opportunities offered by to connect with more of our q***r elders: https://bit.ly/4dRdR89

One of the first LGBTQ+ riots in US history, the Compton Cafeteria riot occurred in 1966, just a few years before Stonewall on the opposite coast. The uprising was comprised of mostly trans women, s*x workers, and queens, specifically people of color, in San Fransico's Tenderloin district in response to police harassment.

Compton's Cafeteria was a 24-hour diner and community staple for s*x workers and other denizens of the Tenderloin. Since it wasn't covered by media and few records exist, we only know it began on an August night in 1966. Police responded to a call and attempted to arrest a trans woman, who promptly threw a cup of coffee into their faces. A riot broke out and continued into the street, where the participants threw diner items through the windows and fought with police.

Instead of standing down to police violence and the threat of arrest, those who took part returned to protest the diner the next day. Once again, they broke the (newly replaced) windows.

Largely forgotten in the timeline of LGBTQ+ civil rights, this act of resistance has been elevated and celebrated in recent years. You can learn more about this moment in q***r history from Susan Stryker's incredible 2005 documentary Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria which features interviews with the figures who led the charge. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-WASW9dRBU

We are so excited that Dr. David Holland has been appointed as Associate Chief Medical Officer at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.

Dr. Holland brings distinguished clinical and leadership experience, most recently serving as Chief Medical Officer for Mercy Care in Atlanta, Georgia where he delivered high-quality, equitable care to underserved populations.

Throughout his career, Dr. Holland has been a leader in HIV treatment and prevention, tuberculosis care, and s*xual health services. His pioneering work includes establishing the first PrEP clinic for uninsured patients in Georgia and launching Atlanta’s first rapid-entry HIV clinic, significantly improving timely access to care. He also played a critical leadership role in Atlanta’s COVID-19 response, overseeing clinical efforts that contributed to the vaccination of more than 500,000 individuals.

In his new role at Callen-Lorde, Dr. Holland will partner with clinical leadership in the Office of the CMO to advance high-quality, patient-centered care, support innovation in service delivery, and strengthen our commitment to the communities we serve.

Cecilia was a fearless and deeply compassionate community leader. Her experience coming to the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant, participating in s*x work and living her authentic life as a trans woman of color all informed her advocacy and leadership.

Her presence touched many organizations, including Apicha and GHMC. Her commitment to creating a more fruitful world for trans people led her to found Trans Equity Consulting. She co-founded DecrimNY, an essential force in the repeal of the “Walking While Trans” ban and passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA).

Together with Callen-Lorde she opened Cecilia’s Occupational Inclusion Network, our COIN Clinic. COIN was the first clinic of its kind on the East Coast and carries on Cecilia’s legacy of caring for all and ensuring free and affirming healthcare for s*x workers.

***rvoices