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School lawsuit settled
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SF International Asian Am. Film Fest
Nightlife is big business in SF
The
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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Vol. 42 • No. 10 • March 8-14, 2012
HRC pick largely praised by Matthew S. Bajko
T
he change in leadership this summer at the Human Rights Campaign is largely being welcomed by San Francisco LGBT leaders who hope it brings a course correction at the national organization. Last week HRC’s board announced it had chosen Chad Griffin, a Los Angeles-based political Rick Gerharter consultant and fun- Chad Griffin draiser, as the successor to president Joe Solmonese. Griffin, 38, founded American Foundation for Equal Rights, the group that brought the federal lawsuit against California’s ban against samesex marriage. When he starts this June, Griffin will have his work cut out for him in reaching out to LGBT people and groups in San Francisco. Despite his role in the successful legal challenge against Proposition 8, Griffin is not well known among Bay Area LGBT people. Besides increasing his name recognition Griffin, who was unavailable to comment for this story, will also be met with the fact that the DC-based HRC has had a fraught relationship with the LGBT community in the Bay Area for years. The list of complaints against HRC runs the gamut. Among progressives, anger still lingers over how the lobbyist organization has handled transgender issues. Locals boycotted HRC’s 2008 San Francisco gala dinner to protest its backing a federal workers rights bill that did not include gender identity protections. Griffin will be closely watched to see how HRC advocates for a transgender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act once he takes the helm. Writing on Facebook last week, local gay activist Jason Villalobos wrote of Griffin’s hiring that “wounds with the trans community still need to be healed or better addressed before the progressive faction of the gay rights movement even considers supporting HRC.” In a phone interview Gabriel Haaland, a labor leader and transgender activist who helped organize the HRC gala picket, said he is “hopeful” that Griffin can “bring a more representative perspective of our community” to HRC and that the decisions it makes under his leadership “resonate more strongly than they do now.” Haaland, who said he didn’t know much about Griffin, hopes he makes it a point to See page 16 >>
Masen Davis
Julie Dorf
Mariah Hanson
David Harness
Pride grand marshal nominees announced Read story on page 15 >>
Kate Kendell
Sister Roma
Olga Talamante
Morningstar Vancil
Plans for TL Health clients announced by Seth Hemmelgarn
A
fter weeks of virtual silence, the San Francisco Department of Public Health has announced transition plans for clients of Tenderloin Health. The nonprofit, which serves some of the city’s poorest residents, including many who are living with HIV and AIDS, will close April 6, public health staff said in a Friday, March 2 statement. Tenderloin Health, which is headquartered on Golden Gate Avenue, serves about 3,000 unduplicated clients. Officials say they have been working for a “smooth transition” to ensure their care isn’t interrupted. Many of the people the agency serves will go to Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, which is also located in the Tenderloin. In the city’s statement, Health Director Barbara Garcia said she’s “confident that we have entered into agreements with excellent providers who will continue the important work begun by Tenderloin Health.” The nonprofit’s board voted in December to close. That decision came about two months after the agency was notified that it was losing more than $500,000 in federal funding. Tenderloin Health, which has been financially troubled for years, has a budget of about $6.4 million. Officials didn’t publicly announce the decision to shut down until early January, after the Bay Area Reporter had been reporting on
Jane Philomen Cleland
API Wellness Center’s Lance Toma
the agency’s status for weeks. At least some of Tenderloin Health’s clients first learned of the agency’s closure from the B.A.R. Garcia said that officials had tried to find merger partners “and other funding options that did not come to fruition.” The HIV Health Services, Housing and Urban Health, and HIV Prevention units of DPH have worked to create deals with other community organizations to ensure uninterrupted care, Garcia said. Primary care, case management, dental, and many other services will
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continue at the current site. API Wellness Center will take over administration of the Tenderloin Area Center of Excellence, which involves the city’s efforts to provide care and support to people living with HIV in the neighborhood. Tom Waddell Health Center has also been a partner in that work along with Tenderloin Health and API Wellness Center. Lance Toma, executive director of API Wellness Center, said that the services they’re taking over are similar to what they already provide. He didn’t know how many clients the agency would be getting. “Our commitment is to ensure there is continuity of services for all of the HIV-positive clients that Tenderloin Health is currently serving through the Tenderloin Center of Excellence,” Toma said in an interview. API Wellness Center, which has a budget of about $3.4 million, serves from 2,000 to 3,000 unduplicated clients. Toma said his agency would get $540,000 annually from the health department that had been going to Tenderloin Health. He said they would try to retain as many of Tenderloin Health’s direct-service staffers as they can. Those include mental health providers and behavioral health specialists. Tenderloin Health has about 38 paid staff. Lutheran Social Services will take over emergency housing services for people living with HIV, according to the health department. See page 16 >>