Fenway Health (formally Fenway Community Health Center, Inc.) is an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) health care, research and advocacy organization founded by Northeastern University students and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.[3]
In 1971, Northeastern University students David Scondras and Linda Beane opened a drop-in center in the basement of a senior center operated by The First Church of Christ, Scientist.[4] They named the center the Fenway Community Health Center and staffed it with volunteer nursing students. By 1973, demand had grown to the point where Fenway incorporated as a freestanding health center and sought a larger space at 16 Haviland Street. Today, this space serves as Fenway: Sixteen, the home of Fenway's HIV Counseling, Testing & Referrals Program, Health Navigation Services, Helplines, and gay and bisexual men's health programs. The 16 Haviland Street location has since been closed as Fenway continues its attempts at reaching a broader audience than its traditional LGBT+ clients. In 1978, the center became fully licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.[5]
Fenway became involved in treating HIV/AIDS patients in the early 1980s. In 1981, Fenway made the first diagnosis of AIDS in New England. Fenway's involvement with advocacy and HIV/AIDS research led to its 1994 selection by the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases as one of eight sites recruiting participants for the first clinical trials of an HIV vaccine.[3]
Fenway's Alternative Insemination program, one of the first in the nation to offer AI services to lesbians, saw its first baby born in 1985.
Fenway held its first annual Dinner Party in 1992, a fundraiser for Fenway Women's Health that will become one of the largest LGBTQIA+ events in the nation.
In 1999, Fenway held the first annual Audre Lorde Cancer Awareness Brunch, a celebration of women of color and their supporters whose lives have been affected by cancer.
In 2001, Fenway launched The Fenway Institute, a national interdisciplinary center dedicated to ensuring cultural competence in health care for the LGBT community through research and evaluation, training and education, and policy and advocacy.
Fenway launched the Transgender Health Program in 2004 to help provide health care to this often underserved population. Seeing over 4,400 patients today, the program continues to expand to comprehensively address the needs of our transgender and gender non-conforming community.
In 2007, the American College of Physicians published The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health, edited by Dr. Harvey Makadon, Dr. Kenneth Mayer and Hilary Goldhammer of the Fenway Institute at Fenway Health, and Dr. Jennifer Potter of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "We realized this was an important area that wasn't being covered," Dr. Steven Weinberger, senior vice president for medical education and publishing of the American College of Physicians, said in an interview at the time. "It has not been taught in medical school...it sort of falls through the cracks in terms of the standard curriculum."[6]
Fenway Health today
Fenway's current Ansin Building home at 1340 Boylston Street in Boston opened its doors in 2009.[7] At ten stories and 100,000 square feet (9,300m2), it is the largest LGBT health and research facility in the United States.[8]
In 2015, Fenway's National LGBT Health Education Center held a first-of-its-kind medical conference focused on transgender health.
In December 2017, Fenway's CEO, Steven Boswell, resigned due to his handling of complaints about a prominent doctor who allegedly sexually harassed and bullied staff members of the health clinic. Boswell reportedly ignored a recommendation by an independent law firm to fire the doctor with numerous complaints of harassment.[11] The center's board appointed M. Jane Powers, Fenway's director of behavioral health, as interim CEO.
In 2017, Jennifer Potter, MD, was named co-chair of The Fenway Institute, alongside Kenneth Mayer, MD.
In early 2020, Ellen LaPointe was named the new CEO of Fenway Health.[12] With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting soon after, Fenway removed the majority of medical and behavioral health appointments to telehealth, established testing programs in Boston and Everett, and activated several research studies, including COVID-19 vaccine trials.
Operations
Services at Fenway Health include medical and mental health, dental, eye care and pharmacy. Fenway also offers HIV prevention and health navigation services,[13] and a Violence Recovery Program.[14]
Fenway is also home to the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center.[15] The Center provides educational programs, resources, and consultation to health care organizations with the goal of optimizing quality, cost-effective health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and all sexual and gender minority (LGBTQIA+) people.
The Education Center is a part of The Fenway Institute,[16] the internationally renowned research, training, and health policy division of Fenway Health.
Fenway Health's records are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, Massachusetts.[17]
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, commonly called The Center, is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population of New York City and nearby communities.
AIDS service organizations are community-based organizations that provide support for people affected by HIV/AIDS. This article focuses on HIV/AIDS service organizations in the United States only. However, it is important to note that similar organizations in other countries, such as Canada, also played significant roles during the HIV/AIDS crisis and share many common experiences and challenges.
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center is a primary care center located at 356 West 18th Street in New York City, New York. Callen-Lorde also provides comprehensive mental health services at The Thea Spyer Center, located at 230 West 17th Street. Callen-Lorde is dedicated to providing medical health care to the city's LGBTQ population without regard of ability to pay. It is named in honor of Michael Callen and Audre Lorde.
Founded in 1983, AIDS Action Committee (AAC) of Massachusetts is a not-for-profit, community-based health organization whose mission is to stop the epidemic and related health inequities by eliminating new infections, maximizing healthier outcomes of those infected and at risk, and attacking the root causes of HIV/AIDS. Based in Boston, it is New England's oldest and largest AIDS service organization. Since 2013, it has been operating as part of Fenway Health. It provides free, confidential services to more than 3,500 men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS as well as prevention services to many thousands of men, women and youth who are not living with HIV or do not know their status.
Howard Brown Health is a nonprofit LGBTQ healthcare and social services provider that was founded in 1974. It is based in Chicago and was named after Howard Junior Brown.
APLA Health is a non-profit organization based in California, United States, focused on building healthcare capacity and promoting wellbeing for LGBT people and those living with HIV. It was founded as AIDS Project Los Angeles in 1983, and is now among the largest non-profit HIV service organizations in the United States.
Many retirement issues for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and intersex people are unique from their non-LGBTI counterparts and these populations often have to take extra steps addressing their employment, health, legal and housing concerns to ensure their needs are met. Throughout the United States, "2 million people age 50 and older identify as LGBT, and that number is expected to double by 2030", estimated in a study done by the Institute for Multigenerational Health at the University of Washington. In 1969, the Stonewall Riots marked the start of the modern gay rights movement and increasingly LGBTQ+ people have become more visible and accepted into mainstream cultures. LGBTQ+ elders and retirees are still considered a newer phenomenon creating challenges and opportunities as a range of aging issues are becoming more understood as those who live open lives redefine commonly held beliefs and as retirees newly come out of the closet.
Perry N. Halkitis is an American of Greek ancestry public health psychologist and applied statistician known for his research on the health of LGBT populations with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS, substance use, and mental health. Perry is Dean and Professor of Biostatistics, Health Education, and Behavioral Science at the Rutgers School of Public Health.
Various topics in medicine relate particularly to the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) individuals as well as other sexual and gender minorities. According to the US National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, these areas include sexual and reproductive health, mental health, substance use disorders, HIV/AIDS, HIV-related cancers, intimate partner violence, issues surrounding marriage and family recognition, breast and cervical cancer, inequities in healthcare and access to care. In medicine, various nomenclature, including variants of the acronym LGBTQIA+, are used as an umbrella term to refer to individuals who are non-heterosexual, non-heteroromantic, or non-cis gendered. Specific groups within this community have their own distinct health concerns, however are often grouped together in research and discussions. This is primarily because these sexual and gender minorities groups share the effects of stigmatization based on their gender identity or expression, and/or sexual orientation or affection orientation. Furthermore, there are subpopulations among LGBTQIA+ groups based on factors such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic location, and age, all of which can impact healthcare outcomes.
The Center for Black Equity is a coalition of Black gay pride organizers formed to promote a multinational network of LGBT/SGL Prides and community-based organizations.
The Portal was a Baltimore LGBT community center for LGBT African Americans in the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area. It was owned and maintained by Empowering New Concepts, Inc. ENC, Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) community based organization established in 2001 by current CEO Rickie Green. Intended as a safe place for LGBT people of color, they offered health and safety information including AIDS awareness. The Portal "promotes stronger, more effective same gender loving communities of color through access to quality healthcare and economic and educational services." They served men who have sex with men as well as women who have sex with women.
LGBT sex education is a sex education program within a school, university, or community center that addresses the sexual health needs of LGBT people.
Mazzoni Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit health care provider in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that serves the LGBT community.
Boston is a hub of LGBT culture and LGBT activism in the United States, with a rich history dating back to the election of the nation's first openly gay state representative, Elaine Noble, in 1974. The city is home to notable organizations like GLAD and Fenway Health, and it played a pivotal role in the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. Various neighborhoods, including the South End, are known for their sizable LGBT populations, while numerous LGBT bars and entertainment venues offer spaces for community gatherings. Boston hosts an annual Pride Parade, and despite challenges, it continues to be a prominent event. Noteworthy organizations like The Welcoming Committee and the Boston Gay Men's Chorus contribute to the city's vibrant LGBT community, while The History Project preserves its rich history through an extensive LGBTQ archive.
The Montrose Center is an LGBTQ community center located in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The organization provides an array of programs and services for the LGBTQ community, including mental and behavioral health, anti-violence services, support groups, specialized services for youth, seniors, and those living with HIV, community meeting space, and it now operates the nation's largest LGBTQ-affirming, affordable, senior living center in the nation, the Law Harrington Senior Living Center. It is a member of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. It is in Neartown (Montrose).
Domestic violence in same-sex relationships or intragender violence is a pattern of violence or abuse that occurs within same-sex relationships. Domestic violence is an issue that affects people of any sexuality, but there are issues that affect victims of same-sex domestic violence specifically. These issues include homophobia, internalized homophobia, HIV and AIDS stigma, STD risk and other health issues, lack of legal support, and the violence they face being considered less serious than heterosexual domestic violence. Moreover, the issue of domestic violence in same-sex relationships has not been studied as comprehensively as domestic violence in heterosexual relationships. However, there are legal changes being made to help victims of domestic violence in same-sex relationships, as well as organizations that cater specifically to victims of domestic violence in same-sex relationships.
LGBT erasure refers to the tendency to intentionally or unintentionally remove LGBT groups or people from record, or downplay their significance, which includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people and those who identify as queer. This erasure can be found in a number of written and oral texts, including popular and scholarly texts.
The health access and health vulnerabilities experienced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA) community in South Korea are influenced by the state's continuous failure to pass anti-discrimination laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The construction and reinforcement of the South Korean national subject, "kungmin," and the basis of Confucianism and Christian churches perpetuates heteronormativity, homophobia, discrimination, and harassment towards the LGBTQI community. The minority stress model can be used to explain the consequences of daily social stressors, like prejudice and discrimination, that sexual minorities face that result in a hostile social environment. Exposure to a hostile environment can lead to health disparities within the LGBTQI community, like higher rates of depression, suicide, suicide ideation, and health risk behavior. Korean public opinion and acceptance of the LGBTQI community have improved over the past two decades, but change has been slow, considering the increased opposition from Christian activist groups. In South Korea, obstacles to LGBTQI healthcare are characterized by discrimination, a lack of medical professionals and medical facilities trained to care for LGBTQI individuals, a lack of legal protection and regulation from governmental entities, and the lack of medical care coverage to provide for the health care needs of LGBTQI individuals. The presence of Korean LGBTQI organizations is a response to the lack of access to healthcare and human rights protection in South Korea. It is also important to note that research that focuses on Korean LGBTQI health access and vulnerabilities is limited in quantity and quality as pushback from the public and government continues.
Kenneth Hugh Mayer is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the Medical Research Director and the co-chair of the Fenway Institute. Mayer is also a professor in the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard School of Public Health, the Director of HIV Prevention Research and Attending Physician at Beth Israel Lahey Health, and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Community Health at Brown University.
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