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| Approximately 18,000 hurricane Katrina survivors are temporarily housed in the Red Cross shelter at the Houston Astrodome and Reliant Center . (Photo by AP/Andrea Booher) |
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AIDS Foundation Houston
713-623-6796
Bering Omega Community Services
713-524-3818
www.beringomega.org
Community Awareness for Transgender Support
Relief Drive
Sept. 10, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Bartini
1318 Westheimer
281-624-7056
Gay & Lesbian Switchboard Houston
713-529-3211
Houston GLBT Community Center
3400 Montrose Blvd., Suite 207
713/524-3818
www.houstonglbtcommunitycenter.org
Montrose Counseling Center
Disaster Relief
713-529-0037, ext. 352
www.montrosecounselingcenter.org
Montrose Clinic and Assistance Fund
Emergency Hotline
713-830-3047
www.montroseclinic.org
Pride Houston Katrina Relief Fund
www.pridehouston.org
P.O. Box 66071
Houston , TX 77266
www.pridehouston.org
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: BINNIE FISHER
COMMENTS |
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John Szewczyk, who on Sept. 2 called a meeting to find ways to help gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, said he has come up with a name for the new group: Houston’s Rainbow Cross.
“We’re not the Red Cross,” he said. “We’re just trying to get information on services in the community and get this information passed on to evacuees.”
As agencies and organizations in Montrose offered services to Hurricane Katrina evacuees, Paige Mahogany of Creating Awareness for Transgender Support said she would oversee a relief drive on Sept. 10 with some specific requests.
While volunteering at the Houston Astrodome and George R. Brown Convention Center , Mahogany said she encountered a number of gay, lesbian and trans evacuees.
Mahogany said she would collect clothing, small cassette players, magazines and personal care items to be given to the hurricane survivors she has met.
“A lot of the girls don’t have any make-up,” she said.
Though the treatment of evacuees has been good, Mahogany said, transgendered survivors are forced to use the men’s restrooms.
“I don’t care if they’ve got breasts from here to Albuquerque , they have to use the men’s restroom,” she said. “I just told them, ‘Girls, that’s just how it’s organized, but it won’t always be that way.”
Mahogany was among scores of gay, lesbian and transgendered people who have volunteered at shelters set up at the Reliant complex and the convention center.
Gay organizations are also joining in. The Houston GLBT Community Center established a fund to support the Lesbian & Gay Community Center of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Officials at the Houston center pledged to donate contributions collected at events, including the Featured at the Center performance night (Sept. 8) and the Community Center Movie & Game Night (Sept. 25), to the Lesbian & Gay Community Center of New Orleans Fund.
The Houston center also planned events to raise money for the New Orleans fund and established a separate PayPal account on its Web site to allow individuals to make online donations to the New Orleans fund.
“As of today, we haven't yet been able to reach anyone with the Lesbian & Gay Community Center of New Orleans, but those of us in Houston certainly expect that our New Orleans friends will be able to make use of some extra financial support,” Houston center board member Tim Brookover said.
“We know how important a center can be for a community,” he added.
In addition, the Houston center is serving as a point of information about services; providing meeting space for community groups providing assistance; offering a place for evacuees from Louisiana , Mississippi and Alabama to gather with phone and Internet access; and creating a place, possibly on the Web, for posting employment opportunities.
Pride Houston joined the fund-raising efforts by establishing the Pride Houston Hurricane Relief Fund. The fund was started with $10,000 in seed money donated by Coors Brewing Company and earmarked for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
Pride Houston has partnered with the Montrose Counseling Center to provide direct services to gay evacuees including counseling, matching evacuees with "safe homes" and providing case-management services to help evacuees navigate through the health care system.
Staff at the Montrose Counseling Center this week found themselves coordinating a variety of efforts to fill the specific needs of gay and lesbian survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
“So many of the services being offered, while available to everyone, may not be offered in ways that are affirming and nurturing to the GLBT evacuees,” said Sally Huffer, community projects specialist at the counseling center. “For example, a gay couple may have difficulty and even face harassment or violence in another shelter. There are few places where our transgender brothers and sisters may find an affirming place to reside during such a stressful and difficult time.”
Through the Gay & Lesbian Switchboard Houston, Huffer said, the Montrose Counseling Center would provide gas vouchers, clothing vouchers, bus tokens, support groups, referrals for persons who need HIV medications, and other services.
She said the counseling center is accepting cash donations to help provide those services. Donors should specify that their checks are to go toward providing services for Katrina ...
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