As the world continues to learn more about coronavirus and its spread, it's vital to stay up-to-date on the latest developments. However, it's also important to make sure that the information being distributed is from credible sources. To that end, Between The Lines has compiled, [...]
Retirement Made LGBTQ-Friendly
Having only lived in their new home for a matter of weeks, Ed Ploegar and Rick Hahn decided to make their way to their community's biweekly movie night for some entertainment and maybe to meet some of their new neighbors. To their pleasant surprise, the film shown was GLAAD Media Award-nominated.
Flint Couple Tackles Kidney Disease, Highlights Story for April, National Donate Life Month
It was 2004 and Deb Gustafson and her wife, Sue Weston, were planning on having a great time. The Flint couple was about to go on long-planned vacation when Gustafson started to feel unwell. Her family had a history of urinary tract and bladder infections and she suspected that her discomfort might be related. Eventually, when her symptoms didn't pass, she asked to go home and was rushed to the hospital.
SAGE Table Looks to Link Up Different Age Groups
A SAGE Table is a program of SAGE Metro Detroit, an agency dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ older adults, and is an intergenerational dinner event designed to start conversations with those of varying generations. The latest SAGE Table took place at the Ferndale Affirmations LGBTQ community center on April 4, and I was invited as a reporter to attend and experience the evening firsthand. Upon arrival, I was greeted at the door by Judy Lewis, SAGE Metro Detroit’s training and education manager.
Support Group for Trans and Non-Binary Clients
Corktown Health Center is offering a six-session weekly support group for trans and non-binary clients to come together and process their experiences relating to gender identity. The group meets every Wednesday now through May 8 [...]
Benefit for Community Health Awareness Group
The Community Health Awareness Group, the largest minority AIDS service organization in Michigan, has been providing prevention and care services for some of Detroit's most vulnerable citizens for many years. To support the agency's mission [...]
Let’s Talk About Drinking and Health
I am often asked from clients and friends if I believe there is a healthy amount of alcohol that may be consumed on a regular basis. Of course, no one likes my response: actually no, there is not. However, I also like to reframe the question: How do you define healthy? More specifically, is there a use for alcohol?
UM University Health Center Introduces New Trans Care Team
After 15 years of serving transgender and non-binary patients, staff at the University Health Center in the University of Michigan understood there was still a big gap in the community’s healthcare: hormone initiation.
A Gluten-Free Guide to Detroit Dining
Metro Detroit has a wide and wonderful selection of food opportunities — unless you have allergies and diet restrictions, in which case you might be out of luck. I was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance in July of 2017. It was one of the worst and most confusing bits of news my whole life — gluten intolerance? I didn’t even believe in non-celiac gluten allergies! I didn’t want to stop eating cake. What about garlic bread? Oh no.
From Injury to Industry
Oct. 5, 2010 started off just like any other day for Brandon La Forest. He woke up a little early, had a meeting at the office and was on his way to an appointment in Lansing. But just outside the city, while La Forest stopped to avoid an accident that had just happened in front of him, his life changed forever.
Talking Body
Decorative Artist Matt Lambert Explores Queer Body Politics To fully consume the queer concepts in Matt Lambert’s body of work, use your primordial senses: touch, sight, sex. The 28-year-old decorative artist has a BFA in [...]
Ypsilanti Nutritionist Offers Queer and Trans-Inclusive Healing
The relationship between trans, queer and LGBIA+ patients and their healthcare providers has forever been a shaky one, as the medical community’s understanding of sex and gender has oftentimes failed to keep up with advancements in modern medicine.
Popular Apps to Keep You Healthy in 2018
DietBet Perfect for anyone who needs some extra motivation to lose weight, DietBet is the fun way to get fit—and get paid to do it. It’s unlike any other diet program, and it works: 96 [...]
Health News Hits
LGBT Health Resources Removed from HHS Website A webpage devoted to lesbian and bisexual health, links to LGBT topics and other references were removed between September and October 2017 from WomensHealth.gov, a website maintained by [...]
Mixed bag in HIV cases
Federal statistics report a 14.8 percent decline in HIV cases between 2008 and 2015, but 25- to 34-year-olds saw a nearly 45 percent increase in new cases New data released by the CDC last month [...]
5 Life Strategies for LGBTQ+ Individuals to Avoid Out-of-Control Addictive Behaviors
We have all heard how the opioid epidemic is ravaging communities. In 2014 alone, drug overdose was the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., but prescription drugs are not the only killer, so is alcohol and illegal drugs. What you don’t hear is the specific numbers for how the LGBTQ community is being impacted: we are more than twice as likely than our heterosexual counterparts — 39.1 versus 17.1 percent — to have used any illicit drugs.
Step Therapy: A Problem for All Patient Communities
Members of the LGBTQ community face many unique health care challenges. They suffer from higher rates of smoking, depression, anxiety, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Compounding these challenges is the fact that LGBTQ individuals are more likely than others to experience difficulty accessing health care, due to a long history of anti-LGBTQ bias.
Health Dept. Vaccinates Staff, Clients at Local Shelters for Hepatitis A
The Ingham County Health Department vaccinated staff and clientele at two local homeless shelters last week for hepatitis A following possible exposure and an increase in hepatitis A cases in the county. Three Ingham County [...]
Does Your Gym Help or Hurt?
MARK THIESMEYER, MS, MPH, RD Mark Thiesmeyer, MS, MPH, RD The stereotype of gay men being obsessed with our appearance aside, it's a sad fact that LGBTQ people as a whole are at greater [...]
Detroit HealthLink Project Awarded Grant to Research LGBTQ Cancer Disparities
BY DREW HOWARD A program purposed with addressing cancer-related needs in Metro Detroit has received additional funding that will go toward researching cancer disparities within the LGBTQ community. Launched in 2016 by Dr. Hayley S. [...]
Henry Ford Village Implements Collaborative Education Experience
Senior living community Henry Ford Village announced Oct. 24 that they are hosting a collaborative education experience program known as the Student Designer Show House with the interior design students from Eastern Michigan University and [...]
LGBTQ-Affirming Preventative Care Available for Lesbian and Bi Women, Trans Men
BY NATASHA WILSON AND JENNIFER SCHWARTZ Women's health has gained greater awareness in the last 20 years, in part due to political debate over reproductive rights, and growing understanding of women's experiences accessing healthcare. For [...]
Corktown Health Center Puts Detroit on the Map for Advances in LGBTQ Health
BY PATRICK YANKEE The opening of Corktown Health Center (CHC) as Michigan's first nonprofit focused on delivering health care services to the LGBTQ community is an incredible milestone for Metropolitan Detroit and founding organization, Health [...]
AHIMA Practice Brief Stresses Importance of Inclusive Healthcare Practices
BY BTL STAFF Healthcare professional and health information management professionals can help create a healthcare environment that is non-judgmental and welcoming to patients of all backgrounds. The American Health Information Management Association's newest practice brief, [...]
Orchid Technology Helping LGBTQ People Feel More Welcome In Hospitals
BY BTL STAFF It is estimated that 1.4 million U.S. adults identify as transgender, according to an analysis based on new federal and state data. With such an empowering increase of LGBTQ inclusion, CipherHealth has [...]
National LGBTQ Task Force Urges Congress to Stop Trumpcare
BY BTL STAFF The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund is celebrating the seventh anniversary of the enactment of Obamacare with a call to action urging members of Congress to stop Trumpcare, the so-called American [...]
Opening the Doors to LGBTQ-Focused Care
HELPs staff has grown in the last 30 years from just a handful of dedicated individuals to around 30 people, who will provide culturally-competent care to LGBTQ patients. A clinical dietitian at the Corktown [...]
Dem Gubernatorial Candidates Call for Reform of State’s HIV-Specific Law
Abdul El-Sayed Gretchen Whitmer LANSING - Calling Michigan's HIV-specific felony law "discriminatory" and "wrong to criminalize sickness," the two declared candidates for the governor's office say it's time to reform the law. "I'm a [...]
SAGE Metro Detroit Director Reflects on Two Busy Years in the State
SAGE, which stands for Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders, has been around for nearly 30 years. Based in New York, it is the country's largest and oldest organization dedicated to [...]
Local Doctor Offers Unique Care for Trans Patients
Dr. William Powers, DO, is well ahead of many practitioners in the state of Michigan when it comes to understanding and supporting LGBTQ healthcare issues. Specifically, he is addressing the biggest deficit - comprehensive care [...]
Small City Life for Gay Minorities: Implications for Sexual Health and Stigma
BY BTL STAFF There is an established link between levels of homophobic discrimination and depression, substance abuse and HIV vulnerability in gay men, according to a September article published by the Taylor & Francis Group. [...]
Michigan LGBT Community Centers Offer 2016 Smoking Cessation Programs
BY AJ TRAGER In an effort to end nicotine and tobacco addiction for LGBT Michigan residents, LGBT community centers across the state have teamed up to provide a multitude of programs and cessation techniques to [...]
‘Playing Ball’ in the LGBT League
BY AJ TRAGER ROCHESTER HILLS - Fifteen years ago when Robert Hellar joined the Metro Detroit Softball League (MDSL), the 10-team league was largely a group for men -- gay men to be precise -- [...]
From ‘Love’ to Love: LGBT Tennis in the Motor City
BY AJ TRAGER LIVONIA - Tim Ross loves tennis. He started playing the sport when he was in fifth grade and has continued to follow his passion for the sport, not only in his routine [...]
Webinar: Healthcare Stigma Facing Transgender Individuals
Hosted by the National Coalition for LGBT Health, an April 20 webinar will discuss the numerous stigmas impacting the delivery of healthcare for transgender individuals. Presenters for the hour long webinar beginning at 2 p.m. [...]
Punting With Pride
By Emell Derra Adolphus "I Love it, even with the injuries," says team member Tashia Pickett. BTL photos: Alexander Godin When you're watching the girls of the Detroit Pride football team, you won't see [...]
The Developing World Of Sexual Therapy
BY AJ TRAGER Joe Kort, Ph.D., LMSW, works as a sexual therapist in Royal Oak. He is known in the therapist community for his work with sex therapy and sexual identity issues, including out-of-control sexual [...]
Getting Sober
By Christopher Treacy It felt like I was circling the drain. I got stuck in a vicious cycle, allowing some evil mechanism within me to destroy everything I tried to achieve while it simultaneously lied [...]
Positive Thoughts: Q&A with Mondo Guerra
By Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr. I was hooked up to this and that, and in my heart and mind I was dying of AIDS. I still didnt talk about it. I hit rock bottom, and [...]
Addressing LGBT Health Disparities
BY AJ TRAGER DETROIT - The Fenway Institute and the Center for American Progress recently lobbied the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who will soon begin addressing the disparities affecting LGBT people in [...]
Kicking Detroit’s Smoking Habit: Breaking The Cycle
BY AJ TRAGER Kunto Howard, 24, project coordinator for "Breaking The Cycle," a program of LGBT Detroit, is working to help people stop smoking. Howard says smoking rates are significantly higher in the LGBT population. [...]
Smoking: Critical Health Issue For LGBT Michiganders
BY AJ TRAGER The anti-smoking character CiggyButtz stands where all other cigarettes must outside of the nonsmoking San Francisco LGBT Community Center. The Center received an award for leadership in rejecting tobacco industry funding during [...]
Healthcare Coverage Round Two
By AJ Trager MICHIGAN - The second round of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is about to begin in Michigan, and the campaign "Get Covered America" is working hard to get the [...]
‘Trans Girl Next Door’ Documents Artist’s Transition
By Shelby Clark Petkus Online comics have existed roughly as long as the internet, and as a result of more freedom and accessibility to different groups of people, comics can now cater to everything from [...]
Cervical Cancer Survey Seeks Lesbian And Bisexual Women
Michael Johnson, a PhD student at Medical University of South Carolina, is seeking input from lesbian and bisexual women on a study involving cervical cancer and screenings. Johnson, who's been involved with LGBT advocacy and [...]
Report: LGBT Seniors Worry About Retirement
By BTL Staff A new report released Oct. 6, "Out and Visible: The Experiences and Attitudes of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Older Adults, Ages, 45-75," shows high concern among older LGBT people about [...]
Tips For Beating The Winter Blues
Sniffles and flu are not the only afflictions of winter. Many people find that the dark and cold days can impact their mood. In fact, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) affects approximately 10 million Americans, and [...]
Lifestyle Tips to Reduce Chronic Inflammation
Millions of Americans endure the pain of chronic inflammation, and even when pain is not apparent, millions more run the risk of serious diseases triggered by chronic inflammation. "Almost all chronic diseases - from arthritis [...]
Cyber Bullying Higher For LGBT Youth
By BTL Staff Advocate.com reports that a new Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network study found that LGBT youth faced three times as much cyber bullying than their non-LGBT peers. The findings, which note that [...]
The Time Is Now: Deadline To Enroll In Affordable Care Approaches
Enrollment opportunities and campaigns encouraging people to sign up for insurance coverage on the Healthcare Exchange are everywhere, but for LGBT individuals it can be a daunting task. "Many LGBT individuals and their families have [...]
Are Eating Disorders More Prevalent In The LGBT Community?
By Shelby Clark The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) recently compiled multiple findings on eating disorders in the LGBTQ community. With 20 million women and 10 million men affected by eating disorders in the U.S., [...]