REACH LA honored both Sean and Armond with the community service award grant. Both Sean and Armond have shown commitment, leadership, dedication and commitment to their community. They have volunteered hours working for not only REACH LA, but also the community at large. These young men have constantly shown that they are beyond dependable and can take the initiative to get any job done! Sean and Armond have been instrumental in many of the ventures the Ovahness program has participated in within the last year. Their hard work and commitment is greatly appreciated and valued. Thanks Guys!!!
This event was by far one of the largest balls Los Angeles has ever seen. Held at the GAM art center, the ball boasted an attendance of over 400, plus a 24 by 12 foot stage along with a 32 foot long elevated runway. Above the stage was a thirty-foot screen showing the latest in HIV prevention public service announcements. Outside Alta Med kept the HIV rapid testing van full to capacity while upstairs the line to see a counselor about HIV/STI risk reduction wrapped around the building. It was absolutely fabulous!! (more…)
In anticipation of this year’s OVAHNESS BALL event youth piled into the REACH LA office to sign up to get free tickets. Each person in attendance participated in a quick sexual risk reduction session with a peer counselor. After the counseling session was complete they received a FREE voucher good for entrance to the annual Ovahness Ball. While folks waited they ate fried chicken, pizza, chips, and candy. Towards the end of the evening some of the guys showed off their skills by competing in a condom demo race to see who could put on a condom the fastest, on a dildo of course. Not only was the night fun, but educational as well, we enrolled over 50 people into health programs at REACH LA. In addition, the house that brought the most members to the event was presented with a check for 500 dollars!
REACH LA’s Queer Youth Nation survey of LGBT youth video production celebrated its 5th anniversary year at OUTFEST by screening a selection of the some of the best shorts included in the program over the last five years. The aim Queer Youth Nation is to showcase the unique stories of LGBTQ youth of color and to inspire other young people to tell their stories through digital media. (more…)
On July 19, 2007, The Women’s Foundation of California accepted LaDawn Best into the Women’s Policy Institute. The Women’s Policy Institute provides intensive advocacy and leadership training for 30 Californian women chosen through a very competitive interviewing process. The women chosen will play an important role in advocating for public policy that advances a positive agenda for women and girls. Over the course of one year participants will attend several four day working retreats, be involved in a team policy project, participate in frequent teleconferences, meet with legislators, plus other activities aimed to provide it’s participants with a vast knowledge in policy making. Congratulations LaDawn!
The theater was packed as the lights faded and “I’M STILL HERE: BECOMING LEGENDARY”, REACH LA’s documentary on the L.A. House and Ball scene, was projected on to the giant screen in Hollywood’s beautiful Barnsdall theater. It was shown as a part of a compilation of film shorts from the FUSION 2006 LGBT People of Color Film Festival. This screening included extra ball footage plus interviews with some of today’s legendary and upcoming house and ball participants. The crowd was full of enthusiasm and many could not refrain from shouting with excitement! “ I’m Still Here: Becoming Legendary” once again stole the show! It’s creative direction melds entertainment with education, giving viewers a glimpse into the House and Ball scene through sharing candid conversations about coming out, practicing safe sex, getting tested, plus the wonderfully artistic runway performances.
The 5th annual digital video production workshop for LGBTQ youth and their allies began this week with 14 participants and will continue through November 2007. Youth project ideas run the gamut from narrative stories of family relationships, a documentary on gender transition, a parody of gay males attraction to Cher produced with dolls as actors, LGBT discrimination in public places, and LGBTQ teen suicide. Video shorts from the workshop will be submitted to FUSION and OUTFEST LGBT Film Festivals. During the course of the workshop youth participants will learn all aspects of digital story telling from writing, and producing to editing their projects and distributing their videos.
The dedicated and enthusiastic members of the Girl 2 Girl Leadership team met at LAX at 5:30 am on the morning of May 5th to begin a journey that they would remember for a lifetime. In the days to follow at Sistersong-Women of Color Reproductive Health Conference, the G2G leaders met with hundreds of other women of color who are active in the reproductive justice movement from all over the United States. They attended workshops on issues such as, birth control, midwifery, wellness, pleasure, LGBTQ sex, erotica and STD prevention. In addition to attending this national conference the G2G leaders facilitated their own workshop and screened their video shorts. The youth were able to build relationships with other youth organizers like The Urban Butterflies from New York and Khmer Girls in Action from Long Beach. Not only did this experience expand G2G’s view to a nationwide scope, it was exciting and fun too! Did I mention while in Chicago they managed to attend the Broadway musical The Color Purple!
riKu Matsuda, KPFK and Los Angeles Human Rights Commission, visited with the G2G leadership group at our Tuesday night meeting recently. He led us in an eye-opening discussion/workshop on gender identity. We even got to decide what gender we thought Gumby was! He initiated a much-needed dialog and helped us to break down some of the stereotypes surrounding gender expression.