In efforts to strengthen and advocate for minority-owned businesses in the Philadelphia region, the Diverse Chambers Coalition of Philadelphia (DCCPHL) have announced an official partnership. | From: Philadelphia Gay News (Read more.)
While the barrier that legally prevented queer couples from getting married was lifted over six years ago in the United States, some of the same challenges — including being turned away by wedding photographers — still remain. | From: Philadelphia Gay News (Read more.)
In a partnership between the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) and Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence (BBBS Independence), LGBTQ+ students got a chance to celebrate their identities at the district’s first youth Pride celebration on Sept. 23 at district headquarters. The event was open to all students district-wide, and drew about 150 people. | From: Philadelphia Gay News (Read more.)
Many sex education and social justice organizations exist in Philadelphia, but Prevention Meets Fashion (PMF) seems to be the only one that offers educational and support services to LGBTQ+ people of color using fashion as a jumping off point. | From: Philadelphia Gay News (Read more.)
LGBT adults living in the U.S. are nearly twice as likely to experience food insecurity as non-LGBT adults, according to new survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau. | From: Philadelphia Gay News (Read more.)
To mark the end of Pride month and the ongoing fight for adequate housing, members of the Philadelphia chapter of the HIV/AIDS activism organization ACT UP held a protest outside of Mayor Jim Kenney’s condo in Old City. Around 40 ACT UP members and activists gathered to demand more plentiful permanent housing for Philadelphians facing homelessness, many of whom are Black and Brown and LGBTQ+. They also called for an overhaul of the leadership of Philadelphia’s Office of Homeless Services (OHS). | From Philadelphia Gay News (Read more.)
On June 5, 1981, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Center for Disease Control shared that five otherwise healthy gay cisgender men had been diagnosed with pneumocystis pneumonia—a rare pneumonia that typically shows up in people with suppressed or compromised immunity—and two had died. Then on July 3 of that year, the New York Times reported that 41 cisgender gay men had been diagnosed with a rare cancer, Kaposi’s Sarcoma. This was when it hit the fan for LGBTQ communities, Black and Latinx communities, injection drug users, and people with blood disorders who require transfusion. | From The Philadelphia Inquirer (Read more.)
For LGBTQ employees and allies at Subaru, they can take part in the automaker’s employee resource group (ERG) Out+Ally to receive “education, resources and events to help our colleagues feel safe, supported, and empowered with information to inspire acceptance, particularly during Pride Month and LGBTQ+ History Month,” said Joseph Pawlicki, Subaru’s Digital Service Technology Manager. | From Philadelphia Gay News (Read more.)
LGBTQ advocates in Philly are cautiously optimistic. Though change at the federal level is good, they say it’s unlikely to completely solve the issue because housing discrimination isn’t limited to federal properties, and it affects a vulnerable population. | From: WHYY (Read more.)
14 Philadelphia-based companies scored a perfect rating in Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The index rates companies on criteria including nondiscrimination policies, corporate social responsibility, and inclusive employee benefits and culture.
© Resolve Philadelphia
