The Power of Community

At the end of each year, in the midst of the holiday hubbub and frantic pace, all of us consider the year that has passed and the journey we have taken in the last twelve months. We at the Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective take this opportunity to reflect on our community. You give us strength so that we, in turn, can work to strengthen others in the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities in Connecticut.

The Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective strives to help people develop and maintain community ties.  Our programs and services are diverse to meet the needs of our clients:

• Young people making their first efforts at coming out at Rainbow Room

• Lesbians networking to promote early detection of breast cancer with the Mammo-Gram Project

• Individuals coming together for the many groups that the Health Collective sponsors or supports like ALASS (Amigos Latinos Apoyando Su Sexualidad, or Latino Friends Supporting Their Sexuality); Ladies Like You; Womyn of Color Social Circle; Positive Attitudes and The Twenty Club

• Young gay men learning to make intelligent choices about relationships and sex from Mpower CT and Integrity

• People living with HIV/AIDS receiving essential dental, acupuncture and mental health care

• STD testing and treatment

• HIV Counseling and testing

• Smoking Cessation Program

We bring people together so that our community is healthier, stronger and smarter.  Our efforts go far beyond our offices in Hartford. We achieve our goals with modest resources.  And that’s were YOU can make the difference.  We depend on our community to serve our community. If you, as an individual, contribute to the Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective, you will ensure that the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities in our area will continue to grow and thrive.  Each individual contributes to the vitality of the Health Collective and, in turn, our community.

All of us are fortunate to live in a state with a progressive outlook like Connecticut.  We have the advantage of an environment that allows all of us to live our lives in an open and unrestricted manner. We know that in other regions and countries, LGBT people do not have the advantages of marriage, legal protections and an active community.  With the unfortunate example of the suicides of young gay people, we all know there is much work that still must be done. Your contribution today to the Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective will make that goal a little bit more possible, a little bit clearer and a little bit more of a reality here in our state. Your gift affirms your inclusion in the community and helps to keep it thriving for many years to come.

Thank you for making a difference in the lives of so many people!  Wishing you the best in 2011!

Linda Estabrook, Executive Director    -and-    Joe DeMaio, Board President

P.S.  Your gift this holiday season helps the Health Collective today.  Your Planned Giving gift helps us for years to come.  Contact us today so that you can be part of the Health Collective’s future.