HEALTH

LGBT homeless youth have a safe place to stay in Derry.

Martin McConologue has spent the best part of the last 30 years working with some of the most vulnerable people in Northern Ireland. He has helped, accommodated and befriended street drinkers, rough sleepers, drug addicts and gamblers. Those with mental illness, those prone to lawlessness and many more who have just fallen on hard times.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Stopping the anal cancer epidemic in the HIV positive gay & bi community.

Almost 620,000 gay and bisexual men in the United States were living with HIV in 2014, and 100,000 of these men were not even aware of their infection. These men are 100 times more likely to have anal cancer than HIV-negative men who exclusively have sex with women. Yet, no national screening guidelines exist for anal cancer prevention in any population.

HEALTH

A disconnect between quality health care and the LGBT community.

Imagine your doctor prescribing a medication that’s vital to your health, and then finding out your insurance company won’t cover it – and now you can’t afford it. Recent headlines highlighted an example of this very scenario: an insurance company refused to cover the cost of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a treatment regimen that is more than 90 percent effective in preventing HIV-negative individuals from contracting HIV.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Hate speech encourages LGBT gun suicides.

It’s no secret that our country is currently witnessing a rise in hate crimes and hateful rhetoric. Whether it is coming from our elected leaders or violent white supremacists at rallies, people who are motivated by prejudice and bigotry are feeling emboldened in our current political and cultural climate.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Even with all the information available, sex diseases in the US hit record high.

Sexually transmitted diseases surged to a record high in the United States last year, with more than two million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis nationwide, officials said Tuesday. This was “the highest number ever,” said the annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report released today by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

HEALTH

Planned Parenthood wants you to be a better LGBT ally.

Planned Parenthood Toronto’s LGBTQ Youth Initiative is helping the city’s straight and cisgender youth be better allies via a multimedia campaign that launched September 26. Send the Right Message offers practical tools for supporting LGBTQ+ identities while speaking directly to young people.