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

Why Amazon won’t make Texas its second home.

Amazon announced that it is seeking a second North American headquarters with up to $5 billion investment in facilities and 50,000 jobs at an average pay of $100,000 a year. This will be a major economic boon for both the state and city that lands the deal.

BUSINESS

LGBT law students find mentors with similar backgrounds.

When second-year law student Jasper Katz met a successful LGBTQ lawyer who shared their identity, Katz was so moved that they began to cry. Now, Katz is determined to ensure that other LGBTQ law students find similar role models in LGBTQ alumni. Katz is the president of OutLaw, the Beasley School of Law LGBTQ mentorship program.

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.