Newspaper Page Text
Page 13
Making Room, Cont.
Continued from Page 10
common bond of cultural Judaism. No matter
where one perceives one's self to be on that
spectrum, there is a place to celebrate and
participate in one's Judaism. The congregation
is currently considering affiliating with either
Reform Judaism or Reconstructionist Judaism.
That decision will not be made until sometime
this summer. Bet Haverim conducts a Hebrew
class, a conversational Hebrew class and a
Jewish Studies class.
The Congregation is active in volunteering at
the Shearith Israel shelter for women and the
Temple's shelter fra- couples. They are part of
an ecumenical group that is working to start an
AIDS hospice and are involved with the Names
Project. They will be conducting a service at the
Southeastern Conference of Lesbian and Gays
and will conduct a workshop on what it means
to be Lesbian/Gay and Jewish. They will also
be participating in the ecumenical service at the
conference.
Bet Haverim meets the 1st and 3rd Fridays at
the Quaker House, 1384 Fairview Road, N.E. at
8:30. The services are followed by an Oneg
Shabbat. On the 2nd Friday of each month they
meet at 7:30 at the Quaker House for a Shabbat
Seder, followed by a service at 8:30. There is an
Activity Line listing all upcoming events: 642
3467.
PLGC
PLGC is an organization of ministers, elders,
deacons, members and friends of the
Presbyterian Church (USA) that "strives to offer
care, affirmation, and support to lesbians and
gay members, their families and friends." They
meet to study and raise the concerns of gay and
lesbian members and seek full membership and
participation for them. PLGC encourages the
mission and ministry of the PCUSA with the
gay/lesbian community.
The local chapter of PLGC meets monthly
for study and fellowship and worships once a
month at various Presbyterian churches in the
metro Atlanta area. Currently, about 15% of the
members are women. For more information,
call 373-5830.
Integrity
Integrity is a group within the Episcopal
Church that serves two functions: to represent
Gay Cubans
Continued from Page 6
a Seventh Day Adventist, and when the MCC
(Metropolitan Community Church) was there,
everyone was gay." This desperation move to
get out of the camps further complicated an
already confusing situation.
Escoria
The definition of homosexuality in Cuba
differs widely from what citizens of the United
States recognize as the correct meaning.
According to Dr. Valerio, there is no such
concept as "gay pride" among Cuban
homosexuals. While Cuba does not consider
homosexuality a crime, it does consider it a
mental illness, and those people caught by the
neighborhood committees in suspicious acts, or
who exhibit stereotypical personality traits, are
thrown into the nearest dark hole for the rest of
their lives.
In Cuban society, where concepts of
machisimo and belief in the Catholic Church
still hold considerable sway, gay Cubans are
"escoria", scum. Thus, whole many men might
exhibit homosexual tendencies, and even
participate in same gender sex, they never
consciously consider themselves to be gay.
They are only satisfying a need in the most
convenient manner available. Tales of rape and
subsequent violence are rampant among the
minority of men who act as the passive partner
in male-male sexual encounters.
The Passage of Time
Of the 125,000 Cubans who entered this
country during the Mariel boatlift in the spring
and summer of 1980, all but 125 have been free
in the United States at one point in time. Unlike
Lesbian & Gay Youth on Atlanta Streets
Photo by Gerald Jones
the gay community in the Episcopal Church and
to represent the Church to the gay/lesbian
community. Interestingly, Integrity was
founded thirteen years ago in Fort Valley,
Georgia. It has now grown into a national
organization. Ten years ago the Atlanta
chapter was formed. The local chapter is not as
political as the national chapter - or as some
other local chapters (e.g. Rochester, NY).
There are between 25-40 members,
predominately male.
Integrity meets on the 2nd and 4th Fridays
at 7:30 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church on
the comer of West Peachtree and North
Avenue. The meeting always begins with a
celebration of the Eucharist. Once a month,
following the service, there is a potluck, and
once a month there is a more serious meeting
following the service with discussions of
current topics of interest. Recent topics include
the National March, co-depencence, and
organizational strategies for the General
Convention.
The local chapter of Integrity puts out a
newsletter, Ex Ubris (out of the shadow) that
goes to all the Episcopal parishes in Georgia.
The Reverend Christina Pope is the chaplain.
For more information, call 875-7004.
Other groups that fall into this somewhat
loose category of denominationally-related
groups are Dignity (Roman Catholic), groups
affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist
Fellowship (e.g. the Unitarian Universalist
Lesbian and Gay Community) and Evangelical
Outreach Ministries. I'll look at them next time
along with the church that was started by and
for the gay community. In yet another column
I'll describe alternative organizations and give
their information. If you know of a group
you'd like to have included, drop me a line in
care of this paper.
We are finding our ways spiritually with as
much exuberance and diversity as we have
found our ways politically and socially. It is a
tribute to our community that we make room
and create spaces, challenge assumptions and
blaze new trails in our inner lives.
- Connie Tuttle
Connie Tuttle holds a Master of Divinity from
Columbia Theological Seminary. She is
currently considered "unordainable" in the
Presbyterian Church (USA) because she is a
self-affirming lesbian.
American citizens, however, the entrants are
subject to harsh and stringent rules governing
their freedom. The detainees must show
reason for their release, rather than the
government showing reason for their
incarceration.
Carla Dudeca, a member of the Coalition
for Cuban Detainees in Atlanta and an attorney
for Legal Aid in Atlanta, is now handling the
case of a man who has been denied release
from the detention center due to a traffic
violation arrest in California. The INS
(Immigration and Naturalization Service) is
allowed to consider an applicant's anrest record
Continued on Page 15
Walking-tour guides of Atlanta caution
visitors not to stray far off of Peachtree Street
in Midtown. The glamour and lights of
Atlanta's best known street are supplanted in
the space of me block by the violence,
substance abuse, and prostitution that inflict the
everyday world of homeless men, women and
children.
Most distressing to homeless-rights
advocates are the burgeoning numbers of
young people fleeing destructive families, only
to land in the hostile back alleys of the "City
Too Busy To Hate."
Four blocks off of Peachtree, just three
blocks past Cyprus Street, the heme of
Atlanta's male prostitutes, there lies an oasis of
hope for American society's "throwaways" -
The Bridge Family Center, Inc.
The Bridge stands in the shadows of
Atlanta's most progressive architecture, and
exists in a daily world where the needs of
housing, food, and counseling fa homeless
youth are never fulfilled. In addition to
counseling for homeless youth and their
families, the Bridge maintains a shelter, the
Lodge, which is operated by the Salvation
Army for the Bridge.
According to Betty Tilly, a therapist at the
Bridge, at least one client staying in the Lodge
each week is coping with some type of gender
identification and/or sexual orientation
question. Statistically, that translates to a 23
percent incidence of gay and lesbian youth
among those children seeking shelter from
Atlanta's streets.
Bridge therapist Paul Plate is quick to point
out that these figures do not include those
children and teenagers who have resigned
themselves to a life at the streets. "The real
street kids don't go to shelters. They don't want
to deal with an authority base, having to be
accountable - being locked in at night, being
told when to go to bed, having to eat the meals
prepared for them, and helping out with the
chores like cleaning the bathrooms."
Plate estimates that as many as 65 percent of
the clients seen by the Bridge staff are referrals
made by other youth agencies, most notably the
Department of Youth Services and the Juvenile
Court System. The Lodge’s 24 beds are never
adequate fa the demands for space. Its
existence is a prize bit of information shared
carefully with newcomers to Atlanta's streets,
that ensures its constant occupancy.
The problems the young people face, often
involve subjects not easily confronted by the
maally squeamish. The staff of the Bridge and
the Lodge undergo constant education in how
to deal with issues such as physical and sexual
abuse, emotional abuse, homosexuality, and
gender confusion. The staff must also seek to
counter the pervasiveness of drug and alcohol
addiction, AIDS, other sexually transmitted
diseases, and teenage pregnancy. The
Salvation Army staff at the Lodge receives high
marks from Plate for their ability to set aside
personal maal coicems in the attempt to
address the needs of the clientele.
Although the Bridge does not attempt to
"segregate... by sexual aientation," the staff
does conduct a twice-weekly therapy group
which specifically addresses questions of
sexuality and gender identification. The
purpose of the group is to enable the children to
explore the most basic questions of human
sexuality in a positive manna, and enhance
their own self-image and self-esteem.
While open to the idea of individuals
offering assistance to the young people, Plate
rhetoically demanded, "Where are the hotlines
dedicated to these kids? Where are the role
models? Runaway is a verb, and these children
are actively fleeing in terror. They are the
victims of abuse,... the responsibility for
which, they oftentimes internalize."
Citing the special needs of minority youth,
Plate urged an immediate respoise from the
gay and lesbian conmunity in Atlanta.
Accading to Plate, the need is for a
canmunity-wide response, tailaed to the needs
of the children, na to the needs of the people
and organizations involved in any programs
adopted. One of his stated goals is to "help
them realize that there are resources available
to help them, and there are adults who want to
help them ratha than abuse them."
- Chris Duncan
Office Hours
By Appointment
Brenda L. Hawkins, Ed. D
Licensed Psychologist
Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Hypnotherapy
M. P. SCHILDMEYER
Attorney At Law
Community Counseling Center
1935 Cliff Valley Way, Suite 162
Atlanta, Georgia 30329 (404) 634-9440
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