The Community Health Project

SUMMARY

The onset of the AIDS crisis led to a coalition of various community agencies and medical professional volunteers to form the Community Health Project (CHP) in the Chelsea area of New York City. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals that frequented this primary care facility led to its further development into the Michael C alien-Audre Lorde Community Health Center. As the first, and still the largest, fully licensed health care agency of its kind, Callen-Lorde seeks to provide primary care to individuals regardless of their ability to pay. Mental health services have also grown within the organization and are a key component of the specialized divisions providing care. Services include counseling for HIV-related issues, trans-gender biopsychosocial assessments, and the incorporation of psychiatry into the care provided in the adolescent and young adult division of the facility. The persisting marginalization of many in the LGBT community underscores the need for further efforts to explore the provision of services in the public health arena for this population.

KEYWORDS:

• AIDS
• bisexual
• Michael Callen
• Community Health Project
• gay
• gay youth
• HIV
• homosexuality
• lesbian
• Audre Lorde
• mental health services
• primary care
• queer
• transgender