The Chicago Public Library (CPL) recently partnered with the Center on Halsted to host a series of forums designed to address topics of interest to lesbian, bi and trans women.
On March 24, this new partnership produced SpeakOUT: Women's Healthcare in Chicago: Past, Present and Future at the center's Hoover-Leppen Theater. Simone Koehlinger moderated the evening by asking each panelist to give a brief history of the work the individual organizations have done regarding healthcare.
Affinity Executive Director Kim Hunt and Amigas Latinas Treasurer Marta Coronado shared statistics from research studies their organizations have conducted in the past couple of years. In 2007, Amigas Latinas—a not-for profit organization for Latina lesbian and bisexual women—funded Proyecto Latina, a survey of more than 300 women. According to Coronado the data showed that 27 percent of those surveyed suffered from clinical depression and that 20 percent had attempted suicide. Similarly, in 2001, Affinity—an organization for Black lesbians and bisexual women—conducted the "Take Charge" study through the University of Chicago. Hunt, said that of the 230 women that participated, all said they were not "out" to their doctors. Both Hunt and Coronado said the data has helped them develop better mental health programming.
Christina Santiago, manger of programming for the Lesbian Community Care Project (LCCP), spoke of the merger between LCCP and Howard Brown Health Center as an example of how the needs of an organization change from its inception to what is needed now. Saying, "LCCP changed from being a grassroots cancer networking and support group for queer women, to being a portal through which queer women can access healthcare through the bigger umbrella that is Howard Brown," Chicago Women's AIDS Project Executive Director Cathy Christeller provided an overview of the role women played during the early years of the AIDS crisis.
Koehlinger asked the panelists about future challenges regarding women's healthcare. Christeller expressed great concern for substance-abuse and drug-treatment programs ahead of funding cuts. "The fact that the city, state and feds are all going to cut services in some unknowns sets of horrific ways, all at once, is something we don't have a grip on," she said.
During the Q&A portion of the forum an attendee asked what can the organizations present do to improve support for transgender people when they are referred out of "safe spaces." Angelique Grandone, health educator at Chicago Women's Health Center, said her organization vets affiliates so that they are trans-informed and are constantly looking for referrals; however, a key support they have developed is to have another trans-identified person as an advocate. "So that there were actually three people in the room, the individual patient, an advocate, the healthcare provider to be able to create a safer space, talk about language use and also to provide additional support," Grandone said.
