LGBTQ+ Health Initiative

Our team is based at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. We work with a variety of organizations in New York State to reduce health disparities experienced by our LGBTQ+ community and to promote racial justice in all of the work that we do.Gender and sexually diverse people, particularly people of color, continue to face social stigma and discrimination in the United States. This stigma, combined with a lack of access to culturally affirming and informed healthcare, leads to significant health disparities in these populations.Our goal is to decrease the health disparities our LGBTQ+ communities face and improve racial justice within our communities by helping health and human service agencies across New York State more effectively reach and serve us.

Our Community Advisory Board is composed of 15+ members of our LGBTQ+ community in New York State. The purpose of the CAB is to provide the perspective of stakeholders within sexual and gender minority communities in the work that the LGBTQ+ Health Initiative is doing. The CAB meets about 6 times per year, and tasks include reviewing drafts of materials and providing suggestions to make sure materials and plans are inclusive and sensitive to racial, ethnic, and cultural aspects, discussing the overall direction and goals for the grant, and successes and areas for improvement, etc. We have an open application for our CAB!