Posted on

Louisville Pride Center and Dare to Care Partner to Launch First Secular Food Pantry for LGBTQIA+ Community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Louisville Pride Center and Dare to Care Partner to Launch First Secular Food Pantry for LGBTQIA+ Community 

Louisville, KY, July 11, 2024 — The Louisville Pride Center, in collaboration with Dare to Care, is excited to announce the launch of a new, choice-centered food pantry, set to begin operations in mid-August 2024. This initiative will be the first and only secular food pantry in the area. While it is open to anyone in need, this partnership will ensure a location that is specifically designed to provide the services available through Dare to Care in a safe space for LGBTQIA+ individuals seeking affirming and dignified access to these services. 

The Louisville Pride Center’s food pantry will provide a welcoming and inclusive environment where individuals can comfortably access essential food resources. The choice-centered approach empowers clients to select items that meet their specific dietary needs and preferences, ensuring a more personalized and supportive experience. 

“Many people in our community have food insecurity,” said Sydni Hampton, Program Manager at the Louisville Pride Center, who is heading the program. “Unfortunately, stigma for being ‘in need’ or discomfort with getting food from religious institutions causes many to shirk the resource. I’ve been there, I get it. I’m an artist, and a drag queen at that, sometimes I experience food insecurity. There’s no shame in it. That’s something I hope to see change with the introduction of this as a resource.” 

Hampton continued, “It’s important that there’s a conversation around the stigma and dismantling it and understanding that you don’t have to be on the streets or starving to be food insecure. Food insecurity is irregular, incomplete or a total lack of access to food. It’s a term that’s inclusive of maybe eating once a day or having to scavenge for food, or eating regularly but not being able to access food that is healthy, or otherwise not being secure that you will have food when you need it.” 

The partnership with Dare to Care addresses a significant barrier many LGBTQIA+ individuals face when seeking assistance from food banks, which are often housed in religious institutions. “This partnership was a breath of fresh air,” Hampton added. “With so many LGBTQIA+ folks who don’t feel safe or comfortable in a church, it is natural that we provide that at the Louisville Pride Center. Now, you don’t have to worry about how you’re perceived or if you’ll be welcome.” 

The Louisville Pride Center offers several vital services to the community, including harm reduction supplies, vaccine clinics, social support groups and more. By providing a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment, the Center continues its mission to support and uplift the LGBTQIA+ community in Louisville. 

For more information, please contact: 

Sydni Hampton, Program Manager
Louisville Pride Center 
[email protected]

For more information as it becomes available, visit: LouPrideKY.org/FoodPantry
Want to get involved? Contact Sydni Hampton @ [email protected]

About Louisville Pride Center 

The Louisville Pride Center is dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community through advocacy, education, and support. The Center offers a wide range of services and programs designed to meet the diverse needs of the community it serves. 

About Dare to Care 

Dare to Care is a nonprofit organization committed to ending hunger in the community through partnerships, innovative programs, and volunteer support. By collaborating with local organizations, Dare to Care ensures that food assistance is accessible to all who need it. 

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected] 

 

Posted on

Mental Health Provider Spotlight: Mandala House

By Holly Brown

Mandala House is a well-known queer and ally-owned mental health practice that has operated in our city since 2016. The practice offers psychiatry evaluations and medication management, psychotherapy, psychological testing, and gender-affirming treatment letter-writing services. All of Mandala House’s providers are affirming, and several are out as members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

The practice’s Clinical Director, Dr. Adrianne Lange (she/her) stated, “We pride ourselves on cultivating an affirming and equitable atmosphere for all who walk through our real and virtual doors. We display emblems of the Pride Community in all of our common spaces and outdoors. We take care to use self-determined personal identifiers including names and pronouns with everyone that we serve. We provide gender-affirming services with knowledge of best practices in the field of affirming mental healthcare. We take care to educate and inform ourselves and our trainees in these practices in an ongoing way.”

Mandala House’s staff consist of psychologists, social workers, counselors, therapists, psychiatry providers, and graduate-level clinicians in training. Providers use a biopsychosocial framework and offer a range of treatments, including interpersonal, dynamic, CBT, DBT existential, integrative, and eclectic models of therapy. 

“The ‘mandala’ means circle in Sanskrit, and symbolizes the joining of unique parts to create an organized, and balanced whole. We use the word ‘house’ in our name to reflect the energy of warmth, calm, and care that we bring to the space. At Mandala House, we believe in the possibility of peace through the therapeutic process and in the possibilities of integration and wholeness for all of our clients,” Lange shared. 

Currently, this practice is exclusively providing telehealth services. Appointments are available M-F 9-5, with early evening hours on a limited basis. Mandala House accepts most insurances, and offers low-fee out of pocket services through their clinicians in training. When the practice returns to in-person appointments, their Baxter Avenue office is fully wheelchair accessible. 

If you’re interested in making an appointment, you can contact the practice through the form on their website (https://mandalalouisville.com/), email [email protected], or call 502-309-2408. 

Mandala House is also an affirming workplace for LGBTQ+ mental health workers. They currently have job openings for psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, and other independently licensed mental health professionals.

 

Posted on

Spalding’s CBH Offers Affirming and Accessible Mental Healthcare

One of the hardest parts of living as a queer person in a red state is finding affirming, knowledgeable healthcare providers. The Center for Behavioral Health (CBH) is a training clinic within Spalding University’s Professional School of Psychology that offers accessible, LGBTQ+ affirming mental healthcare. CBH clinicians are doctoral-level clinical psychology students, who are directly supervised by licensed psychologists. As a doctoral training clinic, CBH offers evidence based treatment using the most current research available.

“Two of the core values of CBH are Inclusivity and Cultural Humility… We strive to ensure our LGBTQ+ community knows that we are here to support and affirm them,” stated Dr. Norah Chapman, licensed psychologist and CBH Director. She later added, “Our doctoral practicum student clinicians [diligently prepare], ask questions, advocate for marginalized groups both personally and professionally, and consume research above and beyond what is needed to well support their clients… They embody our mission, to work with underserved individuals with compassionate, affordable, and accessible care.”

CBH opened in 2015 and provides psychotherapy to children, adolescents, and adults. Services available include individual, group, couple, and family therapy, as well as psychological testing. CBH clinicians are trained to support clients experiencing a wide range of mental health concerns. Their Collective Care Center offers specialized services addressing racial trauma, and their ROWEN Specialty Clinic supports individuals experiencing pregnancy loss, infertility, and perinatal/postpartum anxiety and depression. 

CBH is open Tuesdays through Thursdays 10AM-7PM and Fridays 9AM-6PM. Appointments are currently available over telehealth. They expect to resume in-person services in August 2021, while maintaining telehealth availability. The clinic is located on Spalding University’s campus, which is on the TARC bus line. CBH does not accept insurance, but works with clients to find a sliding scale fee that is affordable and sustainable. 

If you’re interested in scheduling an appointment at CBH, call 502-792-7011 or email [email protected]. For more information, visit their website at https://behavioralhealth.spalding.edu/. 

Posted on

Mental Health Resources and Opportunities

A  roundup of local resources and opportunities related to queer mental health.

Gender Journey Teen Therapy Group at Mandala House

This online therapy group offers support and skill building for teens (ages 14-19) who are transgender, nonbinary, gender expansive, or questioning their gender. Topics covered include assertive communication, self-advocacy, coping skills, peer and family relationships, and accessing gender affirming healthcare. Much of group’s content comes from The Gender Quest Workbook, and individuals joining the group are encouraged to have access to their own copy.

The group meets virtually on Wednesdays at 4 PM and is led by Ariel Brooks, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Mandala House. For more information, contact [email protected] or call Mandala House at 502-309-2408.

 

IDEA Study: Free Program for LGBTQ People with Memory Loss

Are you an LGBTQ+ person experiencing or caring for someone with dementia? This program may offer resources for you. Aging with Pride: IDEA (Innovations in Dementia Empowerment and Action) is a study about the quality of life for LGBTQ+ people who experience memory loss or care for someone experiencing memory loss. The program offers 9 free coaching sessions for the person with memory loss and their caregiver. Coaching will focus on building skills around communication, problem solving, and using exercise as a coping tool. Participants will also participate in 5 interviews and be compensated with a total of $125 for their participation in the study.

For more information, visit https://ageidea.org/. You can also contact Amy Cunningham, MS, at [email protected].

 

LGBTQ+ affirming counselor job opening at Deer Park

Do you know an LGBTQ+ affirming counselor looking for a new work opportunity? Baptist Health Medical Group has an opening at their Deer Park location for a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) or licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC). Interested applicants must be licensed, have the ability to provide clinical supervision, and have knowledge of cognitive and behavioral therapy concepts.

Click here for more information. You can also reach the practice manager, Nicholas Martin, at [email protected].

Posted on

LGBTQ Substance Abuse Resources

Members of the LGBTQ community are statistically more at risk to have substance abuse issues, and need to be met with LGBTQ+ friendly care and treatment. While the physical treatment center is located in the Pacific Northwest, they also offer multiple levels of treatment including intensive outpatient programs.

Please explore The Ridgefield Recovery Village website for LGBTQ substance abuse and addiction resources here.

Posted on

Volunteers Of America Free HIV testing is back

VOA is resuming free HIV testing on Friday, June 19th, and they are starting with two day-long events for Juneteenth and Pride!

Friday the 19th (Juneteenth) from 10am-6pm. They will be offering HIV testing at our Goss Avenue location by appointment, but walk ups can register on site, along with tons of really great LIVE social media offerings. (933 Goss Avenue)

Juneteenth 2020 Flyer

In honor of PRIDE, they will be celebrating on Saturday the 20th as well from 10am-6pm. We will have HIV testing, tons of PRIDE goodies to give away to everyone, and lots of LGBTQIA spirit.

PRIDE 2020 Flyer