Nonprofit LGBT Detroit receives renewed support from MDHHS in … – Model D

What’s happening: It was about this time last year when the LGBT Detroit nonprofit announced a new partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in an effort to end HIV-related stigma. The Detroit-based nonprofit is now celebrating a renewal of the program, receiving $300,000 from the MDHHS to continue in its efforts.

What they’re doing: The funding will help support several of LGBT Detroit’s HIV awareness programs, including the youth and adult mentorship program Leadership Academy; the HIV prevention and intervention video podcast series Brother To Brother; the winter Pride event Cold As Hell; an audio podcast series that launched in October 2022 called Listen Together; and additional programs to be launched later this year.

What’s next: Brother To Brother returns from a holiday break with a new episode on Thursday, Jan. 19, which can be viewed on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Their new episode will cover gay media and feature influencers from Michigan, Alabama, North Carolina, and Texas. New episodes debut every other Thursday.

The Cold As Hell event is scheduled for February 14. Up-to-date event information is available online.

Why it’s important: “HIV is the number one issue that we’ve organized around at LGBT Detroit,” says Jerron Totten, Social Justice Engineer at LGBT Detroit. “Much like COVID, there’s a huge disparity in infection rates between Black LGBT-plus men and our white counterparts. And so, again, like COVID, although HIV related deaths are on the decline, HIV infections are still on the rise. Detroit is ground zero. Detroit leads the state in HIV infections. And Black gay men are infected 8.6-times more than white gay men. And so it’s something that we’re continually having discussions around. It makes a direct impact on our communities.”

Visit LGBT Detroit online to learn more about the organization and their programs.

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