A 23-Year Relationship with our Client, Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc. Continues

In May, 2013, once again Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc. (TTC) renewed our contract to support their efforts to address community health care needs in Southern California. We are very grateful for a 23-year long and continuing relationship with our client. In the fall of 1990, while contemplating starting a consulting business, I asked professional colleagues in the Los Angeles Region about their thoughts and reactions to this new idea of mine. One of those who got asked was Maury Weiner, now deceased, but then an Administrator of TTC. His response was straightforward and direct, "let us know if you decide to do it, we may have work for you." That offer, which at the time seemed rather casual, proved to be sincere. TTC became our first client and 23 years later we thankfully count them as our oldest. We have thus been privileged to be part of TTC's growth experience since 1990. In that time they grew about ten-fold as they expanded HIV services, expanded substance use disorder, mental health and criminal justice services to new sites in the LA Region, opened their Family Medical Clinics, developed a Youth Services Department, and aggressively built a technology infrastructure for the 21st Century.  They initially engaged me to help develop their HIV programs but challenged me to support them in all these other areas in which they were growing. As a consequence of that challenge I also grew in knowledge and experience. Thank you, Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc

Gil Gerald & Associates Engaged to Provide Technical Assistance Services in Massachusetts

Gil Gerald & Associates, Inc. has been contracted to provide technical assistance to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (BSAS), under subcontract to JBS International, Inc. (JBS).  JBS is the State TA Project Contractor under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAHMSA) State Technical Assistance Project. The contract with JBS will continue work begun in the fall of 2012 whereby Gil Gerald & Associates was engaged to provide a needs assessment, to be followed by a training plan and then by training, with the goal of increasing the capacity of agencies contracted by BSAS to deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate services to LGBTQ individuals and families.

HHS Releases Enhanced CLAS Standards and The Blueprint (Implementation Guide)

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Minority Health, announced the release of  enhanced National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (the National CLAS Standards) and the accompanying document National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care: A Blueprint for Advancing and Sustaining CLAS Policy and Practice (the Blueprint), an implementation guide for The CLAS Standards.

Studies point to health benefits in coming out and challenges that Black men face in doing so

A recent article in the Huffington Post discusses research finding less levels of stress in individuals who come out as LGBT individuals. The article also points to another recent study indicating that there are unique challenges that African-American men face in disclosing that they are LGBT/SGL individuals. 

HRSA Solicits Applications for Services Targeting Latinos/as at Risk for, or Living with HIV

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013 the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced via Grants.gov, that under the HRSA Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) program they are soliciting two sets of applications. The first grant opportunity, HRSA-13-154, is for demonstration projects to design, implement and evaluate culturally appropriate service delivery models focused on improving health outcomes among Latinos/as living with HIV disease. The second announcement HRSA-13-151, is for a competitively awarded cooperative agreement with one organization to provide the multi-site evaluation for the demonstration sites awarded under the first opportunity. For more information, please go to Grants.gov. Gil Gerald & Associates, Inc. may be able to provide grant writing services to an organization seeking to be funded under these announcements, or to partner with organizations seeking to provide these services.

Bureau of Justice Assistance Announces Mentoring Grants

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) disseminated on January 22, 2013, through Grants.gov, application information regarding funding under the Second Chance Act. The funding is for mentoring grants to nonprofit organizations and Indian Tribes. Programs funded under the Second Chance Act help ensure that the transition individuals make from prison and jail to the community is successful and promotes public safety. The full announcement is available online. The award ceiling amount is $300,000. The deadline for applications is March 21, 2013. Gil Gerald & Associates, Inc. may be able to provide grant writing services to an organization seeking to be funded under this announcement.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from Gil Gerald & Associates, Inc.!

LGBTQ Reducing Disparities Project's Report Released

Poshi Mikalson, MSW, Project Director of the LGBTQ Reducing Disparities Project, announced on December 18, 2012 the release of the Project's report titled First, Do No Harm: Reducing Disparities for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Populations in California. This report is the culmination of more than two years of community-based research, and includes findings, promising practices and recommendations to reduce disparities and improve mental wellness for LGBTQ communities in California. The California LGBTQ Reducing Disparities Project is being carried out by Equality California Institute and Mental Health of Northern California through a collaborative arrangement with funds provided by the California Department of Public Health under the Mental Health Services Act.