Pittsburgh’s LGBTQIA+ Commission Recognizes World AIDS Day

In 2022, 630,000 human beings died from AIDS including more than 4,000 people in the U.S. Globally,more than one person died from AIDS every minute — almost triple the 1988 rate, the year of the firstWorld AIDS Day. There are two main differences between 1988 and now. Today, the rate is declining,and has been since […]

Marilyn Augustine Hendren, a 51 year old Native HIV+ Trans Woman, Died in Tulsa. No One Has Claimed Her Body.

Two photos of a Navajo adult trans woman with chin length hair. In one she's wearing a white dress and in the other a button up paisleey shirt

Marilyn Augustine Hendren was born in Keams Canyon, Arizona in May 1972. She attended Tecumseh High School. Marilyn described herself on Facebook as “gay Native American and HIV + for 23 yrs.” She lived in Albuquerque and then Tulsa. It is believed she was a registered member of the Navajo Nation per a document found […]

Guest Post: Where Oh Where Has the Pittsburgh Gay Nightlife Gone?

By Jazmine Butterfly  As I was out last night I realized everything is gone! The 90s in Pittsburgh were epic! …I mean at least to me they were! There was so much TGBLQ nightlife that we had a schedule on what bars were hopin’ on any particular night.  Take for instance tonight is Thursday everybody […]

On World AIDS Day, The Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ Commission Remembers and Honors Anthony Silvestre — Researcher and Activist Who Dedicated His Life’s Work to Ending AIDS

Since 1988 and every year thereafter on December 1, World AIDS Day has been an international  day for global health in the fight against AIDS. On this day, our communities remember those who  we lost to HIV/AIDS, cherish those who are living with HIV, and recognize the impact this disease   has had on families and […]

Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ Commission Statement on World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day • December 1, 2021   Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ Commission Honors Those Who Have Died  from HIV/AIDS, Elevates the Dignity of Persons Living With HIV, and  Joins The Call To End The AIDS Epidemic By 2030  Forty years ago, in June 1981, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published an article  describing five cases of Pneumocystis […]

Q&A with Blogger Mark S. King about Awards, HIV Storytelling, and Finding Hope in a Pandemic

Mark S. King GLAAD Award

As the reigning GLAAD OUTstanding LGBTQ Blog from 2019, it has been my duty to to pass the title and tiara to the 2020 winner, Mark S. King from My Fabulous Disease. While he’s been getting a lot of mileage from his Susan Lucci status as ‘always a bridesmaid, never a bride’ these past years, […]

11 Quotes from the #AMPLIFY LGBTQ Project in Honor of World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day takes place on the 1st December each year. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health […]

Eric, 35, is a Gay Man Who Has Learned to Live With Microaggressions #AMPLIFY

Name: Eric Age: 35 County of Residence: Allegheny Pronouns: He/Him How do you describe your identity? Gay Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Many. I was raised in a small town in Ohio. Most people come from a Christian background and not a particularly liberal one. I was lucky enough […]

Joseph, 28, is a HIV+ queer and gay man in Pittsburgh #AMPLIFY

A HIV+ queer and gay man Pittsburgh

  Name: Joseph Onstott Age:  28 County of Residence:  Allegheny Pronouns: he/him/his they/their How do you describe your identity? A HIV+ queer and gay man Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I feel like straight people have this idea in their head that it’s an overnight process when it is anything […]

Staci, 52, Wants More Representation For The Bi Community #AMPLIFY

Allegheny Bisexual

  Name: Staci B Age: 52 County of Residence:  Allegheny Preferred Pronouns: she How do you describe your identity?  As a writer, I have often pondered the question, “Who am I?”. I still don’t have an answer. I have come to understand, especially in the last two years or so, the privilege that I’ve experienced as a […]