“At the time in Flint, there was no LGBTQ+ visibility at all,” Atkins said. Wellness has followed that approach, but Flint has had fewer gay bars and public spaces for LGBTQ+ gatherings, so Atkins said there was a need to get creative. To reach vulnerable populations, HIV organizations had to be flexible over the years, offering services and testing at gay bars, parks, and other places that you wouldn’t typically find healthcare.
Wellness Clinic logo (Photo source: )Ītkins said Flint Pride was developed partly in response to an outbreak of HIV in 2009 in Black men ages 17 to 37, especially those who identify as queer, gay, or bi. “It has been a challenge to help the community understand that Flint is over 60 percent BIPOC and our event needs to at least reflect that.” “We have had individuals from the community give feedback and basically imply that our event is too Black,” Atkins said. Our Black Trans women are still being murdered at rates that are unconscionable to allow.” “Health disparities occur because of lack of cultural competencies including racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and especially transphobia. “All of the communities we serve are at greater risk of death or harm because of the lack of cultural competence,” Atkins said. We’re also disease prevention,” said Stevi Atkins, CEO of Wellness AIDS Services, which has been central to organizing Flint’s Pride celebrations. And the event’s history is itself rooted in disease prevention and centered on identities within vulnerable populations. Flint’s tenth annual Pride Festival was held as a virtual event last year because of the pandemic.
(Photo source: It won’t be the first time Flint’s Pride celebrations have been affected by disease.