3 results for month: 02/2018


Why Patricia is combining art therapy and activism

Patricia first came to Harlem United a year into her recovery, hoping to not just survive but thrive, and one of the first programs that she connected with was art therapy. “Some things that I did were self-destructive and I’m not going to be able to cure that right away. Working on yourself doesn’t happen overnight.” Addiction led to risky sex and other behaviors with results that Patricia is not happy about, including an HIV diagnosis. Which is why some of her art takes an activist stance. One of her earlier pieces is a pop art - activist mashup, juxtaposing the then- (and still now) megahit musical Wicked with safer sex messages. ...

Diversity & Inclusion: The Harsh Reality

I recently hosted a group and the topic was gender identity and roles. I must admit while this topic comes easy for me, as I was forced through my life experiences to realize the harsh reality that many people still believe that transgender people should not be seen or heard. Granted, a few gentleman gave me great respect but the facial expressions about the topic could be read across the room. About half of the group here macho men and the other half LGBTQ people. The face-off started when I asked, "Has anyone ever been called something that was not their name?" Then I went around to each person and asked them to tell me a hurtful name that they ...

Harlem United featured on NBC News

In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, NBC News ran a news piece featuring Harlem United and one of our clients and peer advocates, Ray. You can read the full story here.