Dan Bradley Humanitarian Award

2012 Award Winner: The Health Initative

We are pleased to award the 2012 Dan Bradley Humanitarian Award to The Health Initative for their leading role in bring equity, access, and quality care to LGBTQ Americans, namely in Georgia and the Southeast. Pictured here is the great Health Initative staff: Linda Ellis, Executive Director, Amber Moore, Real Bois Talk Program Manager and James Parker Sheffield, Director of Organizational Development.

History:

The Health Initiative is dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of Georgia’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community through education, support, advocacy, and access to care. It is the largest non-profit agency in the southeast devoted solely to the health and wellness of LGBTQ people.

The organization originally formed as the Atlanta Lesbian Cancer Initiative (ALCI) in 1996. ALCI addressed a void in mainstream attention to lesbian health, the insensitivity of many medical practitioners, and a palpable lack of support for lesbians diagnosed with cancer.  Along with a strong circle of support, founder Denny Doucher took on the Atlanta medical establishment, educating and opening the minds of healthcare professionals. ALCI created support groups for the community and began identifying gay-friendly health service providers. As a result of these successful efforts, fewer Atlanta women report difficulty in finding lesbian-friendly healthcare or support today.

As the needs of the community shifted, ALCI evolved to include overall health promotion programming, which extended past cancer to health promotion, and placed greater emphasis on training healthcare providers to offer lesbian supportive care.  In response to this expanded focus, ALCI became the Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative (ALHI) in 2006. In 2008, ALHI introduced LGBTQ friendly health fairs and launched the Lesbian Health Fund, providing access to screening and basic healthcare to uninsured and underinsured Atlanta lesbians.  The Health Fund, in collaboration with low-cost clinic partners, has proved to be a lifesaver for hundreds of Atlanta women.  One early Health Fund participant remarked, "I called and you answered. It took almost no effort to get some help, and it took a giant load off my shoulders.  It was a turning point for me to know that there are people out who do care and are happy to just help out".
 
In 2010, ALHI responded to community need and expanded the Health Fund to include any uninsured or underinsured LGBTQ individual. With access to the Health Fund growing beyond just the Atlanta lesbian community, the need for health education, advocacy, and access for all LGBTQ Georgians became clear. Once again rising to the call, the organization officially became the Health Initiative (HI) in 2011 and adopted a statewide, inclusive community vision.

Today, HI continues to expand its scope of work and maintains the largest LGBTQ-friendly healthcare providers database in the Southeast.  In addition, HI implements a variety of important community programming, including Fourth Tuesday, a social networking and support program, Real Bois Talk, a project supporting the health and wellness of African American Masculine Identified Lesbians, SAGE Atlanta, supporting and advocating for LGBTQ elders, and domestic violence (DV) programming that offers support groups for both victims and perpetrators. The DV program is the only one of its kind for the community in the southeast.

HI demonstrates its commitment to Atlanta's larger LGBT community through the Phillip Rush Center, which was established through a partnership between HI and the Equality Foundation of Georgia. The Phillip Rush Center provides low cost meeting and community event space for a host of groups working for the LGBTQ and social justice communities. 

About the Award and its Namesake

As one of the founders of Human Rights Campaign Fund in 1980, Dan Bradley distinguished himself through his career as a courageous champion of civil rights. As president of the Legal Services Corporation, Dan was the highest-ranking Presidential appointee ever to acknowledge his homosexuality. That act of bravery set the stage for an impressive string of national media appearances and Dan's activism on the boards of many national and local organizations.

Dan was the inspiration behind the historic June 1, 1987 demonstration at the White House and proudly led 64 gay and lesbian leaders to jail in a symbolic act of civil disobedience. A native of Georgia and a graduate of Mercer University, Dan passed away in January 1988 at the age of 47.

This award is bestowed upon an individual or group who continues Dan Bradley's tradition of activism and service to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Past Award Recipients

2011 - Jeff Cleghorn
2010 - Hon. Simone Bell
2009 - YouthPride!
2008 - Rev. Dennis Meredith, Tabernacle Baptist Church
2007 - Jack Senterfit
2006 - Tony Conway, Legendary Events
2005 – Cynthia Tucker, editorial page editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2004 - Dr. Karla Drenner, Georgia State Representative
2003 - Kathy Colbenson, CEO, Chris Homes, Inc.
2002 - The Atlanta Games, Inc.
2001 - Tony Braswell & Jim Marks
2000 - H. Philip Rafshoon
1999 - Kenneth F. Britt
1998 - AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta
1997 - Edith Dee Cofrin
1996 - Rev. Mike Cordle
1995 - Shannon Byrne
1994 - Larry Pellegrini
1993 - Don George
1992 - Dick Sargent
1991 - Tom Teepen
1990 - David Sheppard
1989 - Vic Basile
1988 - Hon. John Lewis, U.S. Congressman