July 14 , 2008

We're proud that the Mautner Project and our staff have been included in recent news articles across the country. You can read these articles and more in the Press Room of our website.

Gay Women's Health Crisis: Where Has Health Care for Lesbians Gone? In Seattle's The Stranger: "'I hear astonishing stories all the time,' says Leslie Calman, executive director of the Mautner Project, a national lesbian health-care advocacy group. 'Women who are lesbian or bisexual are told [by doctors] that they don't need internal exams...'"

Check out an amazing Mautner Project staff member, Rachelle Dixon, featured in the Washington Blade's 30 Under 30 interviews with up-and-coming LGBT "movers and shakers" in the DC area.

Heat Things Up With Summer Fever!

Sunday, July 20
Game Time: 4:00
Verizon Center
600 F St. NW
Washington, DC 20004

Watch the Mystics heat up the Verizon Center at Summer Fever - a benefit evening at the game to support the Mautner Project. Get your tickets to the game by clicking here.

Then chill out at the Heatwave After Party, featuring DC's hottest DJ, Dtroyt E of Soul Glow. Eat, drink, and dance, and enter to win prizes at the Verizon Center's Dewar's 12 Clubhouse! RSVP to info@mautnerproject.org.

A $10 cover charge will support the Mautner Project's work to improve the health of our community, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women and their families.

Good News For Domestic Partners in Maryland

As of July 1st, a new law in Maryland goes into effect offering eleven health care-related protections to domestic partners. "Health Care Facility Visitation and Medical Decisions" gives domestic partners the right to share a room in a nursing home, visit each other in health care facilities, make medical decisions on each other's behalf, and more. To learn more, visit Equality Maryland's website.

The Mautner applauds the hard work of Equality Maryland and supportive members of the Maryland Legislature. Through their efforts, women who partner with women have come a step closer to legal equality - and just as important, will be better able to access the health care they need, when they need it, together.

Wanted: Your Stories

At the Mautner Project, our mission is to improve the health of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women and their families - your health. It is your stories that motivate us and that show us not only what can be done right, but why we have so far to go in ensuring that quality healthcare is truly accessible to all people. In our work, we routinely hear from women who have been discriminated against in medical settings or who face other barriers to good care. And now, we want to hear from you. We are inviting you to tell us about your experiences accessing health care as a lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender person, both good and bad. Why? Because your voices are very powerful! Stories from real people's lives help us to explain why we do the work that we do to friends, funders, and others. In addition, we'll also share these stories through the e-newsletter. Hearing how other members of our community have dealt with challenges and successes can help us all.

Please consider sharing your story by contacting Sara Jaye at 202.332.5536 or ssanford@mautnerproject.org. You are welcome to submit anonymously, and we won't share your story - anonymously or not - without your permission. Thank you!

Take Action

When Lisa Pond suddenly collapsed, Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami refused to allow her partner of eighteen years and their children to see her as she slipped into a coma. They informed Janice, her partner, that she was in an anti-gay city and state and would receive no acknowledgement as family. Now, Lambda Legal is suing the hospital to try to make sure no family has to go through an experience like this again - read more at their website. You can do your part and sign their petition calling on the next President to create a health plan that includes visitation rights and nondiscrimination for LGBT and HIV+ people: click here.

The Mautner Project improves the health of lesbians, bisexual, and transgender women who partner with women, and their families, through advocacy, education, research, and direct service. We envision a healthcare system that is guided by social justice and responsive to the needs of all people.

Health Education Team
Mautner Project: The National Lesbian Health Organization
202.332.5536