When the insistent tinkling of a cell phone was answered and a connection established, on this side, Kate Barnhart apologized for having to take the call, but said it was a call from jail and she had to take it. At the other end of the line, Dianna Rosario, a 26 year-old woman, had called from the Westchester County Jail, where she had been held, since earlier on Friday, Nov 13, 2009, on remand for a probation violation.

Now that the elections are over and Mayor Bloomberg has retained his office, the newly established commission on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) homeless youth is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, Nov 18. When Bloomberg, announced at the Ali Forney Center's (AFC) annual fundraiser on Oct 5 that he had established a commission to look into and address the plight of the city's homeless LGBT youth, to many in the audience, it was a surprise, many others wondered if it was another election year gimmick.

(New York, NY, Oct 27, 2009) -The Ali Forney Center (AFC) today received a gift of $300,000.00 from the estate of legendary stage and television actress Bea Arthur.

(New York, NY) - More than 500 people gathered at the Chelsea Art Museum for the Ali Forney Center's annual celebration: A Place at the Table. Beginning with a tour of the Center's drop-in facility, a few doors down from where the reception was held on Oct 5, the Museum, a ultra-modern triple-level space exhibiting contemporary art, most of which were large mural type abstracts in bold splashes of color; was the locus for cocktails, a silent auction and tastings provided by celebrity chefs from eateries around the city, and awards.

(New York, NY) -In remarks congratulating the Ali Forney Center (AFC) for their work among homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth, at their annual fund raiser, "A Place at the Table," Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the formation of a commission to address homelessness among youth in the city.

By Sr. Correspondent,  D. Kevin McNeir

In part one of this story entitled "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" we reported on the recent rash of middle-school students who have taken their own lives as their only perceived means of escape from excessive bullying. Now as prayer vigils, tributes and community discussions abound, the real question remains "what prompted these young children to commit suicide and what can be done to prevent future tragedies for other young adults?" In this second part of our story, we look at what's being done on a national level and share surprising statistics about teen suicides.


 

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey, known for having the "Midas Touch" and launching not only careers but bringing controversial issues to the forefront, took on the topic of "bullying and youth suicide" on her popular talk show earlier this week.

And with the tragic deaths of two 11-year-old boys, Jaheem Herrera and Carl Joseph-Walker, along with three others several months ago in Illinois, parents, educators, politicians, health providers and the general public are beginning to realize that our children are facing life-threatening dangers in their schools and communities.

Besides asking for advice from leading psychologists, Winfrey interviewed both mothers of the two boys who committed suicide after enduring what one professor of psychology has labeled, "sexual bullying." In other words, the boys were harassed, teased and taunted with sexually-themed words and innuendos. Additionally, it has been reported that Herrera was teased because of his ethnicity.

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Anti-gay slurs and physical attacks linked to increase in youth suicides

By: D. Kevin McNeir

In the popular fairy tale "The Three Little Pigs," the big bad wolf "huffs and puffs and blows the house down." But in the real world, the wolf seems to have donned the costume of a young boy (or girl), verbally and physically harassing his victims with malice and premeditated thought. Now, with a sudden increase in suicides among children nationwide, concern has grown about the reasons for the rise in bullying and the assumed lack of support for and intervention on behalf of those who continue to be terrorized.

 

The sudden rash of middle-school students who have taken their own lives, presumably as their only perceived means of escape, began in February in three cities in the state of Illinois: Chatham, Evanston and Chicago. Then on Monday, April 9th, as was previously reported by GBM News, an 11-year-old Massachusetts boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hung himself after enduring bullying at school, including accusations that he was gay - despite his mother's pleas to the school to address the problem. Now, with the most recent suicide of yet another 11-year-old boy, Jaheem Herrera, a fifth-grader at Dunaire Elementary School in Atlanta's DeKalb County, more parents are coming forward reporting cases of their own children being bullied as well, and along with community leaders, teachers, and principals, all are asking what can be done to stem the tide. In the case involving Herrera, it has been reported that his mother, Masika Bermudez, has hired an attorney to address what she says was an inadequate response from school officials. She reportedly had complained several times about the bullying her son had endured, including one incident during which he was allegedly choked in the boy's bathroom. Herrera had been accused by his peers of being "gay" and a "snitch."

DeKalb County's district attorney, Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming, in an unprecedented move, has even gotten involved. And while the DA has yet to open a formal investigation, investigators have been dispatched, according to Fleming's spokesperson, and they want answers. But it seems to be too little too late for the five young children who saw no other option to the ending of their torment than to end their own lives. Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming "The US Department of Health is clear on this issue - bullying is a serious public health issue for young people and it is not a rite of passage," said Eliza Byard, executive director for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). "And we need to be clear - we are not talking about reciprocal teasing or a conflict situation. Eliza Byard

These cases appear to the expression of one person seeking to express power over another. Both the bully and the bullied child need adult support and help. And it has been proven that bullying has long term effects on both parties in terms of academic outcomes, emotional well-being and future life prospects - and it thus requires our attention." It would be presumptuous for readers to jump to any conclusions or to pass judgment on the parents or school officials involved in the cases cited above. But what does seem to be crystal clear is that there is an increasing problem that will surely only grow worse unless rational minds come together in a concerted effort to provide solutions.

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New York  April 9, 2009 -- An 11-year-old Massachusetts boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hung himself Monday after enduring bullying at school, including daily taunts of being gay, despite his mother's weekly pleas to the school to address the problem. This is at least the fourth suicide of a middle-school aged child linked to bullying this year.

 

Carl Joseph Walker-Hoove, 11, killed himself at his home on Northampton Avenue in Springfield on Monday.

Carl, a junior at New Leadership Charter School in Springfield who did not identify as gay, would have turned 12 on April 17, the same day hundreds of thousands of students will participate in the 13th annual National Day of Silence by taking a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) bullying and harassment at school. The other three known cases of suicide among middle-school students took place in Chatham, Evanston and Chicago, Ill., in the month of February. "Our hearts go out to Carl's mother, Sirdeaner L. Walker, and other members of Carl's family, as well as to the community suffering from this loss," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. "As we mourn yet another tragedy involving bullying at school, we must heed Ms. Walker's urgent call for real, systemic, effective responses to the endemic problem of bullying and harassment. Especially in this time of societal crisis, adults in schools must be alert to the heightened pressure children face, and take action to create safe learning environments for the students in their care. In order to do that effectively, as this case so tragically illustrates, schools must deal head-on with anti-gay language and behavior." Two of the top three reasons students said their peers were most often bullied at school were actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression, according to ''From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America,'' a 2005 report by GLSEN and Harris Interactive. The top reason was physical appearance.

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By Antoine Craigwell, Sr. Correspondent

(New York, NY) - David, Dexter, and Mike (names changed to protect their identities) are three young men with stories, who like many people gravitate to New York City, as moths to a flame, in search of their dream, fame and fortune, or a new life. What does a young Black gay man do, where does he go and to whom does he turn, when he finds himself homeless in a big city?


 

When 26-year-old David, usually called "Bama," not a familiar for Obama, but because he's originally from the gulf coast city of Mobile, AL, arrived in New York City in Jul 2008, he stayed for two weeks at a friend's apartment. As that living arrangement wasn't permanent, he was forced to leave. Being Black, gay and HIV positive, Dominic spent the next several months on the streets, sleeping where ever he could find a warm dry place. After staying at a transitional homeless shelter in the Bronx where he waited for placement in a more stable environment, he was placed in a permanent residence and is looking for a job. Dexter, also 26, is originally from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He came to the city in 2000 and has been going to Sylvia's Place, a homeless shelter for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth run by the Metropolitan Community Church of New York (MCCNY), since 2003. According to Dexter his relationship with the shelter began when he was released from jail after being incarcerated for three years for weapons possession, withholding information and harboring a fugitive, who at the time was his partner. For 23-year-old Mike, who arrived in New York in December 2006 from Charlotte, NC, ostensibly to find love, the experience of being homeless was an eye-opener.

"I wanted a relationship that was different to those I had in Charlotte, but I quickly discovered that the men here and there [back home] were one and the same," he says. Mike's story is similar to many who come to the city - arrival at Port Authority, and initial temporary living arrangements - staying with a friend, her husband and children for two weeks. But, unlike the others, he chose, rather than had to be asked, to leave his friend's apartment because he wanted to adhere to his promise to stay with her for a specific time, not overstay his welcome, and was concerned about continuing to impinge on their family life.

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By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell
Photography courtesy of Lucky Michaels, Sylvia's Place

(New York, NY) Sitting opposite me in a subway car as the A train rolled through a tunnel in Brooklyn was a light skinned Black young man, seemingly between 17 or 19-year-old, dressed in New York's black uniform: black sweater, black jacket, and black cargo pants, with black boots. 

It was Thanksgiving night about 11:30 p.m., and the temperature outside was close to freezing. Feeling satisfied and thinking of sleep, I was returning home from celebrating the holiday with my family when I was roused from my near sleeping state by the sound of conversation cutting into the hypnotic clickity-clack humming of the subway's wheels on the rails.  The young man who was seated in a side facing seat had asked another young man in a forward facing seat, for a dollar. The young man looked over in my direction asking me if I spoke Spanish.  Replying that I did, he asked me again what was it that the young man in black was asking, I enquired and translating from Spanish to English and English to Spanish, that the other young man didn't have any money. At which point the young man in black proceeded to shared with me his night's misfortune.  He said he had recently moved to New York from Philadelphia to take a job which didn't work out, and had been asked to leave the place where he was staying. With no family and no place to go, he was trying to understand and to stitch something together for himself, if only for that night.

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