Headlines from the Constitution State
Ashley Gavin in town
Comedian Ashley Gavin is paying a visit to the Funny Bone in Manchester. On July 14, the comedian is set to perform stand-up at the comedy club in the Buckland Hills mall.
Probaby best known for her popular podcast, “We’re Having Gay Sex,“ Gavin gained recognition in many popular magazines, including Forbes and Out. In addition to her career as a comedian, she’s a successful actor and writer, and has seen many of her TikTok videos go viral, with more than 30 million views. Her podcast was recognized as one of the best comedy podcasts of 2020 as chosen by Paste Magazine. Gavin was also the first openly gay comedian to perform with Carnival Cruise Line.
More: hartford.funnybone.com
Goats Pride night
The Hartford Yard Goats minor league baseball team are “celebrating diversity and inclusion” with a Pride Night at their game on July 14.
The first 1,000 attendees to arrive at the game will be given Pride bracelets. The event is presented by the Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and Connecticut VOICE magazine.
More: milb.com/hartford
Out Professionals networking night
On July 21, Out Professionals host Out Pro Lounge, a networking event in Norwalk Harbor at Sono 50 Rooftop.
In order to make the in-person gathering safe, proof of vaccination will be required for attendees.
Out Professionals “is the leading nonprofit networking organization,” states their website, “for members of the LGBTQ community in the United States who are seeking professional networking events.” The organization was created in 1983 in New York, and expanded to Los Angeles in 2019.
The pandemic put a delay on the expansion of city chapters, but things are starting to pick up again.
Jennifer Merola, financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual, founded the Connecticut chapter. Merola is also part of Out Pro’s National Leadership Team, and she is a lead ambassador for their West Chester chapter.
Their goal is “to create a growing network of city chapters that host events that benefit LGBTQ professionals while providing a virtual community to benefit those who live in less populated areas.” In 2021, they created the Out Professionals Education Foundation, with the goal being to “further expand and develop career-centered, in-person and virtual educational programming.”
More: outprofessionals.org
Health Care equality leaders
In late March, the Human Rights Campaign released their 15th annual Healthcare Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey of policies and practices around inclusive and equitable treatment of LGBTQ+ patients, visitors and employees.
Many facilities across all six New England states scored well on the survey, with 23 facilities earning top scores, designating them “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leaders,” and nine of them are in Connecticut.
Among these top-scoring facilities are Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, Griffin Hospital in Derby, Hartford Hospital, Illume Fertility in Norwalk, Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, MidState Medical Center in Meriden, Natchaug Hospital in Mansfield Center, Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain and Windham Hospital in Willimantic.
HRC also recognized 10 “Top Performers” in the state: St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, VA Connecticut Health Care System in West Haven, Wheeler Hartford, Anchor Health Initiative in Hampden, Bridgeport Hospital, Bristol Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London and Yale New Haven Hospital.
University of Connecticut Student Health and Wellness in Storrs and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford were noted for adopting foundational policies of LGBTQ+ inclusion and equitability. And UConn John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington was recognized for also working with HRC as a survey participant.
More: hrc.org
