A Message from the Executive
Director
I often remember how cloudless and blue the Manhattan sky looked
on the morning of September 11, 2001. I am still stung by the bittersweet
irony of that day: that something so unthinkable could appear on
such a pristine horizon and change our lives forever. Thankfully,
I am reminded that if terror can blight beauty, then the converse
must also be true: out of terrible tragedy can often come greatness;
and in the face of devastation and loss, one can discover deep reservoirs
of boldness and strength.
 Only
through considerable hindsight and distance are we able to assess
the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2002 — a turbulent 12 months
that changed the landscape of New York City and beyond. At Gay Men's
Health Crisis we began to forecast a shift in philanthropic trends,
feel the impact of a worsening economic crisis, and experience a
significant increase in both the number of clients seeking our services
and in the complexity of their needs. As an agency, we were challenged
to understand the unprecedented impact of 9/11 on the lives of those
living with, and at high risk for, HIV and AIDS. In short, GMHC
was challenged like never before.
At GMHC, every day reveals a new challenge, compelling
us to continue to find innovative, creative, and cost-effective
ways to expand our scope of services and reach. The same holds true
for our commitment to the vastly divergent communities we serve.
While remaining true to our roots in the diverse gay community,
we pace the pandemic as it continues to wreak disproportionately
more havoc among other vulnerable communities: women, youth, and
the poorest among us.
Addressing the complex needs of our clients in their entirety demands
that we maintain a fierce focus on the devastation wrought by poverty
and the stigmatization of people living with HIV and AIDS. Both
exacerbate and complicate the needs of our clients and both require
that we include in our services a competent and safe space from
which to address the impact of homophobia, racism, gender inequality,
and addiction on their lives. In doing so we gain ever more ground
in comprehensively responding to the myriad consequences of this
crippling pandemic.
In the following pages you will read how GMHC maintained a quality
continuum of care in an environment of turmoil and constant change.
You will read how our experience permitted us to continue on a path
of organizational stability and health; how we completed payment
of our debt — emerging debt-free for the first time in six years;
how we expanded services to respond to new needs like syphilis and
hepatitis C; how we created the Institute for Gay Men's Health,
with new community-specific outreach information and endeavors like
QUE and Tribe; how we expanded partnerships with the Asian and Pacific
Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA), the Mailman School of Public
Health of Columbia University, and TEACH — Technology Exchange and
Capacity-building for Community Health; how we increased our public
policy and advocacy responses to a political environment intent
on compromising the health and rights of the people we serve; and
how we enhanced our presence on the global front with significant
participation at the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona.
We have faced an unparalleled challenge and we have emerged stable
and resilient. I am confident that this position of strength will
allow us to springboard into an even more productive and informed
future. GMHC is an agency light on its feet and heavy in its purpose.
We are both poised for action — in better fighting form than ever
before — and fiercely determined to speed the end of this terrible
disease.
Ana Oliveira
Executive Director
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© 2003 Gay Men's Health Crisis
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