Category Archives: Advocacy

With Legacy’s ‘Best Pharmacy’ Win, We Celebrate PrEP

Legacy Community Health thanks OutSmart Magazine for our 2019 Gayest and Greatest Awards for Best Pharmacy and Best Community Health Services Provider. By Barrett White   The staff at Legacy Community Health could not be more excited over OutSmart Magazine’s acknowledgement of our pharmacy. To celebrate our Gayest and Greatest Award, we would like to …

The HIV fight has changed. A new generation of activists is here.

By Barrett White One was an HIV activist at the height of the crisis. One continues the fight today, for a new generation. We sat down with both of them to discuss the role of the activist – then and now – and where the fight to end HIV is heading.   In the late …

The Houston Homeless Crisis: Legacy collecting donations throughout August

According to an annual census, the homeless population in Houston has dropped since 2011. For those still on the streets, collaborations between organizations like Legacy, The Montrose Center, and Healthcare for the Homeless are essential. By Barrett White   “Social determinants of health” might be a mouthful to say, but it’s a term we should …

Today is National HIV Testing Day. Do you know your status?

Eliminating the stigma begins with knowing your status. By Barrett White   Today, health care providers throughout the nation are highlighting the importance of HIV prevention and the end of HIV stigma. On average, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are nearly 40,000 new HIV transmissions every year, with the highest rates …

Build Your Body: Legacy’s Felicia Lee-Sexton on Building Confidence

People living with HIV may find it difficult to keep muscle mass. Transgender individuals often look to build a physique to match their gender. Enter Legacy’s Body Positive program. By Barrett White   For those living with HIV and struggling with wasting, or those in transition who are looking to form their bodies to match …

Houston and Beaumont Celebrate 50 Years of the Modern LGBTQ Movement

It’s been 50 years since the birth of the modern LGBTQ liberation movement. How two cities—one that has celebrated Pride for five years, and one for over forty—are showing up for equality. By Barrett White   Incredibly, it’s been 50 years since the modern movement toward LGBTQ rights was kicked off at the Stonewall Inn …

Honoring the community on National Long-Term Survivors Day

June 5 is National Long-Term Survivors Day. Many of those who survived the height of the AIDS crisis are aging, and what that can mean for HIV treatment. By Barrett White   When the virus first struck the United States, it was considered fatal. Just before the crisis began, Montrose Clinic—what Legacy was known as …

What is the Banyan Tree Project?

May 19 is National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. By Barrett White   In 2005, we celebrated the first Asian and Pacific Islander HIV Awareness Day. The effort was spearheaded by a group in California, API Wellness. The faces of the AIDS crisis were predominantly White gay men, and presently, the most at-risk …

The 2019 National HIV Prevention Conference: What We Learned, Part 2

On day two of the conference, experts in their fields debated the cost-effectiveness of PrEP. How did they come to their conclusions, and how can states leverage that cost without the patients paying the price?   By Barrett White According to the CDC’s website, PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a medication regimen that “when taken …

Lack of affordable housing hurting health of Texas children

By Jenny Deam, Houston Chronicle Reporter A majority of poor children in Texas live in families where more than half of the household income goes to housing, straining budgets and creating a ripple effect that ultimately damages their health, a new national study found. This often unseen poverty has far-reaching and interconnected consequences as families …