November 15, 2024 • 30 mins
Kathleen Titus, Race Director for the Philadelphia Marathon Weekend, shares exciting updates about one of the city's most celebrated sporting events. From November 22 to 24, a record-breaking 37,000 participants will take part in the AACR Philadelphia Marathon, Dietz & Watson Half Marathon, and Rothman Orthopaedics 8K. The weekend also features a free Health & Fitness Expo and a Children’s Zone for families. This milestone year saw race registration sell out nearly two months earlier than last year. Learn more at PhiladelphiaMarathon.com and AACR.org.
Hugh Organ, Chief Program Officer of Covenant House Pennsylvania (CHPA), joins us to mark Youth Homelessness Awareness Month and the 25th anniversary of CHPA’s work supporting homeless youth. Hugh discusses the significance of their annual Sleep Out event on November 21, where participants spend the night outside with only a cardboard box and a sleeping bag to raise awareness and funds for youth homelessness. Discover how CHPA is making a difference at CovenantHousePA.org. Sleep Out. Follow them on social media:
Hugh Organ, Chief Program Officer of Covenant House Pennsylvania (CHPA), joins us to mark Youth Homelessness Awareness Month and the 25th anniversary of CHPA’s work supporting homeless youth. Hugh discusses the significance of their annual Sleep Out event on November 21, where participants spend the night outside with only a cardboard box and a sleeping bag to raise awareness and funds for youth homelessness. Discover how CHPA is making a difference at CovenantHousePA.org. Sleep Out. Follow them on social media:
- Facebook: Covenant House PA
- Instagram: @covenanthousepa
- Twitter: @CovenantHousePA
- LinkedIn: Covenant House Pennsylvania
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, and welcome to What's going On? A show
about making a difference in our lives and our communities.
I'm Lorraine Balladmorrow, we check in with Angela Giampolo for
a monthly segment Speak Out, looking at LGBTQIA issues and
how they impact us all. We'll also talk about an
important event promoting empathy for youth homelessness. But first, Kathleen
Titus is the race director for the Philadelphia Marathon Weekend,
(00:23):
one of the most celebrated annual sporting events in the city.
With record breaking numbers expected this year, the event will
welcome thirty seven thousand participants for an exciting weekend of
races and community activities from November twenty second to twenty fourth. Kathleen,
thank you so much with this record breaking number of
registrants this year. How are you preparing to handle this
(00:44):
large crowd and what are you most excited for as
race director?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
So, yes, we have record breaking number of runners coming
in for the Deeps and Wants in Philadelphia Half Marathon,
a little over fifteen thousand, the Rothman Orthopedic EIGHTK around
five thousand, and then we have our American Association for
Cancer Research marathon with around seventeen thousand, so definitely some
record numbers, especially in the marathon. Running is booming right now,
(01:08):
so there's a lot of energy going on. Preparations well
they started last year, so we feel really good about
this year. We're getting all of our equipment ready now.
We start our buildout on Monday. It does take a
lot of resources and hands on the ground to get ready,
but we feel we're in a great shape and great
position for this year. We also made some changes to
(01:29):
the race to allow for the extra people. We moved
our ak on Saturday, which normally started on twenty second
in the Parkway up to Kelly Drive and this allows
our half marathon runners to come off and have more
room and area to exit the footprint once they're done
the race, so that was one of the big changes.
And then also moving on to MOR's Kids Run that
used to take place on Saturday, we moved that to
(01:52):
Sunday at ten am and that again allows us to
have more room on Saturday, but also gives the opportunity
to grow our Kids Run, which is something that we
really want to do. With partnerships that we have in
this city. We're seeing a boom in youth running. So
by moving it to Sunday at ten am, it allows
the marathon to go off and then us to really
maximize the footprint that we have for our Kids Run
(02:13):
to get more children out there running and participating and
doing activities with us.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Fantastic for those who are interested in cheering on participants.
One are the best times and locations to catch the
action over marathon weekend?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Sure, everybody, when you have a love one, you're usually
out there at seven am. You want to catch that start.
We have our wheelchair Division four, the half marathon in
the full marathon going off at six fifty five and
then the runners, elite runners start at seven am, so
we encourage everybody to be out along Logan Square, Logan Circle.
You can really have the opportunity to see people multiple times.
Because the city is built on a grid, a lot
(02:46):
of you really can't go wrong, make a lot of
lesser rights and you're right back where you.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Start it from.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
But Broad Street is another great opportunity. You'll get to
see your loved ones around mile six, so they'll take off.
You can make your way to Broad in chest nunder
Broad and Walnut. Based on the race day maps, of
the as racecourses are on our website philadelphiamathon dot com.
But that's a great place to see somebody a second time,
and then you'd be able to see them at the
finish line area, or if you make your way fast enough,
(03:10):
if say you're on an e bike or a bicycle,
to go up to the Fountain Green area for the
marathon and be able to see runners going out to
many young and coming back, so you know, essentially locate it,
but you will have plenty of opportunity to at least
see everybody two times, if not you know three for
that finish fantastic.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
How can people stay updated on last minute details and
follow the events throughout the marathon weekend on social media
and elsewhere?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Sure you can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Philadelphia Marathon. We also have a new app, a customized
Philadelphia Marathon app that's available on iOS and Google. So
if you just go into your application on your phone
put in Philadelphia Marathon, you'll see the race app. There
you can watch and track your loved ones on there.
You can see all the up to date information about
start times, about any changes, prohibited items, what to bring,
(03:55):
what not to bring, spectator information on there, or you
can go our website Philadelphia Marathon dot com. We have
a race guide on there, sixty four pages of detailed
information everything you want to know, inside out or backwards.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Well, I will be there cheering on the racers. I
usually stick around Main Street and MANIUK. Is that still
going to be a turnaround?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Oh? That is a big turnaround. There's a lot of
vibe and energy on that section. It's a good mile
two mile run, so right around mile twenty one you'll
get to see runners come in. Right around mile twenty turnaround,
come back out. But Main Street in manyunk is always
a festival. Runners want to see this for marathon day. Again,
it's only marathon day that we go out into MANIUK.
(04:34):
But again it's a great viewing area. The runners love
the energy, the vibe, the beverages, the food that gets
handed to them and all the high fives.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Kathleen Titus, race director for the Philadelphia Marathon weekend, See
you there.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
See you there the Right.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
November is Youth Homelessness Awareness Month and this year marks
the twenty fifth anniversary of Covenant House Pennsylvania, supporting home
homeless youth in Philadelphia. To bring attention to this critical issue.
Covenant House PA will host its annual Sleepout on November
twenty first, inviting participants to spend the night outside with
(05:12):
only a cardboard box and a sleeping bag. This event
raises awareness and funds for youth homelessness, helping the organization
continue its essential work of providing shelter care and comprehensive
support to vulnerable youth. Today, we're joined by Hugh Orgon,
chief Program Officer for Covenant House of PA, to talk
about the significance of the sleepout event and the impact
(05:35):
of the organization the unique challenge is faced by homeless youth.
First of all, can you tell us more about the
sleepout event and how it brings attention to youth homelessness
in Philadelphia.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
The sleepout really raises awareness to youth homelessness in the
city of Philadelphia. Most people, when you think of homeless,
you don't necessarily think of a child as being homeless.
A lot of people have a vision of an adult,
older person, but most of the youth we work with
are under the age of twenty one who are homeless
and on the streets, and have been on the streets
for significant amounts of time. So our sleepout event not
(06:09):
only brings attention to the homeless youth problem in the
city of Philadelphia, it also raises funds much needed funds
to run Covened House, which is one of the few
shelters for youth in the city of Philadelphia. We are
one of the largest shelter providers for runway and homeless
youth in the Philadelphia region. Last year, we provided over
twenty seven thousand nights of shelter for youth from the
(06:29):
City of Philadelphia and surrounding areas, so that this event
is one of our biggest events, and this year is
with our twenty fifth year, we're trying to make it
our biggest sleepout ever.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Governmant House Pennsylvania has supported homeless youth in Philadelphia for
twenty five years. What are some of the major milestones
that your organization has achieved over the past two and
a half decades.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
When I started a coven House, there were two beds
in the city of Philadelphia for homeless and runaway youth.
Now last night we sheltered over ninety two youth between
our shelter, our transitional housing, and our rapid rehousing programs,
and also our program in York as well. So to
go from two to ninety two, I think is you know,
it's been a lot of progress. We started from a
(07:09):
drop in center where we had no shelter beds initially
to two thousand and one when we opened up our
largest shelter program, which is in Germantown, currently housing about
forty eight youth total right now. It has been an
operation since October two thousand and one, and each year
we seem to shelter more and more youth. In two
thousand and eleven, we built our Rights and Passage program,
(07:30):
which is transitional housing. It's in Kensington and that's in
a twenty bed ten apartment program, which allowed us to
have youth housed for longer periods of time. So our
transitional housing, the youth can stay from up to eighteen months. Meanwhile,
they're paying rent, they're making savings, they're going to school
and things like that and really being supported away along
the way of you know, into adulthood and really getting
(07:50):
them stable so they don't have to return back into
the shelter system. In twenty and sixteen, we opened up
our first program outside of the City of Philadelphia, out York, Pennsylvania.
We started with a drop in center in York, PA.
We now operate not only a drop in but we
do street outreach. We also have a ten bed shelter
there in York, Pennsylvania as well. So those, I guess
(08:11):
are some of the bigger milestones. Some of the other
things that I think of are the founding of the
Human Trafficking Coalition. We were one of the founding members
of the Philadelphia Anti Trafficking Coalition. We began leading the
coalition back in two thousand and nine. So we have
been leading the fight against human trafficking in the city
of Philadelphia pretty consistently since two thousand and nine through
our partners with the Salvation Army and Enon Tabernacle, Dawn's Place, Villanova.
(08:35):
So it's been a tremendous growth in that amount of
time and just awareness and raising about human trafficking that
goes on in the city of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I wonder if you can talk a little bit more
about how youth, homelessness and human trafficking intersect.
Speaker 5 (08:48):
What are the connections there.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Yeah, so traffickers prey upon individuals who are in need,
so they promise you they can fulfill whatever need is
missing in your life. So the fact that you're housing
in secure or makes you an easy target for traffickers,
and they're targeting youth. Average agent entries anywhere from thirteen
to fourteen years of age when we talk about trafficking,
and if you think about it, that's when youth are
(09:10):
going through puberty. You know, they're starting to butt heads
with their parents, they're starting to have issues with their bodies,
self esteem, things like that. And here comes as trafficker
who tells them you're beautiful, I love you, you know,
promising in the world, I'll give you a place to stay,
I'll buy you all these things, and before they realize
that they're caught up with human trafficking being sold on
street corners, out of hotel rooms. Online online is the
(09:32):
new street corner, so you can pretty much dial up
a kid anywhere in the country.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
If you go online.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
Unfortunately, it's over a ninety nine billion dollar a year
industry that continues to grow. Our youth are most susceptible
when they don't have a pause, have a place to stay.
That makes them extremely vulnerable to traffickers who will promise
them a place to stay, and then when they get there,
they may not be able to leave. We were just
talking to a young person a couple of weeks ago,
and that's initially when he went to a place for
was for potential housing opportunity and was not able to leave.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Once he got there.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Traffickers pray on vulnerable individuals, promising them the world, and
I always say, they sell love. They promise you these
wonderful things, and they sell love and by the time
the youth realizes what's going on, it's too late.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
They're already caught up.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Hugh, you talked about how the need for shelter has
risen over the years, and I wonder if we can
talk about some of the factors that lead to youth homelessness.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Yes, so you name it. We see the gamut when
it comes to individuals that come in, everything from you know,
we had a young person came in and the other
reason they were homeless was because their grandmother, who was
their guardian, was taking care of them all their life.
And grandma died and that was the result in the end,
the result of them becoming homeless. Grandma didn't own a house,
he was rent in space. The youth could not keep
up the rent and they eventually got evicted. But you know,
(10:46):
had Grandmam not died, that youth would have never showed
up at our doorstep. But then you also have kids
who are in the child welfare system. About forty percent
of the young people that come to our doors have
been in the child welfare system. They've been either in
foster care or artie facilities, group homes and either aging
out or just flat out running away from the facilities,
They'll often end up here at Cove House. Over forty
(11:06):
percent of the young people are coming to us from
some type of child welfare program. The other thing I
think is also there are elements of drug involvement as well,
and I always say it's a breakdown the family. You know,
for a lot of these youth there are no aunts
or uncles, mom and pop to call upon for assistance.
So it's really been the breakdown of the family as well,
I think as a big factor in why our youth
(11:27):
end up homeless on the streets sometimes. Like I said,
we do deal with individuals with drug addiction. We're dealing
with individuals health issues. You know, the age group we
work with is the onset time for schizophrenia, So we
we're dealing with individuals who may have the onset of schizophrenia,
untreated depression, untreated bipolar.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
So we will see the.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Gamut when it comes to young people and why they
end up here as far as their needs go. I
tell people all the time, twenty years of doing this,
I've never met a bad kid in the twenty twenty
five years now I've been doing this. Not a bad
kid in a bunch, angry, frustrated, depressed, absolutely, but not
a bag kid and a bunch.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
I love that. That's how you see these young people.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Government House is unique in the sense that it's not
simply providing a bed for someone to put their head
down on to rest, but you provide these wrap around services.
Your goal really is to get them out of homelessness
and to become self sufficient. Tell us more about that.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Yes, absolutely, you know, we tried to really provide a
gamut of services for the individual to support them so
that they don't have to come back to the homeless system.
I mean, that's our ultimate goal, because if we can
prevent them from being homeless now, they don't end up
becoming the adult homeless and the adult homeless shelters. So
we work with everything from their medical issues. We have
a clinical on site. We are partnered with Children's Hospital Philadelphia.
(12:41):
Doctor King Ginsburg and doctor Shelby are here. They provide
for the youth medical needs. Some of them haven't seen
doctors in a very long time, so they'll meet with
the youth help them address any medical needs they may have.
We have a psychiatrist on staff who will help them
address any mental health issues that they may have. Any
and barriers to services as well. They'll help those individuals
get addressed and oftentimes misdiagnosis. A lot of our youth
(13:04):
are misdiagnosed, so Doctor Lydia, who is our psychiatrist, will
meet with the individuals to find out what medication they
really should be on or do they even need the
medication at this point, because a lot of times we're
dealing with misdiagnosed individuals. In addition to that, we have
our education and vocational services, so we help youth maybe
go back to school, finish high school. We have several
(13:24):
young people who are in high school right now, some online,
some actually going to a physical building for high school.
We help kids and roll in college. We have several
young people who are away at college and they all
come back at spring break because they have nowhere to go. Honestly,
if they're in spring break and fall break and things
like that. We help youth enroll in school if they're
interested in getting back in school. We also help kids
find a job, so that's one of our biggest services
(13:47):
is helping youth find jobs. We have a vocational department
that meets with every youth when they come in to
find out what type of skills they have. And for
most of these youths, they have a ton of skills,
they may not have been using them in the proper way.
We work with our young people to teach them they
have skills and just use them in positive and positive ways,
even if they've never worked before. We help them identify
what their strengths are and the fact that they're willing
(14:09):
to work, and we do mock interviews with them. We
help them with clothing so they're prepared to go for
a job interview, and I really learn to sell themselves
and a lot of it is building that self confidence
so they can get in front of someone and answer
those questions because it's hard, especially if you hadn't had
a lot of support in your life, to answer questions
for a job interview, and that's a big part of
getting out of Covenant House because for a lot of
(14:30):
the youth, they're going to need income, They're going to
need to start saving money. They're going to need to
stack that cash so that they can get their own place.
Employment is extremely important. We have several different companies that
we work with and partners that we have worked with
it training. Hope Works has been a fantastic partner of
ours providing it training for our young people and really
trying to find out what the individuals are interested in
(14:52):
and getting more on the career path as opposed to
just work in retail. We want to really help them
find a career path as opposed to just minimum wage job.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
Right.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Well, listen, so many good things that are happening as
a result of the work that you do at Covenant
House and for the organization itself. How can we sign
up to participate in the sleepout or contribute in other
ways to support Covenant House.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
Yes, we always talk about time, treasure and talent right,
so if you have time, we're always looking for volunteers.
We can always use mentors and tutors and individuals to
help with the building. Even with food service at times.
So whatever your talents are, you know, and you have
the time, we would appreciate you. Brand and our development
person wouldn't be on me if I didn't mention treasure
because the only way we can do this work is
through individuals who support us. I mean, most of our
(15:34):
money is privately raised, so it really relies on individuals
who make donations to Covenant House. They can make a
donation through our website at www dot coven housepa dot org.
We also have the sleepout and you can register to
sleep out. It's on the twenty first. We sleep out
overnight on the twenty second in the morning. We leave
at six am, and it truly is an amazing event
(15:57):
where you are really in solidarity with the young people
we work with. You experience a night on the street,
You get a cardboard boxing sleeping bag. I've slept out
over fifteen times now, and you really get a taste
of what it's like. Even though you're in a secure environment,
you're safe. You know, you hear the noises, every little
breeze that blows, you feel that. You feel that in
(16:17):
your bones especially. I tell people all the time, right
around four o'clock is you get cold and you just
can't get warm. And now, mind you, I have a
sleeping bag box and I can always go inside. So
we have those amenities, but for a lot of our
young people, they don't have any of those things. Our
sleepout is an opportunity to come out and support Covenant House.
It's a peer to peer fundraising event. You get a
site and you just ask your peers to donate and
(16:39):
it's it's pretty straightforward and it's easy to do. And
I would strongly encourage your listeners to come out and
sleep out and you can go to sleepout dot org
if you'd like to sign up for the Philadelphia Sleepout event,
and that is on November to twenty.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
First, thank you for sharing your thoughts about Covenant House,
about the sleepout, which sounds like an amazing event and
certainly those out there we need to support organizations like
Covenant House. Q Orgon, Chief Program Officer for Covenant House
of PA.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Oh thank you, Ariyah.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
As we do once a month every month, we speak
with Angela Giampolo. She is the CEO of Giampolo Law
Group and the host of Philly Gay Lawyer, a blog
and an activist in that LGBTQIA Plus space and we
bring her in once a month to talk about LGBTQIA
issues but also how they impact us all. So, Angela,
(17:40):
there's this thing that happened. It's an election and Trump one,
and I guess let's start unpacking what the impact of
his election on the LGBTQIA plus community, but also how
that those issues also impact the rest of us too.
Speaker 6 (17:58):
Absolutely, So, you know, we were not looking forward to
this particular result for many, many reasons, and we don't
know exactly how Project twenty twenty five will roll out
or take hold. But there are four sort of main
things that folks in the LGBTQ community can do to
(18:22):
protect themselves in the coming months proactively leading into a
Trump administration, and then you know, we can delve into
each of them a little deeper. But first and foremost
estate planning, estate planning, estate planning. We've been recreating our
rights through estate planning for decades and that's never changed
and and to your point, everybody needs them, right. I
(18:43):
got passionate over estate planning with the Terry Shaibo case,
a straight CIS married couple that didn't have their estate
planning ducts and he had no power over his wife's body.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
So we all need them, but even more so with.
Speaker 6 (18:55):
Marriage equality on the chopping block and our rights you know,
being chipped away. So then family planning if folks have
children with an LGBTQ community and have not done a
confirmatory adoption, and we can talk more about why. And
then thirdly, name changes and gender markers on your IDs
(19:15):
and making sure that your name and gender and everything
matches on all of your documentation. And I have recommendations
for folks with X as a gender marker that I
want to delve deeper into and then less but definitely
not least self care that we all can be engaging
(19:35):
in regardless of who you are, what community you hail from.
If this is a difficult result for you, gathering in community,
limiting news intake, not doom scrolling on social media because
it's not going to make anything different, but really gathering
with real humans and everyone is an ally to someone,
right I am within the LGBTQ community, and I am
(19:57):
an ally to someone within community. I'm an ally to you,
you're an ally to me. We're all allies to one
another regardless, just as humans and so being willing to
be an ally to someone and being open and willing
to allow someone to be an.
Speaker 5 (20:11):
Ally to you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Well, there are so many implications to the Trump administration
to be that we're not even completely fully aware of yet.
I think we're starting to see the shape of it.
But one area that I was interested in hearing your
reaction to was how this is going to impact the
military trans individuals are allowed to serve in the military,
(20:35):
and that is an area that Trump Trump has said
in the past that he wants to change. What do
you think is going to happen there?
Speaker 6 (20:42):
Yeah, don't ask, don't tell was lifted, and I envision
that really any of the rights that were previously denied
will be the easiest to go back and undo and
re implement. The active military folks and the Agency of
Veteran Affairs were the most impacted when marriage equality rolled
(21:04):
out because what we didn't even know, nobody knew until
marriage equality rolled out, was that the federal government had
haphazardly defined how they recognized or acknowledge marriage either place
of residence or place of celebration. So if you resided
in a state that had marriage, then you and you
(21:25):
were legally married, then you were considered married for the
federal government. If you celebrated your marriage in a state
that had marriage equality, then you were considered married. So
every agency had different weather, place of residency, place of celebration,
and the active military had one, and then the Veteran
Affairs had another. And so you could have been in
(21:46):
the active military and considered married and then retire, and
then your spouse didn't have any veteran benefits. And so
really they were impacted obviously by don as Dantel and
not being able to serve, but then again by marriage quality,
and so.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
And they were.
Speaker 6 (22:02):
That was the main agency that then gave Obama the
impetus to make every agency federal agency place of celebration,
because no matter where you resided, you had to have
celebrated in your marriage in a place where it was legal.
So if all of the federal government has place of celebration,
then everyone who gets federal benefits as a result of
(22:23):
their marriage would get marriage equality. So I envision that
they'll go back to place of residency with that allowing states,
let's say like Florida that don't want to acknowledge marriage equality,
if someone resides there, then it doesn't matter where they
celebrated it. They won't you know, have access to those
federal rights. So don't ask, don't tell easily on the
(22:45):
chopping block to come full circle because it was already
you know, in place and is easy for them to
re enact, as well as executive orders like what I
just you know said, because Obama just declared all federal
agencies place of celebration. So there's not that much at
the outset, at least as it relates to marriage equality
that the president can do. It's important to realize that
(23:08):
that's through the Supreme Court, right, and so they haven't
even taken the case yet that will challenge Oberger Fell.
So first they have to take the case. We'll hear
about that, then there'll be oral arguments, we'll hear about that.
Then there's four months in which an opinion will be issued.
So we're at least a year and a half two
years away from that. But I've been saying that who
is in office would either exacerbate the results of that
(23:31):
or alleviate the results of that. But I've always anticipated
that the Supreme Court would roll back Oberger Fell. So
there are executive orders that immediately upon one twenty. You know,
the Trump administration could issue that will make our lives
difficult on many fronts, but at least as to marriage equality,
there's only so much he can do. And it's important
to remember the Supreme Court needs to issue a ruling
(23:53):
on that right.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
But that is something that is not out of the question.
I mean that is you say that there is a
court case, it's a winding its way to the Supreme
Court that's taking a look at undermining that. And so
back to your suggestions of strategies to remedy that. Of certainly,
what you're saying is that being able to set up trusts.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
And and wills and.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
All those different things that most of us put off
till it's really too late. Right, You know, this is
something we'd always whether you're lgbt q I A or
someone like me.
Speaker 6 (24:26):
Right who client yesterday told me that he's been He said,
a cancer screening and a state planning on his list
of things to do for three years, and he did
the cancer screening good.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
I don't know what is it about about putting together
a will and a trust and all that.
Speaker 6 (24:42):
It's like, I try to make it fun. There will
be dogs at the meeting. So, but yes, the strategies
around estate planning involved definitely revocable living trusts. We've been
using revocable living trusts. They are good for estate planning.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
You know.
Speaker 6 (24:58):
I keep telling people a furrow brow reason is bringing
you to this process. But try to have your eyebrows
up because by the end you'll have your estate planning,
which you needed. And especially if you're a homeowner, revocable
living trusts from an estate planning perspective help you avoid probate.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
So there's a reason.
Speaker 6 (25:14):
And then on top of that reason, the LGBTQ reason
is it recreates a marriage. There is nothing more powerful
than being co trustees of one another's lives twenty four
to seven. Your marriage does not give you that.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Type of power.
Speaker 6 (25:29):
So you have more power than your marriage otherwise would
give you. And so if your marriage is like a castle,
a revocable trust is emoted around that castle, as well
as the powers of attorney nifty little hospital visitation authorization
forms that I shrink down, laminate, and folks hold on
to one another even if everything were. Puppies and babies
(25:52):
and roses in this country were still only recognized as
married in thirty seven countries out of one hundred and
ninety five and so right now for passports, but in
a year and a half two years, it will be
back to domestic travel, depending on where you're driving, flying,
and depending So if we have time, I want to
touch on ID markers, and please let's go for adoption.
(26:14):
If folks have X as their gender marker on their ID,
obviously the decision on whether to change that to M
or F, which you clearly do not identify as because
you've chosen X, which means your gender diverse, non binary.
But there are safety concerns to at least consider. And
(26:35):
you know, we put the fact that we're an organ
donor on the DMV on our IDs, and that creates
a list. It creates a list of organ donors. And
so by putting X as your gender marker on your ID,
you are on a list of sorts. And there is
the Driver's License Data Protection Act, but it in no
way limits the government from that and even certain businesses
(26:58):
can buy those lists. So I just want to caution
folks that you are self identifying yourself to this administration
as queer, and based on your level of travel and
your level of safety, just take that into consideration. And
if you do travel a lot and you find yourself
being pulled over at one am and Tennessee where they
(27:18):
don't recognize X as a gender marker and a cop
is looking at your ID, you know, is that the
most safe position to find yourself in. So no one
can make that decision for you, but just at least
looking into it, looking at your life, amount of travel
that you engage in, and the level of safety that
you feel comfortable with. And it's horrible that I'd have
(27:41):
to say I want you to choose M or F
at the gender with which you most closely identify with.
But this administration has said and they will definitely look
to define gender and sex as narrowly as possible, basically banning.
And this has already happened in ten states, so this
is and if this is happening where X as a
(28:03):
gender marker is banned in other states, so you could
easily find yourself in one of those states.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
There's so much to unpack, but unfortunately we don't have
time to delve into it. So we'll continue this next month.
But in the meantime, for allies, what would you.
Speaker 6 (28:17):
Suggest continue to be an ally in every way, shape
or form. Check in on your LGBTQ folks, your friends,
gather in community, be there and just understand that this
is a safety issue. It's a mental health issue that
folks are spiraling struggling. The fear is founded. I am
(28:41):
not a doomsday or I am in by no means
a conspiracy theorist. I am rational, objective and all of
the things, and not just LGBTQ folks. But immigration is
on the line, abortion is on the line, a lot
of folks are. Their fear is founded, and so just
being a friend and checking in on folks is really
all we can ask of you, and do so authentically
(29:03):
and often, and you'll definitely be doing your part.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
If people want to get in touch with you to
find out about estate planning and so many more things,
tell us all the different ways.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Absolutely.
Speaker 6 (29:14):
You can go to my website Jampolo laud dot com,
call the office two on five six four five twenty
four fifteen. Can find me on Instagram as your gay lawyer.
I am putting a lot of this content out short videos,
you know, sort of unpacking a lot of this information,
as well as on TikTok as gay.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Lawyer fantastic well.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
As always, we're always very happy to have you join
us to have these important conversations because what happens in
the LGBTQI plus community does impact us all and I
thank you for shedding light on these issues.
Speaker 5 (29:45):
Thank you, Angela.
Speaker 6 (29:46):
Giampolo, Thank you for giving space.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in Keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app Keywords Philadelphia Community Podcast.
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard. I'm
Lorraine Ballard MOREL and I stand for service to our
community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(30:09):
You've been listening to what's going on, and thank you
Good morning, and welcome to What's going On? A show
about making a difference in our lives and our communities.
I'm Lorraine Balladmorrow, we check in with Angela Giampolo for
a monthly segment Speak Out, looking at LGBTQIA issues and
how they impact us all. We'll also talk about an
important event promoting empathy for youth homelessness. But first, Kathleen
Titus is the race director for the Philadelphia Marathon Weekend,
(00:23):
one of the most celebrated annual sporting events in the city.
With record breaking numbers expected this year, the event will
welcome thirty seven thousand participants for an exciting weekend of
races and community activities from November twenty second to twenty fourth. Kathleen,
thank you so much with this record breaking number of
registrants this year. How are you preparing to handle this
(00:44):
large crowd and what are you most excited for as
race director?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
So, yes, we have record breaking number of runners coming
in for the Deeps and Wants in Philadelphia Half Marathon,
a little over fifteen thousand, the Rothman Orthopedic EIGHTK around
five thousand, and then we have our American Association for
Cancer Research marathon with around seventeen thousand, so definitely some
record numbers, especially in the marathon. Running is booming right now,
(01:08):
so there's a lot of energy going on. Preparations well
they started last year, so we feel really good about
this year. We're getting all of our equipment ready now.
We start our buildout on Monday. It does take a
lot of resources and hands on the ground to get ready,
but we feel we're in a great shape and great
position for this year. We also made some changes to
(01:29):
the race to allow for the extra people. We moved
our ak on Saturday, which normally started on twenty second
in the Parkway up to Kelly Drive and this allows
our half marathon runners to come off and have more
room and area to exit the footprint once they're done
the race, so that was one of the big changes.
And then also moving on to MOR's Kids Run that
used to take place on Saturday, we moved that to
(01:52):
Sunday at ten am and that again allows us to
have more room on Saturday, but also gives the opportunity
to grow our Kids Run, which is something that we
really want to do. With partnerships that we have in
this city. We're seeing a boom in youth running. So
by moving it to Sunday at ten am, it allows
the marathon to go off and then us to really
maximize the footprint that we have for our Kids Run
(02:13):
to get more children out there running and participating and
doing activities with us.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Fantastic for those who are interested in cheering on participants.
One are the best times and locations to catch the
action over marathon weekend?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Sure, everybody, when you have a love one, you're usually
out there at seven am. You want to catch that start.
We have our wheelchair Division four, the half marathon in
the full marathon going off at six fifty five and
then the runners, elite runners start at seven am, so
we encourage everybody to be out along Logan Square, Logan Circle.
You can really have the opportunity to see people multiple times.
Because the city is built on a grid, a lot
(02:46):
of you really can't go wrong, make a lot of
lesser rights and you're right back where you.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Start it from.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
But Broad Street is another great opportunity. You'll get to
see your loved ones around mile six, so they'll take off.
You can make your way to Broad in chest nunder
Broad and Walnut. Based on the race day maps, of
the as racecourses are on our website philadelphiamathon dot com.
But that's a great place to see somebody a second time,
and then you'd be able to see them at the
finish line area, or if you make your way fast enough,
(03:10):
if say you're on an e bike or a bicycle,
to go up to the Fountain Green area for the
marathon and be able to see runners going out to
many young and coming back, so you know, essentially locate it,
but you will have plenty of opportunity to at least
see everybody two times, if not you know three for
that finish fantastic.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
How can people stay updated on last minute details and
follow the events throughout the marathon weekend on social media
and elsewhere?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Sure you can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Philadelphia Marathon. We also have a new app, a customized
Philadelphia Marathon app that's available on iOS and Google. So
if you just go into your application on your phone
put in Philadelphia Marathon, you'll see the race app. There
you can watch and track your loved ones on there.
You can see all the up to date information about
start times, about any changes, prohibited items, what to bring,
(03:55):
what not to bring, spectator information on there, or you
can go our website Philadelphia Marathon dot com. We have
a race guide on there, sixty four pages of detailed
information everything you want to know, inside out or backwards.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Well, I will be there cheering on the racers. I
usually stick around Main Street and MANIUK. Is that still
going to be a turnaround?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Oh? That is a big turnaround. There's a lot of
vibe and energy on that section. It's a good mile
two mile run, so right around mile twenty one you'll
get to see runners come in. Right around mile twenty turnaround,
come back out. But Main Street in manyunk is always
a festival. Runners want to see this for marathon day. Again,
it's only marathon day that we go out into MANIUK.
(04:34):
But again it's a great viewing area. The runners love
the energy, the vibe, the beverages, the food that gets
handed to them and all the high fives.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Kathleen Titus, race director for the Philadelphia Marathon weekend, See
you there.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
See you there the Right.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
November is Youth Homelessness Awareness Month and this year marks
the twenty fifth anniversary of Covenant House Pennsylvania, supporting home
homeless youth in Philadelphia. To bring attention to this critical issue.
Covenant House PA will host its annual Sleepout on November
twenty first, inviting participants to spend the night outside with
(05:12):
only a cardboard box and a sleeping bag. This event
raises awareness and funds for youth homelessness, helping the organization
continue its essential work of providing shelter care and comprehensive
support to vulnerable youth. Today, we're joined by Hugh Orgon,
chief Program Officer for Covenant House of PA, to talk
about the significance of the sleepout event and the impact
(05:35):
of the organization the unique challenge is faced by homeless youth.
First of all, can you tell us more about the
sleepout event and how it brings attention to youth homelessness
in Philadelphia.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
The sleepout really raises awareness to youth homelessness in the
city of Philadelphia. Most people, when you think of homeless,
you don't necessarily think of a child as being homeless.
A lot of people have a vision of an adult,
older person, but most of the youth we work with
are under the age of twenty one who are homeless
and on the streets, and have been on the streets
for significant amounts of time. So our sleepout event not
(06:09):
only brings attention to the homeless youth problem in the
city of Philadelphia, it also raises funds much needed funds
to run Covened House, which is one of the few
shelters for youth in the city of Philadelphia. We are
one of the largest shelter providers for runway and homeless
youth in the Philadelphia region. Last year, we provided over
twenty seven thousand nights of shelter for youth from the
(06:29):
City of Philadelphia and surrounding areas, so that this event
is one of our biggest events, and this year is
with our twenty fifth year, we're trying to make it
our biggest sleepout ever.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Governmant House Pennsylvania has supported homeless youth in Philadelphia for
twenty five years. What are some of the major milestones
that your organization has achieved over the past two and
a half decades.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
When I started a coven House, there were two beds
in the city of Philadelphia for homeless and runaway youth.
Now last night we sheltered over ninety two youth between
our shelter, our transitional housing, and our rapid rehousing programs,
and also our program in York as well. So to
go from two to ninety two, I think is you know,
it's been a lot of progress. We started from a
(07:09):
drop in center where we had no shelter beds initially
to two thousand and one when we opened up our
largest shelter program, which is in Germantown, currently housing about
forty eight youth total right now. It has been an
operation since October two thousand and one, and each year
we seem to shelter more and more youth. In two
thousand and eleven, we built our Rights and Passage program,
(07:30):
which is transitional housing. It's in Kensington and that's in
a twenty bed ten apartment program, which allowed us to
have youth housed for longer periods of time. So our
transitional housing, the youth can stay from up to eighteen months. Meanwhile,
they're paying rent, they're making savings, they're going to school
and things like that and really being supported away along
the way of you know, into adulthood and really getting
(07:50):
them stable so they don't have to return back into
the shelter system. In twenty and sixteen, we opened up
our first program outside of the City of Philadelphia, out York, Pennsylvania.
We started with a drop in center in York, PA.
We now operate not only a drop in but we
do street outreach. We also have a ten bed shelter
there in York, Pennsylvania as well. So those, I guess
(08:11):
are some of the bigger milestones. Some of the other
things that I think of are the founding of the
Human Trafficking Coalition. We were one of the founding members
of the Philadelphia Anti Trafficking Coalition. We began leading the
coalition back in two thousand and nine. So we have
been leading the fight against human trafficking in the city
of Philadelphia pretty consistently since two thousand and nine through
our partners with the Salvation Army and Enon Tabernacle, Dawn's Place, Villanova.
(08:35):
So it's been a tremendous growth in that amount of
time and just awareness and raising about human trafficking that
goes on in the city of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I wonder if you can talk a little bit more
about how youth, homelessness and human trafficking intersect.
Speaker 5 (08:48):
What are the connections there.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Yeah, so traffickers prey upon individuals who are in need,
so they promise you they can fulfill whatever need is
missing in your life. So the fact that you're housing
in secure or makes you an easy target for traffickers,
and they're targeting youth. Average agent entries anywhere from thirteen
to fourteen years of age when we talk about trafficking,
and if you think about it, that's when youth are
(09:10):
going through puberty. You know, they're starting to butt heads
with their parents, they're starting to have issues with their bodies,
self esteem, things like that. And here comes as trafficker
who tells them you're beautiful, I love you, you know,
promising in the world, I'll give you a place to stay,
I'll buy you all these things, and before they realize
that they're caught up with human trafficking being sold on
street corners, out of hotel rooms. Online online is the
(09:32):
new street corner, so you can pretty much dial up
a kid anywhere in the country.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
If you go online.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
Unfortunately, it's over a ninety nine billion dollar a year
industry that continues to grow. Our youth are most susceptible
when they don't have a pause, have a place to stay.
That makes them extremely vulnerable to traffickers who will promise
them a place to stay, and then when they get there,
they may not be able to leave. We were just
talking to a young person a couple of weeks ago,
and that's initially when he went to a place for
was for potential housing opportunity and was not able to leave.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Once he got there.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Traffickers pray on vulnerable individuals, promising them the world, and
I always say, they sell love. They promise you these
wonderful things, and they sell love and by the time
the youth realizes what's going on, it's too late.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
They're already caught up.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Hugh, you talked about how the need for shelter has
risen over the years, and I wonder if we can
talk about some of the factors that lead to youth homelessness.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Yes, so you name it. We see the gamut when
it comes to individuals that come in, everything from you know,
we had a young person came in and the other
reason they were homeless was because their grandmother, who was
their guardian, was taking care of them all their life.
And grandma died and that was the result in the end,
the result of them becoming homeless. Grandma didn't own a house,
he was rent in space. The youth could not keep
up the rent and they eventually got evicted. But you know,
(10:46):
had Grandmam not died, that youth would have never showed
up at our doorstep. But then you also have kids
who are in the child welfare system. About forty percent
of the young people that come to our doors have
been in the child welfare system. They've been either in
foster care or artie facilities, group homes and either aging
out or just flat out running away from the facilities,
They'll often end up here at Cove House. Over forty
(11:06):
percent of the young people are coming to us from
some type of child welfare program. The other thing I
think is also there are elements of drug involvement as well,
and I always say it's a breakdown the family. You know,
for a lot of these youth there are no aunts
or uncles, mom and pop to call upon for assistance.
So it's really been the breakdown of the family as well,
I think as a big factor in why our youth
(11:27):
end up homeless on the streets sometimes. Like I said,
we do deal with individuals with drug addiction. We're dealing
with individuals health issues. You know, the age group we
work with is the onset time for schizophrenia, So we
we're dealing with individuals who may have the onset of schizophrenia,
untreated depression, untreated bipolar.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
So we will see the.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Gamut when it comes to young people and why they
end up here as far as their needs go. I
tell people all the time, twenty years of doing this,
I've never met a bad kid in the twenty twenty
five years now I've been doing this. Not a bad
kid in a bunch, angry, frustrated, depressed, absolutely, but not
a bag kid and a bunch.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
I love that. That's how you see these young people.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Government House is unique in the sense that it's not
simply providing a bed for someone to put their head
down on to rest, but you provide these wrap around services.
Your goal really is to get them out of homelessness
and to become self sufficient. Tell us more about that.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Yes, absolutely, you know, we tried to really provide a
gamut of services for the individual to support them so
that they don't have to come back to the homeless system.
I mean, that's our ultimate goal, because if we can
prevent them from being homeless now, they don't end up
becoming the adult homeless and the adult homeless shelters. So
we work with everything from their medical issues. We have
a clinical on site. We are partnered with Children's Hospital Philadelphia.
(12:41):
Doctor King Ginsburg and doctor Shelby are here. They provide
for the youth medical needs. Some of them haven't seen
doctors in a very long time, so they'll meet with
the youth help them address any medical needs they may have.
We have a psychiatrist on staff who will help them
address any mental health issues that they may have. Any
and barriers to services as well. They'll help those individuals
get addressed and oftentimes misdiagnosis. A lot of our youth
(13:04):
are misdiagnosed, so Doctor Lydia, who is our psychiatrist, will
meet with the individuals to find out what medication they
really should be on or do they even need the
medication at this point, because a lot of times we're
dealing with misdiagnosed individuals. In addition to that, we have
our education and vocational services, so we help youth maybe
go back to school, finish high school. We have several
(13:24):
young people who are in high school right now, some online,
some actually going to a physical building for high school.
We help kids and roll in college. We have several
young people who are away at college and they all
come back at spring break because they have nowhere to go. Honestly,
if they're in spring break and fall break and things
like that. We help youth enroll in school if they're
interested in getting back in school. We also help kids
find a job, so that's one of our biggest services
(13:47):
is helping youth find jobs. We have a vocational department
that meets with every youth when they come in to
find out what type of skills they have. And for
most of these youths, they have a ton of skills,
they may not have been using them in the proper way.
We work with our young people to teach them they
have skills and just use them in positive and positive ways,
even if they've never worked before. We help them identify
what their strengths are and the fact that they're willing
(14:09):
to work, and we do mock interviews with them. We
help them with clothing so they're prepared to go for
a job interview, and I really learn to sell themselves
and a lot of it is building that self confidence
so they can get in front of someone and answer
those questions because it's hard, especially if you hadn't had
a lot of support in your life, to answer questions
for a job interview, and that's a big part of
getting out of Covenant House because for a lot of
(14:30):
the youth, they're going to need income, They're going to
need to start saving money. They're going to need to
stack that cash so that they can get their own place.
Employment is extremely important. We have several different companies that
we work with and partners that we have worked with
it training. Hope Works has been a fantastic partner of
ours providing it training for our young people and really
trying to find out what the individuals are interested in
(14:52):
and getting more on the career path as opposed to
just work in retail. We want to really help them
find a career path as opposed to just minimum wage job.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
Right.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Well, listen, so many good things that are happening as
a result of the work that you do at Covenant
House and for the organization itself. How can we sign
up to participate in the sleepout or contribute in other
ways to support Covenant House.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
Yes, we always talk about time, treasure and talent right,
so if you have time, we're always looking for volunteers.
We can always use mentors and tutors and individuals to
help with the building. Even with food service at times.
So whatever your talents are, you know, and you have
the time, we would appreciate you. Brand and our development
person wouldn't be on me if I didn't mention treasure
because the only way we can do this work is
through individuals who support us. I mean, most of our
(15:34):
money is privately raised, so it really relies on individuals
who make donations to Covenant House. They can make a
donation through our website at www dot coven housepa dot org.
We also have the sleepout and you can register to
sleep out. It's on the twenty first. We sleep out
overnight on the twenty second in the morning. We leave
at six am, and it truly is an amazing event
(15:57):
where you are really in solidarity with the young people
we work with. You experience a night on the street,
You get a cardboard boxing sleeping bag. I've slept out
over fifteen times now, and you really get a taste
of what it's like. Even though you're in a secure environment,
you're safe. You know, you hear the noises, every little
breeze that blows, you feel that. You feel that in
(16:17):
your bones especially. I tell people all the time, right
around four o'clock is you get cold and you just
can't get warm. And now, mind you, I have a
sleeping bag box and I can always go inside. So
we have those amenities, but for a lot of our
young people, they don't have any of those things. Our
sleepout is an opportunity to come out and support Covenant House.
It's a peer to peer fundraising event. You get a
site and you just ask your peers to donate and
(16:39):
it's it's pretty straightforward and it's easy to do. And
I would strongly encourage your listeners to come out and
sleep out and you can go to sleepout dot org
if you'd like to sign up for the Philadelphia Sleepout event,
and that is on November to twenty.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
First, thank you for sharing your thoughts about Covenant House,
about the sleepout, which sounds like an amazing event and
certainly those out there we need to support organizations like
Covenant House. Q Orgon, Chief Program Officer for Covenant House
of PA.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Oh thank you, Ariyah.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
As we do once a month every month, we speak
with Angela Giampolo. She is the CEO of Giampolo Law
Group and the host of Philly Gay Lawyer, a blog
and an activist in that LGBTQIA Plus space and we
bring her in once a month to talk about LGBTQIA
issues but also how they impact us all. So, Angela,
(17:40):
there's this thing that happened. It's an election and Trump one,
and I guess let's start unpacking what the impact of
his election on the LGBTQIA plus community, but also how
that those issues also impact the rest of us too.
Speaker 6 (17:58):
Absolutely, So, you know, we were not looking forward to
this particular result for many, many reasons, and we don't
know exactly how Project twenty twenty five will roll out
or take hold. But there are four sort of main
things that folks in the LGBTQ community can do to
(18:22):
protect themselves in the coming months proactively leading into a
Trump administration, and then you know, we can delve into
each of them a little deeper. But first and foremost
estate planning, estate planning, estate planning. We've been recreating our
rights through estate planning for decades and that's never changed
and and to your point, everybody needs them, right. I
(18:43):
got passionate over estate planning with the Terry Shaibo case,
a straight CIS married couple that didn't have their estate
planning ducts and he had no power over his wife's body.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
So we all need them, but even more so with.
Speaker 6 (18:55):
Marriage equality on the chopping block and our rights you know,
being chipped away. So then family planning if folks have
children with an LGBTQ community and have not done a
confirmatory adoption, and we can talk more about why. And
then thirdly, name changes and gender markers on your IDs
(19:15):
and making sure that your name and gender and everything
matches on all of your documentation. And I have recommendations
for folks with X as a gender marker that I
want to delve deeper into and then less but definitely
not least self care that we all can be engaging
(19:35):
in regardless of who you are, what community you hail from.
If this is a difficult result for you, gathering in community,
limiting news intake, not doom scrolling on social media because
it's not going to make anything different, but really gathering
with real humans and everyone is an ally to someone,
right I am within the LGBTQ community, and I am
(19:57):
an ally to someone within community. I'm an ally to you,
you're an ally to me. We're all allies to one
another regardless, just as humans and so being willing to
be an ally to someone and being open and willing
to allow someone to be an.
Speaker 5 (20:11):
Ally to you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Well, there are so many implications to the Trump administration
to be that we're not even completely fully aware of yet.
I think we're starting to see the shape of it.
But one area that I was interested in hearing your
reaction to was how this is going to impact the
military trans individuals are allowed to serve in the military,
(20:35):
and that is an area that Trump Trump has said
in the past that he wants to change. What do
you think is going to happen there?
Speaker 6 (20:42):
Yeah, don't ask, don't tell was lifted, and I envision
that really any of the rights that were previously denied
will be the easiest to go back and undo and
re implement. The active military folks and the Agency of
Veteran Affairs were the most impacted when marriage equality rolled
(21:04):
out because what we didn't even know, nobody knew until
marriage equality rolled out, was that the federal government had
haphazardly defined how they recognized or acknowledge marriage either place
of residence or place of celebration. So if you resided
in a state that had marriage, then you and you
(21:25):
were legally married, then you were considered married for the
federal government. If you celebrated your marriage in a state
that had marriage equality, then you were considered married. So
every agency had different weather, place of residency, place of celebration,
and the active military had one, and then the Veteran
Affairs had another. And so you could have been in
(21:46):
the active military and considered married and then retire, and
then your spouse didn't have any veteran benefits. And so
really they were impacted obviously by don as Dantel and
not being able to serve, but then again by marriage quality,
and so.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
And they were.
Speaker 6 (22:02):
That was the main agency that then gave Obama the
impetus to make every agency federal agency place of celebration,
because no matter where you resided, you had to have
celebrated in your marriage in a place where it was legal.
So if all of the federal government has place of celebration,
then everyone who gets federal benefits as a result of
(22:23):
their marriage would get marriage equality. So I envision that
they'll go back to place of residency with that allowing states,
let's say like Florida that don't want to acknowledge marriage equality,
if someone resides there, then it doesn't matter where they
celebrated it. They won't you know, have access to those
federal rights. So don't ask, don't tell easily on the
(22:45):
chopping block to come full circle because it was already
you know, in place and is easy for them to
re enact, as well as executive orders like what I
just you know said, because Obama just declared all federal
agencies place of celebration. So there's not that much at
the outset, at least as it relates to marriage equality
that the president can do. It's important to realize that
(23:08):
that's through the Supreme Court, right, and so they haven't
even taken the case yet that will challenge Oberger Fell.
So first they have to take the case. We'll hear
about that, then there'll be oral arguments, we'll hear about that.
Then there's four months in which an opinion will be issued.
So we're at least a year and a half two
years away from that. But I've been saying that who
is in office would either exacerbate the results of that
(23:31):
or alleviate the results of that. But I've always anticipated
that the Supreme Court would roll back Oberger Fell. So
there are executive orders that immediately upon one twenty. You know,
the Trump administration could issue that will make our lives
difficult on many fronts, but at least as to marriage equality,
there's only so much he can do. And it's important
to remember the Supreme Court needs to issue a ruling
(23:53):
on that right.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
But that is something that is not out of the question.
I mean that is you say that there is a
court case, it's a winding its way to the Supreme
Court that's taking a look at undermining that. And so
back to your suggestions of strategies to remedy that. Of certainly,
what you're saying is that being able to set up trusts.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
And and wills and.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
All those different things that most of us put off
till it's really too late. Right, You know, this is
something we'd always whether you're lgbt q I A or
someone like me.
Speaker 6 (24:26):
Right who client yesterday told me that he's been He said,
a cancer screening and a state planning on his list
of things to do for three years, and he did
the cancer screening good.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
I don't know what is it about about putting together
a will and a trust and all that.
Speaker 6 (24:42):
It's like, I try to make it fun. There will
be dogs at the meeting. So, but yes, the strategies
around estate planning involved definitely revocable living trusts. We've been
using revocable living trusts. They are good for estate planning.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
You know.
Speaker 6 (24:58):
I keep telling people a furrow brow reason is bringing
you to this process. But try to have your eyebrows
up because by the end you'll have your estate planning,
which you needed. And especially if you're a homeowner, revocable
living trusts from an estate planning perspective help you avoid probate.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
So there's a reason.
Speaker 6 (25:14):
And then on top of that reason, the LGBTQ reason
is it recreates a marriage. There is nothing more powerful
than being co trustees of one another's lives twenty four
to seven. Your marriage does not give you that.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Type of power.
Speaker 6 (25:29):
So you have more power than your marriage otherwise would
give you. And so if your marriage is like a castle,
a revocable trust is emoted around that castle, as well
as the powers of attorney nifty little hospital visitation authorization
forms that I shrink down, laminate, and folks hold on
to one another even if everything were. Puppies and babies
(25:52):
and roses in this country were still only recognized as
married in thirty seven countries out of one hundred and
ninety five and so right now for passports, but in
a year and a half two years, it will be
back to domestic travel, depending on where you're driving, flying,
and depending So if we have time, I want to
touch on ID markers, and please let's go for adoption.
(26:14):
If folks have X as their gender marker on their ID,
obviously the decision on whether to change that to M
or F, which you clearly do not identify as because
you've chosen X, which means your gender diverse, non binary.
But there are safety concerns to at least consider. And
(26:35):
you know, we put the fact that we're an organ
donor on the DMV on our IDs, and that creates
a list. It creates a list of organ donors. And
so by putting X as your gender marker on your ID,
you are on a list of sorts. And there is
the Driver's License Data Protection Act, but it in no
way limits the government from that and even certain businesses
(26:58):
can buy those lists. So I just want to caution
folks that you are self identifying yourself to this administration
as queer, and based on your level of travel and
your level of safety, just take that into consideration. And
if you do travel a lot and you find yourself
being pulled over at one am and Tennessee where they
(27:18):
don't recognize X as a gender marker and a cop
is looking at your ID, you know, is that the
most safe position to find yourself in. So no one
can make that decision for you, but just at least
looking into it, looking at your life, amount of travel
that you engage in, and the level of safety that
you feel comfortable with. And it's horrible that I'd have
(27:41):
to say I want you to choose M or F
at the gender with which you most closely identify with.
But this administration has said and they will definitely look
to define gender and sex as narrowly as possible, basically banning.
And this has already happened in ten states, so this
is and if this is happening where X as a
(28:03):
gender marker is banned in other states, so you could
easily find yourself in one of those states.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
There's so much to unpack, but unfortunately we don't have
time to delve into it. So we'll continue this next month.
But in the meantime, for allies, what would you.
Speaker 6 (28:17):
Suggest continue to be an ally in every way, shape
or form. Check in on your LGBTQ folks, your friends,
gather in community, be there and just understand that this
is a safety issue. It's a mental health issue that
folks are spiraling struggling. The fear is founded. I am
(28:41):
not a doomsday or I am in by no means
a conspiracy theorist. I am rational, objective and all of
the things, and not just LGBTQ folks. But immigration is
on the line, abortion is on the line, a lot
of folks are. Their fear is founded, and so just
being a friend and checking in on folks is really
all we can ask of you, and do so authentically
(29:03):
and often, and you'll definitely be doing your part.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
If people want to get in touch with you to
find out about estate planning and so many more things,
tell us all the different ways.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Absolutely.
Speaker 6 (29:14):
You can go to my website Jampolo laud dot com,
call the office two on five six four five twenty
four fifteen. Can find me on Instagram as your gay lawyer.
I am putting a lot of this content out short videos,
you know, sort of unpacking a lot of this information,
as well as on TikTok as gay.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Lawyer fantastic well.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
As always, we're always very happy to have you join
us to have these important conversations because what happens in
the LGBTQI plus community does impact us all and I
thank you for shedding light on these issues.
Speaker 5 (29:45):
Thank you, Angela.
Speaker 6 (29:46):
Giampolo, Thank you for giving space.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in Keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app Keywords Philadelphia Community Podcast.
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard. I'm
Lorraine Ballard MOREL and I stand for service to our
community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(30:09):
You've been listening to what's going on, and thank you
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