Booze and Staten Island's LGBT community (commentary)
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By JODY P. STOLL
Alcohol and sex don't mix. Any number of decisions made under the influence of alcohol can affect a person for a lifetime.
Underage drinking and excessive alcohol use leads to risky sexual behaviors, which, in turn, can lead to unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and the transmission of HIV/AIDS.
For those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, alcohol can hinder treatment and lead to progression of the virus/disease. Also, alcohol is involved in about half of all sexual assaults.
Are we doing enough to raise awareness of these risks? Are we reaching folks we don't always think of when we talk about the harms of underage and excessive drinking?
For the past three months, the Partnership for a Healthier Staten Island and the Staten Island Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community Center have joined together to look at this issue.
Intergenerational focus groups were convened, and community members were able to share their stories.
This lead to the creation of "Reflections: An Intergenerational Story of Alcohol, Sex and Life" (viewable at youtube.com/StatenIslandLGBT), a video addressing the experiences of LGBTQ individuals with alcohol.
The video projects confirmed what research has shown.
The New York City Community Health Survey (2012) shows that gay and lesbian New Yorkers were more likely to binge-drink than heterosexual New Yorkers (34.7 percent vs. 19.8 percent), and findings from the New York City Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance Survey (2009) show that sexual minority youth in New York City were more than twice as likely as heterosexual youth to have engaged in binge-drinking in the last 30 days.
VIDEO TELLS THE STORY
The video created through this collaborative project, will be shared with other groups on the Island to raise awareness about the impact of alcohol use on the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
As Executive Director of the Staten Island LGBT Community Center, Ralph W. Vogel, states: "We have come a long way. We know that we do not need to use alcohol as a means to meet people all the time or to smoother our feelings and our emotions."
This video is a step in the right direction, but it is time we look at the bigger picture and ask ourselves: What are we doing to reach out to all at-risk groups on Staten Island, including those who are overly affected by alcohol use?
It is time advocates and community members start looking at bringing an awareness of the many populations who are affected by alcohol use.
Stakeholders from different community groups on Staten Island need to be brought to the table to have a voice about how alcohol has affected the quality of their lives in their communities.
We invite you to view "Reflections: An Intergenerational Story of Alcohol, Sex and Life" at youtube.com/StatenIslandLGBT and become an active member of the Partnership for a Healthier Staten Island at www.sipcw.org to address this issue among others that affect the health of Staten Islanders.
Jody P. Stoll is Project Manager for the Partnership for a Healthier Staten Island: A Project of the Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness, St. George.