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Strength in Numbers

by suelowe

Strength in Numbers

 

The Coming Out Experience at DAP Health is all about sharing stories and making connections

 

When it comes to gay men with experiences of coming out, Rob Thomas and Ron King had theirs at opposite ends of the age spectrum.

Thomas recalls he was 12, lying in his bed and wondering if he was bisexual. It wasn’t until he was 18 and having sex with his first male lover that he realized he wasn’t bi but gay — and that the coming out process was just beginning for him. 

King was 47 and married with two adult children when he decided to end his marriage and come out to himself and the world.

Thomas, now 53, and King, 71, have been a couple for 10 years and currently live together in Palm Springs. On occasion, they discuss different aspects of their coming out stories as part of the DAP Health Wellness Center’s weekly Zoom group called The Coming Out Experience. And as both point out, coming out isn’t a one-shot deal. “We keep touching on the fact that the coming out experience is very ongoing,” King says. “There are all sorts of little nuances.” Or as Thomas puts it, “You probably come out with everything you say as it relates to your sexuality in any everyday conversation.” 

Those nuances and everyday conversations likely dovetail with other aspects of a person’s sexuality, too. For Thomas and King, it could be their May/December relationship, “which many people don’t understand,” King claims. 

Thomas and King are also an interracial couple. And Thomas is on Social Security disability, having gone blind in 2005 from diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. King is a retired special education teacher, a retired massage therapist, and also an interfaith minister who still officiates at weddings. He says he’s been a client of DAP Health since 2014 and a participant in the Wellness Center’s activities for years. 

Six months ago, Thomas started receiving dental services at DAP Health, which qualified him to engage in Wellness Center activities, too. Thomas notes that King found The Coming Out Experience beneficial and liked the other participants, which piqued Thomas’ curiosity. “I thought, well, why don’t I get involved in this and see what it’s about? So far, it’s been a good thing.”

Both Thomas and King give high marks to Wellness Center Career Development Specialist Steve Rossetti, who facilitates the group. Rossetti has an extensive history both as a therapist — specifically, a cognitive behavioral therapist — and as a director of employee training for two companies in Chicago. He began working at DAP Health in 2018 and started The Coming Out Experience in 2020. Rossetti himself came out as gay in 1991 at age 31.

Rossetti introduces group discussions with a set topic, then tries to drive the discussion with questions. Thomas notes that Rossetti invites group members to call or email him with related topics they wish to discuss. “This is your group. So, bring me what you want to talk about,” Thomas quotes Rossetti as saying.

In a separate interview, Rossetti reiterates King’s perspective that the coming out process is ongoing, offering new challenges as one ages. This is particularly true for those who have yet to learn how to live their authentic selves. Instead, Rossetti says, many can be classified as “situationally gay,” where they can be queer for some people like friends or family members, but not for others like colleagues or neighbors. 

Rossetti says this can lead to the “pause effect,” as one stops and considers how best to respond when someone asks if one is dating or in a relationship. “You pause and calculate. What do I disclose? Why is this person asking me? Is it safe? Do I feel comfortable disclosing I’m gay?”

According to Rossetti, this doesn’t mean you have to lead with, “Oh, hey, I’m gay.” But Rossetti says this often takes an acquired ability of “just being natural and transparent with who you are. The ability to know you’re living authentically.” 

Rossetti says The Coming Out Experience attracts four to 12 participants each week, mostly men in their 50s through 80s — an age range, he points out, that “just kind of evolved.” Nevertheless, Rossetti says the group is inclusive and that younger participants, as well as female, trans, and nonbinary members are welcome, too.

These groups, Thomas adds, “show that DAP Health stands by what it says in terms of treating the person holistically, looking at all parts, the mind and the body.” As for The Coming Out Experience, it’s like “informal group counseling, where you get together with people who have common experiences and learn from each other.”

The Coming Out Experience meets via Zoom on Thursdays from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Those interested are encouraged to call Steve Rossetti at 760.322.6378, or to email him at [email protected].

He's Here

by suelowe

He’s Here

 

Chef, Restaurateur, And Community Leader Albert Gonzalez Has Come A Long Way To Give Back

 

Words by Daniel Hirsch • Photos by John Paschal

 

As a young person growing up in Indio, Albert Gonzalez didn’t think there were other gay people like him in the Coachella Valley. Much like to the desert itself, the intervening years have brought incredible transformation to Gonzalez’s life. He’s emerged as an essential leader in the region’s LGBTQ+ community. 

Along with his partner in business and life, Willie Rhine, Gonzalez co-owns Palm Springs’ Eight4Nine Restaurant & Lounge. A self-taught pastry chef, he now runs the kitchen. Eight4Nine has frequently hosted events for organizations such as DAP Health and the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, given in-kind donations to numerous local charities, and even provided meal deliveries to first responders and older adults during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gonzalez and Rhine have also given back through philanthropy. They participate in DAP Health’s major donor program Partners for Life, are Angels at AIDS Assistance Program – Food Samaritans, and contribute to the Center as longtime Ocotillo members. Since 2019, Gonzalez has also been on the Center’s board of directors. To top it all off, he’s worked 100 volunteer hours at DAP Health’s Revivals Thrift Store, and been a frequent volunteer at the Palm Springs Animal Shelter.

Gonzalez’s personal philosophy of service is a simple one, described as “the conundrum where you have to give it away in order to keep it.”

Giving back to the communities he’s been a part of includes his community of origin. With Gonzalez’s involvement on its board, the Center has amped up its programing in the East Valley by offering new programs to LGBTQ+ young people. 

“He’s just got this incredibly kind, wonderful spirit,” says former Center Executive Director and CEO Rob Wheeler. “If we’re struggling with something, Albert is one of the first people we reach out to.”

For Gonzalez, his current abundance didn’t always seem likely. It meant detaching from his close-knit family of origin, getting sober, and teaching himself how to cook from a discount Betty Crocker cookbook. “Growing up here in the valley, I didn’t have an idea of where to go, what goals to have in life,” he says. “Today my life is very different, it’s beyond my wildest dreams.”

Breaking the Bubble

Gonzalez describes his upbringing in Indio in the 1980s and ’90s as “a bubble.” When the 43-year-old was young, his part of the East Valley hadn’t experienced the economic prosperity felt elsewhere. To Gonzalez, it was isolated and remote.

“I grew up very conservative,” he says. “Going to church basically alienated everybody around us.”

Gonzalez is the second eldest of four children of working-class parents — a landscaper and an office administrator — whose own parents immigrated to the city of Thermal from Mexico. Gonzalez’s folks broke off from the rest of the extended family when they left the Catholic church and became members of a born-again, Apostolic church.

From an early age, Gonzalez knew he was gay. As an active member in his conservative church, it tormented him even as he served as youth president and choir director. During pastors’ sermons declaring gay acts as sin, Gonzalez prayed that nobody would notice he was different. At school, some did notice, and he fended off bullying from a young age. “There’s always that sense of loneliness,” he says. “And then, given my background, that I grew up with the church, that only exacerbated it.”

It wasn’t until he was 20 that Gonzalez interacted with out gay people. Working as an office assistant at the Riverside County Department of Mental Health, he met his friend and future mentor Damon Jacobs, a psychotherapist and early PrEP proponent who has worked with DAP Health. When Jacobs invited him to a birthday party in Palm Springs, Gonzalez’s sheltered existence cracked open. 

“I felt at home,” Gonzalez says. “I felt that these are my people… Yet I never knew about it, just living 30 minutes away.”

Circle K to Cartier

With Jacobs’ help, Gonzalez moved out of his parents’ home and relocated to Palm Springs. To his surprise, his parents accepted his sexuality and choice to leave Indio, but that didn’t mean being out and independent came easy. “We are raised with that fear of sex,” he says. “We don’t get to experience it in a healthy way.” 

Drug use, alcohol abuse, and more than a few unhealthy romantic and sexual relationships consumed Gonzalez’s early 20s. At age 25, he started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and worked to get sober. (Gonzalez will celebrate 17 years of sobriety in
October 2023.)

Around this time, a chance encounter with Rhine forever altered his path. Gonzalez isn’t shy about sharing how and where they met: They locked eyes outside of a Circle K and went home together soon thereafter. This casual encounter blossomed into a romantic relationship that ultimately transformed into a committed life partnership. To mark their commitment, Gonzalez and Rhine bought each other Cartier bracelets; Gonzalez jokes that if he ever writes a memoir, it would be titled “From Circle K to Cartier.”

“The words that come to mind when I think of Albert: kind, passionate, stubborn, lovable,” says Rhine, adding: “Did I say stubborn?”

Rhine saw that stubbornness in action in the early days of their relationship. At the time, he was general manager of Lulu California Bistro. When Gonzalez, who was still working at the Department of Mental Health, expressed interest in restaurant work, Rhine hired him as maître d’. Working in restaurants ignited something in Gonzalez that came to full fruition when the couple went shopping at a gift shop one Sunday afternoon. That day, Gonzalez purchased the aforementioned Betty Crocker cookbook. 

Seeing Gonzalez pick up the cookbook, Rhine was initially dismissive. “My response was, ‘Why are you buying that? It’s a waste of money. You don’t bake. You’ll never use it,’” he recalls. But Gonzalez, whose only gastronomic experience was watching cooking shows on TV, insisted on buying it. From that first cookbook and more to come — plus a few classes at the Culinary Institute of America — Gonzalez taught himself to bake. Occasionally sharing cakes with friends turned into a full-fledged passion. His confections soon grew more and more refined. By the time Rhine opened Eight4Nine in 2015, Gonzalez had become the ideal pastry chef. 

Back to the East Valley

When the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert partnered with the nonprofit Alianza to open a youth center in the East Coachella Valley, both organizations knew their own leadership needed to reflect the largely Latino and immigrant communities they hoped to serve. As an emerging leader in the LGBTQ+ community — not to mention an Indio native — Gonzalez was an obvious choice to join the board.

“Albert is able to pull from his own experience growing up as a young person in Indio,” says Wheeler. “He helped us think about the right questions we should be asking when we were thinking about need, about what issues young people might be facing in the East Valley.”

Opened in 2016, the Center Eastern Coachella Valley is a youth-driven, LGBTQ+-affirming space situated in downtown Coachella. It hosts support groups, workshops, and social events as well as offers programing to local high schools that addresses youth mental health and uplifts queer people. It’s the kind of place that didn’t exist for Gonzalez when he was growing up in the area. But also, by being involved in its operation and showing up for its programming, Gonzalez has become the kind of person he never knew existed when he was young.

DAP Health Director of Brand Marketing and longtime friend Steven Henke describes Gonzalez as a “north star” for young people in the valley. “Anyone can look at the life he’s created and learn from it,” he says.

For Gonzalez, returning to his old home is both inspiring and daunting. “When I go back to Indio, there’s still that fear … the homophobia is still there,” he says. “Hopefully, through the Center, we can educate individuals that we are here … and we’re not evil, we’re not bad!”

Recently, Gonzalez had such a chance to educate. He joined Wheeler in the car parade of the 2021 East Coachella Valley Pride Festival — only the fifth year of its existence. Driving through the streets of Coachella, seeing all the rainbow flags and people cheering in support, it was clear his old home had changed — and so had he.

Play Like A Porn Star

by suelowe

Play like a porn star

 

Here’s everything you need to know to keep yourself — and your play partner(s) — safe and healthy

 

Words by Daniel Vaillancourt

 

“We believe that living your best life includes living your best sex life,” says DAP Health Director of Community Health and Sexual Wellness C.J. Tobe. “The medical professionals and support staff at our clinics in Palm Springs and Indio have therefore been specifically trained to fulfill all of your health care needs. 

“If you have any questions after reading the following articles, please know we’re here to answer them honestly — without judgment, stigma, or shame ever entering the equation. Because, if there’s one place you can talk openly about your most intimate concerns, it’s with us at
DAP Health.”

Dr. Carlton’s Tips for Tops and Bottoms

Named one of the Out 100 in 2022 for his cheekily frank sex-ed posts and vids that have been viewed millions of times, Dr. Carlton Thomas, 51, is a South Carolina-born, Mayo Clinic-educated gastroenterologist who today practices in San Diego, where he lives with his husband, Alex, and their twins, who are soon to be high school graduates. 

But the good doc — who’s been a bona fide Instagram influencer and TikTok star since 2020 — has a soft spot for the desert, having worked his first job out of med school here from 2004 to 2009. 

When Dr. Carlton participated in a vivid public forum about sexual wellness at DAP Health’s Pride Pavilion last November, attendees were as charmed as they were informed by his deep knowledge of all things related to butt (and overall) health. 

Below, please find pro advice from the man fast becoming the gay Dr. Ruth.

Tops

  • Tease your bottom prior to entering him. There are millions of nerve endings down there. Your fingers, tongue, and tip work well.
  • Let — and help — your bottom open up. Use the Butt Clock technique (learn it on Insta @doctorcarlton), and take it slowly at first, to avoid injury. No ramming. Ever.
  • Make sure your bottom finishes. And don’t pull out too fast. That could hurt him.
  • To avoid a urinary tract infection, pee when you’re done.

Bottoms

  • To control your top’s initial speed and depth of entry, start on top.
  • Don’t forget to breathe.
  • Push out a little as your top slides in.
  • Take your time, so you don’t tear.

For Both of You

  • Use lots of good lube (silicone is best), applying and reapplying generously.
  • Communicate by using eye contact for visual cues, and by talking and listening for verbal cues.
  • Change positions frequently to keep things exciting. Find the best option for both of you. 

If you’re new to bottoming, Dr. Carlton suggests using toys to learn how to open up and take it. “I recommend one that has a small tip and gets progressively wider, so you can go at your own pace,” he says. “There’s so much work — and an insane amount of pressure — that goes into preparing to bottom. A lot of guys are terrified they aren’t clean enough. But if you’re on a good, high-fiber diet, you should be able to flush out completely in about 15 to 20 minutes. Some guys tell me they’re in there for four or five hours. That’s overdoing it.”

Not that tops are completely stress-free. “There’s a lot of performance anxiety about getting and maintaining a strong erection,” says Dr. Carlton, adding that, thankfully, good meds are available for those challenged in that respect. “A lot of tops worry their penis isn’t big or thick enough. But a bottom’s G-spot is only a couple of inches in. You don’t have to be huge to hit it right.”

One last bit of wisdom: Inspect the goods before you play. “If something doesn’t look or smell right,” says Dr. Carlton, “just politely step away with, ‘I don’t think this is gonna work out today. Let’s try another time.’”

For more expert counsel on countless topics, follow Dr. Carlton on Instagram and TikTok  @doctorcarlton.

Daddy Knows Best

ANDY CLEMENTS (AKA ADULT FILM PERFORMER DREW SEBASTIAN) WANTS YOU TO DO AS HE DOES AND MAINTAIN YOUR — AND YOUR PARTNERS’ — SEXUAL HEALTH

In 1990, when 15-year-old Andy Clements saw his first nudes in a gay male magazine — was it Honcho, Inches, Mandate? — he not only knew he liked what he saw, he realized he wanted to be in those pages, too. It would, however, take 20 years for this handsome and charming Knoxville, Tennessee native to turn his dream into reality thanks to his alter ego, who performs under the nom de porn Drew Sebastian. But more on that in a bit.

Clements, who’d figured out his queerness as a young boy, showed an early penchant for musical theatre. He therefore took private singing lessons as a teen before going on to study classical voice in college. Performing in Vegas and at theme parks post-graduation led him to Houston, where — bored with survival office jobs — he began escorting and go-go dancing. When he first visited San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair, at age 35 in 2010, Clements contacted a few studios to explore having sex on camera.

By then, he was enrolled in the prestigious culinary and hospitality school Le Cordon Bleu. After that graduation, he reinvented himself as a celebrity chef, creating healthy cuisine for the likes of Adam Levine, Jordana Brewster, and Charlie Puth, among many others who must remain nameless due to non-disclosure agreements. 

All the while, Clements continued to dabble in sex work off and on until his adult film career inexplicably exploded in 2015, when he was 40. The late bloomer has since made up for lost time, winning twin 2022 Grabby Awards as both Performer of the Year and Hottest Daddy, and also co-starring in the winner of the Best Feature category at the 2023 Gay Video Network Awards (GayVNs).

If there’s a theme to the life led today by Clements — who moved to Palm Springs from Los Angeles at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding sobriety in the desert in the process — it’s health. He now not only works as a personal fitness trainer at local gym Training & Discipline on East Tahquitz Canyon Way, but is authoring a cookbook for those who wish to eat well, and is even writing a cabaret act he’ll perform some time in the near future.

This commitment to wellness extends to keeping his co-stars, as well as his boyfriend in Italy, safe from sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by testing fully and often. “Because I’m so sexually active, I like to test every three months,” he says. “But there are times I feel I need to test more often, so I do.”

Regardless of the frequency, Clements always undergoes what’s known as three-site testing, which involves bloodwork for HIV and syphilis as well as a urine samples, plus throat and rectal swabs, to detect the presence of gonorrhea and chlamydia.

“Three-site testing is important because different bacteria can be in different locations and a single test does not diagnose all areas,” says DAP Health Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Supervisor of Sexual Wellness Trent Broadus. “For example, a urine specimen doesn’t let us know about infection in the throat or rectum, and one could potentially have chlamydia in the former and gonorrhea in the latter. Many people are asymptomatic, so we highly encourage testing all three sites at each visit.”

Broadus further explains that gonorrhea and chlamydia have an incubation period of approximately three days, while syphilis can take longer — 10 to 21 days — to show up on a test. “That’s why getting a syphilis test as a baseline is so important,” he says. 

Clements, who visits various testing facilities depending on where he is around the country or throughout the world, does use DAP Health’s Orange Clinic (where all HIV and STI testing is always free for everyone) when he’s in town. “The whole point is to try to stay on top of it as best you can,” he says, “so you can protect not only yourself, but your partners.” 

Follow Clements at his pro Twitter and Instagram handles, @DrewSebastianX.

PrEP and PEP 101: Because Prevention Is Priceless

A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE ADVENT OF PREP FOR HIV MORE THAN 10 YEARS AGO

What is PrEP?

PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is different medications that can lower your chances of getting HIV and certain other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

PrEP for HIV Prevention

Administered orally via one pill daily — or by a single injection every two months — PrEP can reduce your risk of contracting HIV. Before starting PrEP, you’ll need to get tested for HIV, STIs, kidney function, and Hepatitis B and C. Please note it takes at least one week on PrEP before you are protected for anal sex, and three weeks for vaginal sex. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), when taken as prescribed, PrEP reduces the risk of HIV infection from sexual activity by
more than 99%, and by at least 74% for those who use
intravenous drugs.

PrEP for STI Prevention

Most commonly referred to as Doxy PrEP, doxycycline can be used to lower your chances of becoming infected with chlamydia or syphilis. Some studies also show effectiveness in preventing gonorrhea. Dosage is one 100mg tablet taken
once daily. 

Your PrEP Navigator at DAP Health

If you’re interested in PrEP, contact PrEP Navigators at DAP Health. You can also talk to any nurse or nurse practitioner during your visit if you want to discuss which PrEP may be right for you. If you don’t have health care insurance, or if you need financial assistance, a PrEP navigator can also explain your options, help you get access, and answer questions about finding a doctor or working with your pharmacy.

Follow-up Visits

All PrEP options require follow-up appointments with clinical staff for STI testing and medication refills every two (injectable PrEP) or three (oral PrEP) months.

What is PEP?

PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) is different medications — taken ideally within 24 hours (but no later than 72 hours) after condomless sex where bodily fluid may have been exchanged — that can help prevent infection from HIV and certain other STIs in someone who is not on PrEP or Doxy PrEP.

PEP for HIV Prevention

This form of PEP is a combination of three drugs taken once or twice a day for 30 days: tenofovir and emtricitabine (two meds in one tablet) and either raltegravir or dolutegravir. 

PEP for STI Prevention

For prevention of chlamydia, syphilis, and possibly gonorrhea, this form of PEP (also known as Doxy PEP or dPEP) is a one-time dose of two 100mg tablets of doxycycline taken within 72 hours of an exposure.

What Should You Do if Possibly Exposed?

When condomless sex has occurred, and there has been possible exposure to HIV and/or to an STI, do one of these three things ASAP:

  • Contact your health care provider.
  • Go to the emergency room or urgent care.
  • Contact a DAP Health PrEP navigator at 760.656.8400.

What You Should Expect at Your Initial PEP Visit at DAP Health

A complete STI screening — including bloodwork, plus throat and rectal swabs — will be completed by a nurse. A clinician will then assess you, and if appropriate, prescribe PEP medication(s). A follow-up visit (for another complete STI screening 30 days after your initial visit, to confirm the absence of HIV and/or STIs) will be scheduled. 

Free Follow-up Visits and Testing

All PrEP and PEP visits and lab work done at DAP Health’s sexual wellness clinics in Palm Springs and Indio are always free of charge for all patients.

So, You Want to Open Your Relationship…

NAVIGATING NON-MONOGAMY TAKES LOVE, PATIENCE, TRUST, RESPECT, HONESTY, AND — MOST IMPORTANTLY —A SET OF MUTUALLY AGREED UPON RULES

One thing fans love most about Dr. Carlton Thomas is his willingness to answer anonymous questions and give advice through social media. “One of the most frequent ones I get is, ‘My husband is really vanilla and plain and doesn’t have a very big sex drive. I’m a big pig who wants this and that, and I don’t know how to tell him,’” Carlton confides. “It’s important to remember that, when it comes to our relationships in the gay world, we don’t have to follow heteronormative rules of how things go. There doesn’t have to be pure monogamy. You can work that out between the two parties. I think being open-minded — and separating sex and love — is important. Also, being willing to compromise. Some people who are tentative about non-monogamy can ease into it by only playing with others together, at least at first. Frequent reassurance and communication are key.”

Certainly, an open relationship isn’t for every couple, but if two committed people want to explore non-monogamy, mutually agreed upon rules that will govern the arrangement are the best place to start.

Because being open requires a strong degree of love, honest communication, trust, and respect, it’s advisable that two people form a strong, monogamous bond before venturing out. And it must be said: Early in a romantic relationship, non-monogamy usually isn’t an issue. Most people have no desire to have sex with someone other than their primary partner.

But if you’re both ready to test the waters of nonexclusivity in the bedroom, some of the questions you may want to consider when setting the boundaries for sexual activity outside your primary relationship include:

Who?

  • Anyone
  • Anonymous only
  • Only us and a third
  • No friends
  • No mutual friends
  • No repeats
  • Regular play buddies OK
  • Coupled guys only (no singles)

Are we HIV-friendly?

What?

  • Watching/showing off only
  • Mutual JO only
  • Oral OK
  • Anal OK (Top? Bottom? Either?)
  • Kissing OK
  • Threesomes
  • Condoms only
  • Just sex — no dates
  • What about overnights?

When?

  • Any time
  • Only when one of us is out of town
  • Only when one of us is at work/not at home
  • Only when it doesn’t conflict with together time
  • Only when we both agree it’s allowed
  • Only when we’re together (in a bathhouse or sex club, in a threesome)

Where?

  • Anywhere
  • Only in public (rest room, bathhouse, gym steam room, park)
  • Only at their place
  • Never at their place
  • Only at home
  • Never at home
  • Never in our bed
  • Only in our bed

In conclusion, perhaps the important rule is this: If one of you breaks a rule, that person must reveal it. From there, both partners agree to discuss the matter — with neither blame nor anger — so that a deeper understanding of the situation can be reached. If you both feel you need couples counseling, go for it. The bottom line (no pun intended) is this: Your primary relationship (and the love, honest communication, trust, and respect inherent in it) matters most. Don’t lie. Don’t hide. That’s cheating — and cheating is the last thing an open relationship is all about. 

Don’t Be Lax on Your Vax

INOCULATION ISN’T JUST ALL ABOUT COVID-19 BOOSTERS AND MPOX JABS. HERE’S A LIST OF MUST-HAVE VACCINATIONS FOR THE SEXUALLY ACTIVE

More than three years into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — and as the world celebrates the victory over the mpox resurgence — all of us surely know there exist vaccinations and boosters for those two maladies, both of which are especially contagious when humans find themselves in close quarters. But here’s a reminder that there are a few more inoculations appropriate for anyone with a dating pool bigger than a
shot glass.

Influenza

No matter the stated effectiveness of the annual fall flu shot — or whether you believe in its ability to thwart off disease at all — while you’re at it, why not give it a shot (pun entirely intended).

Hepatitis A and B

Hep A is commonly contracted via anal/oral contact, or by ingesting contaminated food or water. Hep B, like HIV, is passed on through blood. Both cause liver disease that can quickly become complicated, leading to liver failure and/or cancer. 

Human Papillomavirus

HPV is actually the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI), and can not only cause genital warts, but rectal and cervical cancer, and possibly even cancer of the throat and pharynx. Best administered before one is ever sexually active, its vaccine nonetheless does offer protection even following exposure to the virus.

Meningitis

Meningitis can be a life-threatening viral, bacterial, or fungal infection of the brain, spinal cord, and cerebrospinal fluid. But thankfully, there’s a vax for that!

Shingles

The CDC recommends adults 50 years and older get the shingles vaccine to prevent the illness and its complications, which include a seriously painful rash.

“I hope that, having recently been poked in the arm on more occasions than they ever have in their entire life, people have truly come to understand and appreciate the value of vaccines,” says DAP Health Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Supervisor of Sexual Wellness Trent Broadus. “Get them. They work!”

Please note that, while DAP Health does not offer vaccinations in either of its sexual wellness clinics in Palm Springs or Indio, those who receive primary care here may be able to access inoculations through their provider. If you’re not yet a patient of DAP Health, talk to your doctor about how to schedule, and stay up on, these important vaccines.

Safer Drug Use Saves Lives

by suelowe

Safer Drug Use Saves Lives

 

Improving Fentanyl Overdose Outcomes Is Just One Facet Of DAP Health’s New Harm Reduction Program

 

Words by Jim Macak

 

Tom (not his real name) is a tall, thin, handsomely weathered 67-year-old Maui native raised in Long Beach. He’s been HIV-positive for 17 years, unhoused in Palm Springs for 12, and a moderate crystal meth user for 10. 

He discovered DAP Health’s Harm Reduction Program about a year ago, thanks to his daily attendance at Well in the Desert’s hot meal service. DAP Health’s team — Community Health Harm Reduction Supervisor Neil Gussardo, Educator Bree Clark-Pharr, and longtime volunteer Suzanne Petersen — shows up twice a week at this location. Tom recalls that, without any reservation, he jumped at the chance to benefit from their provision of clean bubble bowls, which are the part of glass pipes where methamphetamine is heated.

“They’re completely compassionate,” Tom says of Gussardo, Clark-Pharr, and Petersen. “They’re sensitive to your needs. They want you to have the safest equipment for your drug use. They’re very supportive without ever pushing recovery on you.” In fact, he recommends the program to all his unhoused friends who use drugs.

Gussardo is no newcomer to serving people experiencing substance use disorder. He has worked in the field for more than 20 years, beginning his career in San Francisco, then transitioning to the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage. He has been with DAP Health since February 2022, and explains that the Harm Reduction Program has two priorities. The first is to provide equipment that will reduce the transmission of HIV, hepatitis C, and other illnesses. 

Specifically, the program provides fresh syringes, gift cards as an incentive for those who bring in used syringes, alcohol swabs and cotton filters for injections, test strips to determine if a more dangerous synthetic opioid like fentanyl is mixed in with other drugs, cookers to help convert drugs in solid form to liquid, and clean pipes, glass bubble bowls, pipe extensions, and foil used in smoking opiates.

The second priority, Gussardo says, is to distribute opioid overdose treatments proven effective, such as injectable naloxone and the nasal spray Narcan (recently approved for over-the-counter sales by the FDA, and likely available by late summer). Persons who overdose cannot typically self-administer such aids, so the products are provided to fellow users who can come to the rescue should need be. Proper training for administering overdose therapy is provided as well.

The reaction to this program has been positive. But occasional negative comments are not uncommon from passersby who learn what services Gussardo and his colleagues supply. “We absolutely encounter folks who think we’re enabling drug use rather than reducing the risk of harm,” he says, adding that by diminishing disease transmission, the program is saving society a considerable amount of money and time spent treating people infected with HIV or hep C. “We’re helping alleviate a drain on the system, person by person.”

More importantly, according to Gussardo, “It’s been reported to us from our participants that they’ve used either naloxone or Narcan provided by DAP Health to reverse 104 overdoses from September through January. That’s 104 lives saved.” 

The Harm Reduction Program took root in the middle of 2022, at a time when overdoses from fentanyl had become an epidemic throughout the country. The drug is a legally prescribed painkiller, but in the last 10 years it has become a widely used street drug that’s up to 50 times stronger than heroine and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It’s often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency which, according to the CDC, makes substances cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and much more dangerous. The number of overdose deaths involving fentanyl, the CDC reports, shot up from 1,615 in 2012 to more than 71,000 in 2021.

According to the California Department of Public Health, there were 408 overdose deaths involving fentanyl in 2021 in Riverside County. Statistics on confirmed overdose deaths for 2022 are not yet available. Sheriff Chad Bianco told City News Service last October that the rate of fentanyl poisonings is soaring, and that the number of confirmed deaths “is going to increase significantly.” 

The majority of participants in DAP Health’s Harm Reduction Program, Gussardo says, are unhoused. Twice a week, his team drives its van to churches on the western end of the Coachella Valley, linking arms with the aforementioned Well in the Desert, a nonprofit that provides hot meals five days a week for working poor, persons without homes, and others. 

When Gussardo, Clark-Pharr, and Petersen aren’t with Well in the Desert, they look for encampments. And if people at these locations are interested, the team works with them, too.

“We’re not doing counseling,” maintains Gussardo, “but we do see people on a repeat basis. Sometimes we see the same person twice a week. And we’re building a rapport with them, building trust, and providing referrals for additional services.”

Gussardo reveals the Harm Reduction Program has started reaching out to another group he refers to as “the party and play crowd” — gay men who, in sexual situations, occasionally use crystal meth, and who “potentially share syringes” — by establishing a Thursday evening presence on Palm Springs’ Arenas Road, where a number of gay bars are located. While still in its infancy, that initiative is slowly but surely building a clientele. 

Next steps, Gussardo says, will include strategically based vending machines allowing for 24-hour access to complimentary safer-use materials such as Narcan and clean paraphernalia.

One theme Gussardo stresses in terms of harm reduction generally is how much of the population stigmatizes those who use drugs. Based on his experience in talking with those who use, he says that when these people reach out for help, they’re often met “with all the stigma of addiction. They’re met with people who don’t treat them as human beings, which then becomes a barrier to any kind of treatment.”

Part of the solution, Gussardo maintains, would be to reference “a person who uses drugs” as simply that, or as a person with a substance use disorder — rather than as a drug addict. This is part of a “people first” use of language to reduce the impact of stigma that Gussardo and other Harm Reduction team members emphasize.

Does this approach really work? According to Tom, it definitely does.

Anyone interested in receiving clean supplies is encouraged to visit DAP Health’s Harm Reduction team in the field.
Call 760.323.2118, Extension 504, to inquire about schedules and locations. 

On the Rack

by suelowe

On the Rack

 

Revivals shows its cheekier side

 

Words by Daniel Hirsch • Photo by Aaron Jay Young

 

Voted Best of the Desert thrift store and furniture store, DAP Health's Revivals Thrift Store brand offers visitors many unique treasures. Beautiful midcentury modern furniture and eclectic fashion finds, of course, but also — if you come by the back alley after closing on just the right night — leather harnesses, chaps, cat o’ nine tails, rare erotic artwork, and a plethora of other adult-centric goodies.

“Just the right night” is whenever Revivals After Dark, the store’s 18-and-over evening event, occurs. Revivals first hosted this pop-up sale four years ago to sell items inappropriate for the family-friendly retail space’s regular hours and racks. It’s since become a semi-annual, highly anticipated, and buzzy community event. Like general sales from Revivals, all Revivals After Dark proceeds go to support DAP Health patient and client services, and more than $70,000 has been raised since its first outing. 

“This is a win-win-win,” says Revivals volunteer Mark Musin, who has spearheaded Revivals After Dark since 2020. “You get to get rid of some stuff that you loved, that you had great memories with, and pass that along to someone else.” Musin adds those beloved items have included vintage leather chaps, adult movies, vintage photographs, and even a sex sling or two. “You should see the people who buy these things! They are so thrilled.”

More than just a clothing sale, Revivals After Dark, which takes place outside, behind the four-store chain’s Palm Springs location, has a party-like atmosphere. It’s a place not to just get a great deal — with a leather harness going for as little as $25 — but to see and be seen. Past events have featured DJs and Mr. Palm Springs Leather contestants modeling looks. It’s not uncommon to see strapping fellows stripping off clothing to try on a leather vest. It’s fun that also makes an impact.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to get together, which is really important for the leather community,” says Palm Springs Leather Order of the Desert (PSLOD) President David Dunn. “And Revivals provides a fun, and somewhat different, environment in which others can be introduced to us. It’s awesome!”

PSLOD, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the leather, kink, and fetish community of the Coachella Valley, has been a partner with Revivals at all the After Dark events, promoting it widely to its membership and being on hand to answer any leather- and kink-related questions curious shoppers may have. PSLOD also receives $1,000 in donations from each event. 

“The leather community has a lot of purposes and a lot of goals, but one of them is philanthropy. Another is supporting the community,” says DAP Health Director of Brand Marketing Steven Henke. “PSLOD’s mission is to build a stronger, healthier community — and that’s DAP Health’s mission as well.”

The initial idea for Revivals After Dark — as well as the partnership it would solidify between DAP Health and PSLOD — emerged from pure happenstance. Henke recalls walking through the Revivals warehouse one day and noticing a large pile of books and magazines of a “more adult nature.” When a volunteer explained they were too graphic to put out in the store and that there were many more items like that in the Revivals trove of donations, Henke realized there was an opportunity to do a uniquely private event that connects with members of the leather and fetish community while raising funds for DAP Health.

The first Revivals After Dark occurred inside the Revivals Palm Springs store in 2019, featuring merchandise laid out in the aisles. To everyone’s delight — but not necessarily to anyone’s surprise — it was a hit, raising nearly $6,000 in 90 minutes. A second event seemed like a no-brainer, but 2020, with its ensuing global pandemic, required getting creative. So, Revivals After Dark moved from inside the store to the alley outside — with clothing racks and tables of merchandise set up al fresco. In doing so, it fully crystallized into the form it was perhaps always meant to have. “It has a vibe that fits the merchandise really, really well,” says Henke of the backlot setting. 

In November 2020, the second back-alley Revivals After Dark proved to be even more successful, with more than 200 people lined up, masked and socially distant, hours before the event’s start time. Since then, there’s been two sales a year and the curation of items available, led by Mark Musin and a squad of Revivals volunteers, has grown more expansive.

Musin emphasizes that it’s not just leather gear or material of interest to the leather community that’s on sale. The product mix his team puts together boasts a wide array of fashion, erotica, and kink objects favored by the general LGBTQ+ community. According to Musin, shoppers have included young people and older alike, an expansive gender spectrum, as well as residents from every corner of the Coachella Valley.

For many, the history of some objects also adds to their allure. At the Revivals After Dark in June, Bob Miller, a Desert Hot Springs resident who has long been involved in the leather community and describes himself as “a boot guy,” was surprised to meet another boot collector who had donated about 50 pairs to Revivals. The man had lived abroad in Europe, where he collected various rare and heritage boot brands, maintaining them in immaculate shape. Miller snapped up about seven pairs at a great price, each with an intriguing backstory, um, to boot!

“I get most excited about the vintage photography and oil paintings,” says Henke, noting that these objects are often created by, or feature, gay men that may no longer be with us. “This is our history… They beg to be remembered.”

With history in mind, Musin and his team often consult with historians and organizations like the Tom of Finland Foundation to make sure they’re appropriately handling any rare or historically significant donations. 

For Dunn, speaking on behalf of PSLOD, Revivals After Dark also represents his community’s future. It’s an event that can demystify leather, kink, or fetish communities to those who may be curious. Given the affordable price tags, it’s a more accessible place to start a leather collection, spring for a set of quality restraints, or acquire whatever article expresses a part of one’s identity yet to be explored. “It’s a very sex-positive event where there’s no shaming of anyone,” says Musin. “There’s a place for everyone.”

Given the lines at the door and the fact that the harnesses sell out in mere minutes, everyone indeed seems to have gotten the memo about Revivals After Dark.

Hope & Triumph

by suelowe

Hope & Triumph

 

Damian Calmett offers endless inspiration at DAP Health and beyond 

 

Words by Greg Archer • Photo by Zach Ivey • Creative Director Snap Studios Ryan Auble

 

As the sun shines vibrantly outside DAP Health, inside the main building, things are just as bright. That’s because Damian Calmett is waiting to greet people as they arrive. The cheery 73-year-old resident of Vista Sunrise, DAP Health’s affordable housing complex, is full of wide-eyed optimism. Clearly, the man loves being the organization’s chief greeter and safety monitor. On any given day, Calmett helps people find their way around, and even offers compassion or bits of life wisdom from time to time. 

A ray of sunshine? That’s Damian Calmett.

“What’s important to remember is that DAP Health is a place where people come at various levels of their health,” he says. “You may be the only light somebody sees that day, or the only person they encounter because many people are shut-ins. So, if you can make their day a little lighter for five minutes, great. Then you’ve done a wonderful service.”

Calmett knows about the “light.” Because he’s spent a lot of time emerging from the dark. The multi-faceted yet unpretentious soul is somebody you’d want to know, and he swims deep emotional waters, waxing philosophical with ease: “I believe within each of us is a homing device that is good; we were born with it, and it leads us to a power bigger than us.” 

In the next breath, he may be brutally honest about his own journey: “I’m no stranger to homelessness, hopelessness, or hope, either. Or saying, ‘What is the lesson in this for me?’ Rather than, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So, when I see people come into DAP Health, for me, it’s an opportunity to give hope.”

Calmett knows a lot about that. He had to rely on hope — even when he lost all signs of it — before he came on board at DAP Health in September 2021. And that’s where Calmett’s life story — a tale of heartbreak and triumph — becomes even more fascinating to explore. 

Damian Calmett was born Stephen Bruce Ford in Salinas, California on January 30, 1950. Several days after his birth, the child’s mother left him, and he went to live with his paternal grandparents in nearby Castroville. Calmett says he got “saved” at their church when he was 2. Then his mother returned and took him back with her to Los Angeles, where they moved into a trailer with a man she’d been seeing, Willie. 

“He was rough and tough, a ‘man’s man,’” Calmett shares. “What Willie said, you did. I was only 2 or 3 at the time, and more than anything, I thought I was going to die because he often waved a gun around and was drunk and acted like a crazy man.” 

Calmett’s mother worked at a nearby bar. One time, when she wasn’t home, Willie “put the gun [with one bullet] in my rectum and proceeded to pull the trigger. I was terrified and probably also in shock. He had been abusive before, and each time the abuse got worse.”

What followed was a nightmarish labyrinth for any human to walk through. When Willie left for good, Calmett’s mother didn’t hang around much longer, and the child was tossed around from home to home.

First, there was Shirley and her husband, and their four children, in a single-wide trailer, where, Calmett says, “we ate hot dogs every day for almost three months, and I slept in the hall closet.” When the family abandoned him, he spent three days alone — or three weeks, he cannot remember — until a man name George, who frequented the bar where Calmett’s mother worked, arrived with his wife. The couple took the boy with them to Grants Pass, Oregon, but Calmett had shut down emotionally and quit speaking. He was given a new name, George Jr., but something ominous always lurked in the shadows.

George drank and always fought with his wife. When he disappeared, Calmett was taken in by the couple’s friends and was given yet another name — Richard. Eventually, he went to live with his maternal grandmother, Mary, and her husband Earl, in Compton, California. Earl was a gunslinger, which brought up disturbing memories of Willie. Somewhere in between, Calmett had to learn how to speak again, and when his paternal grandparents found him, he returned to Castroville, shaken, distraught, and full of trust issues.

“As long as I can remember, I always wanted to be someone else,” Calmett once shared. “I have never been comfortable in my own skin.”

Then fate stepped in… 

Years later, having coped and dealt with tremendous psychological maelstroms, Calmett was asked to be one of the Gospel singers at an Oakland concert. Inspired by the performers, he found something that had been missing — himself. Could he, in fact, be as free-spirited as some of the entertainers around him? Something shifted within. Calmett legally changed his name to Damian — just Damian — and went on to perform worldwide in several mediums, hope and perseverance becoming major throughlines in his life. 

Inspired to delve inward, he attended Oral Roberts University and at times, sang as a soloist on Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s “The PTL Club.” “I knew Tammy Faye,” he recalls. “She was genuinely naïve, and her eyes were full of love. But those long lashes were simply her armor against people getting close to her.” 

When he took a position as associate pastor at a Southern California church, pressure mounted — all the other pastors had wives. The writing was on the wall. “My marriage to my wife, Kathy, was more or less an arranged marriage. I hosted a television program called ‘This Is Your Life,’ and Kathy’s parents saw me on TV and drove 100 miles to meet me.”

That was around 1985. Eventually, Calmett left the church — and his marriage to Kathy — and moved to San Diego’s Hillcrest area. “I had difficulty fitting into the gay world,” he admits. “Things were awkward for me. I was about 34, and I didn’t get why the leather guys didn’t want to associate with the drag queens, the bears, otters, lipstick lesbians, and dykes. For a community claiming to be so inclusive, well, it was anything but.”

One Halloween, he dressed in girls’ clothes. “I felt pretty and got attention,” he says, adding, “I never felt handsome as a man. As strange as it might sound, there was a sense of realness I felt [dressing up]. It was natural for me. In 1992, I had three titles — Mayor of Hillcrest, Mr. Gay San Diego, and Miss Gay San Diego.”

A stronger sense of self emerged. So did another personality: Ivana. 

“For so long, I was just ‘Ivana,’” Calmett says of his famous alter ego. “I opened for Joan Rivers once, and let’s just say I drank a bit too much that night. Joan said, ‘Ivana, you’re just a tramp! Ivana Tramp. That’s who you are.’ The name stuck. I saw a different part of myself. Nobody ever referred to her [Ivana] as a drag performer, or as an impersonator. She was just who she was.”

Calmett performed as Ivana Tramp for nearly 20 years — from the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel in Las Vegas to the MGM Grand Sanya in China, and then some. “I realized that I’m more than one person,” he reflects.

Through the years, Calmett lived in Palm Springs several times, but when he returned to the Coachella Valley more than three years ago, he brought with him decades of life experience. He’d become an alcohol and drug counselor, and was a sober-living manager at one point. He also remarried between Ivana Tramp and Palm Springs, taking on the surname of his husband, David Calmett. Their marriage lasted about seven years. “Relationships aren’t the thing that I do best,” he says.

Still, Calmett used his latest move to Palm Springs to fuel a burning need: to instill hope. In addition to overseeing the welcome desk at DAP Health, he manages a 20–25 volunteer staff and makes sure everyone is trained on how to be “welcoming.” While he’s been a minister for many years, he recently became an Innerfaith minister. As Rev. Damian Calmett, he inspires hundreds of thousands online, and oversees a congregation at Innerfaith New Thought Spiritual Center Palm Springs. He says he’s ready to embrace what lies ahead, too, keeping in mind how he can best “serve.”

When asked what got him through the tough times, Calmett is candid: “We can either choose to go through challenges or grow through them. You don’t evolve, you unfold.

“I’ve had 10 lifetimes full of experiences,” he quickly adds. “I’ve met and worked with famous people. And I’ve met and worked with people who were in the gutter. These are all the same people. People are just people. I’m a survivor. So, I do what it takes to put one foot on the ground and the other foot forward … and just keep going.”

Learn more about Damian Calmett at damiancalmett.tv.

He Ain't Heavy

by suelowe

He Ain’t Heavy

Brothers of the Desert President Tim Vincent says the organization’s wellness summit allows gay Black men to connect to community and health

Words by Trey Burnette • Photo by Aaron Jay Young

The Coachella Valley likes to pride itself on diversity. However, attending community functions, programs, or gatherings could lead one to believe the desert community is less diverse than it considers itself to be.

At a 2017 New Year’s Eve gathering, a group of friends — all of whom were gay Black men — realized they all shared similar feelings of isolation and disconnection from much of the greater Palm Springs community. They knew men like them were out there, living productive lives, but they didn’t always see one another partaking in the many activities the valley had to offer. They felt isolated not only as individuals but also as a smaller community within the larger desert family.

Tim Vincent was one of those men at the party. To meet him, it’s hard to imagine he would feel isolated and disconnected from any community, but he says after moving to Palm Springs with his partner about six years ago, they had “the only people in the room” moments. At first, he didn’t notice it; he was used to being different. “But it can be hard being the only Black person in the room,” he says. Then he discovered others were experiencing the same feeling he and his partner were, and suspected there had to be more men he didn’t know out there facing the same feelings. 

The men were having a James Baldwin flash — the challenge was in the moment and the time was right. So, they acted by reaching out to the other gay African American men who felt isolated and disconnected, and formed Brothers of the Desert (BOD). Their mission was “to nurture and support gay Black men and allies through education, advocacy, social networking, volunteerism, and mentorship.” 

Today, Vincent serves as the president of the nonprofit, which was formalized as such in 2020. He has more than 30 years of experience working in the HIV and health care fields, including work with the CDC and the University of California San Francisco. His understanding of health care and patient engagement was beneficial as BOD grew and formed partnerships with DAP Health. 

Vincent explains that BOD started with monthly meetings where members could discuss concerns affecting them and the community. The leading members realized the community needed more than meetings, so they formed their first outfacing event, their Wellness Summit, in November of 2019, originally held at the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert. DAP Health became a sponsor in their third year.

“We were building and investing in the health and wellness of our community,” Vincent says. “We wanted to take a holistic and comprehensive approach, addressing community members’ physical, mental, spiritual, financial, and social health.” And they did. What the Wellness Summit offered was tailored to the needs of the Black community. They incorporated the intersection of being Black and gay and how the stressful effects of racism and homophobia affect the individual’s and community’s health. 

Four years later, the annual Wellness Summit has grown and is now held at Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs. DAP Health is still a sponsor, and the November 2022 summit had about 200 guests — twice the size of the first event. The Wellness Summit hosts speakers who are medical doctors, spiritual practitioners, business leaders, yoga instructors, and other experts offering education in their specialized fields. It creates a space where people feel comfortable asking wellness questions. Workshops are also available for guests to get hands-on experiences with wellness practices. Vincent has received positive feedback from attendees, and hopes the event will grow into a multi-day affair. 

BOD also provides a quarterly speaker series throughout the year. Guest lecturers are thought leaders and experts who give educational talks that support and maintain what is learned at the Wellness Summit. Participants can engage and discuss topics like mindfulness, systemic racism, microaggressions, and mental health for Black queer people. Furthermore, those chats also act as a gateway for BOD to steer members to DAP Health, where they can find similar wellness opportunities to the ones they learned about at the Wellness Summit. Acupuncture, yoga, massage, sex and intimacy groups, stress-management groups, and building-positive-life groups are just some of the opportunities attendees can take advantage of to maintain a holistic approach to wellness.

As the partnerships between BOD and DAP Health grow, Vincent hopes Black community members will deepen their knowledge that both organizations can help them find health resources and solutions.

For more information, please visit brothersofthedesert.org and follow the group on Insta @brothersofthedesert.

How Will You Be Remembered?

by suelowe

How Will You Be Remembered?

 

Planned legacy giving is one way to ensure the continued success of DAP Health

 

Words by Greg Archer

The late, great civil rights icon Harvey Milk once said, “The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow…” 

 

Milk may have been referring to generating equality and fueling civil rights, but his words ring true today when it comes to planned legacy giving and the bequests individuals intentionally make to better their local community after they’re gone. In that respect, planned legacy giving is all about keeping hope afloat.

Including DAP Health in one’s estate plan allows the organization to continue ensuring the health and well-being of the community. As desert residents, and the LGBTQ+ community in particular, quickly head into the middle of the decade amidst social and political uncertainty, planning for the future has never been more vital.

“We all know that if you don’t plan your estate, the government will tell you where it’s going to go. I don’t think any of us want that to happen,” says Palm Springs realtor and philanthropist Andy Linsky, who served on DAP Health’s board of directors from 1990 to 2014, and who was its chair from 1998 to 2002. Linsky also founded Partners for Life (PFL), a prominent DAP Health donor group that offers significant financial support to assist the nonprofit with ongoing local health matters, social services, outreach, and much more.

“Planned giving is a great way to control your legacy,” Linsky continues, “and it doesn’t have to be huge dollar amounts. Whatever you have in your estate, it’s really comforting to know you have addressed it, and that your instructions will be followed. We had a presentation about planned giving a while back, and a gentleman made a statement that sums up why everybody should have an estate plan. He said, ‘Because everybody’s got stuff. And everybody’s going to die.’ It’s very basic, but it has humor in it, and it makes sense.”

Through the years, Linsky has been instrumental in stoking several creative fires at DAP Health — from creating the PFL program of sustaining donors to advocating for planned legacy giving. He’s quick to point out that the organization has been strategic in keeping up with all the changes throughout the decades, where some other organizations and communities may have “imploded because they failed to plan for the changing landscape. The important thing is that the need is there, and always will be, for Partners for Life and planned legacy giving.”

  1. Christopher Heritage — founder of Heritage Legal, PC, which offers legal services for estate planning — specifically hones in on the unique estate and relationship planning needs of the LGBTQ+ community and other non-traditional families. 

“Within the gay and lesbian community, for instance, most of us don’t have children. So, one way of ensuring a legacy is leaving a portion, or all of your estate, to charities,” Heritage says. “People leave to charities to try to reduce their taxable estate. One of the best tools for making charitable gifts is through retirement assets, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, because the charity receives 100% of those assets. Whereas, when you leave retirement assets to a person, they usually have to take a full distribution of it within 10 years and pay their personal income tax rate — federal and state — so you might lose 30-40% of the retirement assets’ value.” 

Heritage goes on to say that currently, “an estate is federally taxed only if its value exceeds $12.92 million per individual, and double that for married couples (estate and lifetime gift tax exemption), and the state of California has no estate tax at all since it was repealed by voters in 1982. However, even if an estate doesn’t reach the $12.92 million taxable threshold, there may be capital gains taxes that would need to be paid if an asset, such as a highly appreciated stock, or real estate, is left to an individual. Whereas, if you leave that asset to a charity, you can avoid any capital gains taxes.”

Another thing people should keep an eye on is that the current estate and lifetime gift tax exemption sunsets on December 31, 2025 — if Congress doesn’t do anything to change or extend it — and returns to $5 million per individual.
This will make many more estates potentially taxable. 

Other things to know: Secure Act 2.0 was introduced in 2023, making modifications to the original Secure Act affecting retirement. The change increases the required minimum distribution (RMD) age, meaning retirees must now begin taking taxable withdrawals at 73, and at 75 by 2033. The new law does not increase the age an IRA owner can make a qualified charitable distribution, which remains at 70 and a half years. This extension allows individuals more time to save. One thing to consider is to donate your RMDs to your charities.

For planned legacy donor and philanthropist Al Jones, DAP Health was the clear choice. Jones was married to his husband Marc Byrd for 26 years before Byrd passed away in 2018. Jones donated significant funds to the organization, which were specifically earmarked for the establishment of the Marc Byrd Behavioral Health Clinic, unveiled in spring 2022. 

“I think it’s important to consider thoroughly supporting an institution that reflects one’s philosophy and values,” Jones shares. “There is no better time to think of organizations to support via a planned legacy gift than the present. An organization like DAP Health needs to raise money to provide services to both those with and without insurance, both now and in the future. But it’s nice to know that the organization will receive funds in the future that will significantly help those budgets as well. So, legacy planned giving is really a way to provide a significant gift from your estate, deferring to give to a time in the future — literally, after you have passed away. And these legacy gifts give the organization an opportunity to plan for the future. 

“I wanted to do something memorable for Marc,” Jones continues. “I gave a legacy gift of $250,000, but also used that as a challenge grant to raise money for DAP Health’s general fund.” 

Sean K. Heslin — who runs Heslin Wealth Management, an affiliate of LPL Financial — advocates for making sure that upon death, a certain percentage of resources go to a charitable organization. “I educate my clients that it is just as simple as making sure you properly establish your beneficiaries,” he says. That’s typically where Heslin or other financial advisors will come in and make sure that an account is set up with a beneficiary designation. Other things come into play, too. 

“When you have an IRA or brokerage account, an annuity, or even a bank account —whatever it is — normally your spouse or partner is set up as the primary beneficiary,” Heslin continues. “But also, you can assign contingent beneficiaries and state, for example, that 50% is assigned to DAP Health and 50% is assigned to the LGBT Community Center of the Desert, or whichever charity you prefer. 

“That’s really important to do one way or the other — either having a beneficiary designation established, or title your accounts in the name of a living trust, when possible. Then the trust can have all the beneficiary designations you want to have. If you don’t have accounts titled in the name of a trust, or at least have assigned beneficiaries, when you pass away, your assets will most likely never make it to a charity. Funds and assets without beneficiary designations will most likely go through probate and eventually will either be paid out to a relative, a ‘next of kin’ you may not want to leave money to, or worse, funds will just be taken over by the state.”

Linsky sums up the importance of looking toward a future beyond your own in a graceful way: “Legacy planned giving is a very fulfilling act, emotionally and spiritually.”

Learn more about planned legacy giving by visiting PlannedGiving.DAPHealth.org.

We Are Family

by suelowe
DAP Health Magazine

We are Family

 

Why one couple has used their philanthropy to support DAP Health

 

Words by Jacob Anderson-Minshall - Photos by Donato Di Natele 

 

Walter Annenberg, a businessman turned ambassador, made millions in his life, and in his later years, he and his wife, Leonore, became two of the most prominent philanthropists in the United States. Their family name is emblazoned on literally dozens of buildings all over Southern California, and it can open doors to scientists and artists alike.

Scot and Lance Karp aren’t trying to compete with the Annenbergs, but their philanthropy is making a big impact in the desert all the same.

“We’re not the biggest givers in the valley,” Scot acknowledges. “We’re not competing with the Annenbergs; we never will, that’s not our goal. But [using] what we have, we feel that we’re duty-bound to contribute to making our community and other people’s lives better.”

That resonates with the mission of DAP Health, says Director of Development James Lindquist. “Philanthropists are the backbone of our organization. They are the ones who helped us first get started.” 

Today, the nonprofit founded in 1984 to respond to the AIDS crisis serves more than 10,000 people annually and hopes to reach 25,000 a year by 2025. It has been donors, Lindquist says, that “helped us to expand our services, to buy the Annette Bloch CARE Building, to make the Barbara Keller LOVE Building expansion, to build the Marc Byrd Behavioral Health Clinic, the Karla Kjellin-Elder and Jeff Elder Social Services Wing, and so much more.”

The Karps’ own philanthropy underwrote the behavioral health reception area within the Barbara Keller LOVE Building expansion. The couple says they were originally drawn to DAP Health via its association with Steve Chase, the world-renowned interior designer who was an early donor, volunteer, and board member of Desert AIDS Project (as DAP Health was originally known).

After the Karps first attended the annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards (dubbed The Chase), they ended up buying a home designed by him. A trained architect, Scot says he and his husband were just drawn to the home. “So that was another connection as we learned about Steve Chase’s depth of involvement with starting Desert AIDS Project back in the ’80s when there was no
health care.” 

Of course, Scot adds, the organization is no longer “just an AIDS organization anymore — it’s a community-based health organization that serves everyone.”

Scot and Lance built their own wealth in the highly competitive Southern Florida real estate world before buying a home in Rancho Mirage five years ago. 

The two came from middle-class families, and Scot says, “created our own destiny. We’re not inherited wealth; we’re not trust-fund guys. We created it and we wanted to use those resources for bettering other people’s lives. Lance and I feel very privileged to live the life we live; we don’t take it for granted. We both believe in our hearts that there’s an obligation. One of the basic tenets of philanthropy is ‘to those much is given, much is required.’ We don’t say that as a platitude; we live our lives that way.”

Drawn to DAP Health because of its involvement with the local LGBTQ+ community, Scot and Lance researched the organization, toured the campus, and met with CEO David Brinkman before deciding to throw their financial support behind it. 

Now in their 60s, the couple says their philanthropic philosophy is “to choose causes that are important to us and that benefit others, and to be examples to inspire others to join. We’ve always been connectors, and we’ve always been influencers within our circle because we’re quite careful with what we get involved in. When we choose a cause, it’s after doing a lot of research and study. And then we want to get other people involved. So it’s like leading by example. People know that we’re judicious and careful with our vetting of the causes we get behind.” 

Although the men make numerous smaller contributions to other organizations, they have chosen to focus on LGBTQ+ health care when making their more significant donations. To facilitate that giving, the couple established a foundation in 2018. 

“The naming of our foundation was quite purposeful,” Scot explains. “It’s the Scot and Lance Karp Family Foundation, and we wanted ‘family’ in the name because there’s two men and we’re a family.”

Choosing to underwrite the behavioral health reception area was equally considered. “We feel that there’s a huge need for behavioral health and mental health care,” Scot says. “DAP Health is dear to our hearts because it’s our community and we feel that we have to support our community … That’s why we feel passionate about it; because it serves the LGBTQ+ community.”

The Karps’ donation will both serve generations to come and continue to inspire others to give. 

Lindquist says the Karps are living proof that, “If you find something that you are passionate about, or that has changed your life, or that has meaning to you — find a way to support it. You don’t have to be a millionaire to be a philanthropist, you just have to care.”

Scots says he and Lance agree. “True philanthropy is, no matter what you have, you give something,” he reflects. “It may not be giving of financial backing. It may be giving of your time, giving of your support, or giving of your enthusiasm about an organization or a cause.”

The men truly prioritize causes where they can see results in their lifetimes, and while they may never know all of the names of the people they’ve impacted, Lindquist says they’re aware of the thousands of people whose lives they’ve changed. “I think that’s got to be the greatest gift of philanthropy,” he concludes, “when you can do it when you’re still alive.”

To follow the Karps’ example, contact DAP Health Director of Development James Lindquist at 760.656.8413 or via [email protected].

The Vision is Moving Forward

by suelowe

The vision is moving forward

 

DAP Health’s campus expansion gains momentum

 

Words by Ellen Bluestein

 

Vision Forward, DAP Health’s 10-year strategic plan, continues to gain momentum in 2023. The initiative, which will expand the organization’s ability to serve clients — from 10,000 to 25,000 annually — is slated to be complete by 2025.

The impetus for DAP Health to grow is a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “With [the ACA], lower-income Californians gained access to health insurance for the first time,” says DAP Health CEO David Brinkman. “All of a sudden, demand increased dramatically, and that’s when we knew we needed to be able to respond to this opportunity to increase the health and well-being of our community.”

The first phase of the campaign included purchasing the former Riverside County Health structure (renamed the Annette Bloch CARE Building) adjacent to DAP Health’s Barbara Keller LOVE Building, and renovating it to accommodate three primary care clinics and a sexual wellness clinic. “To me, it’s all about creating more access points to people in our community,” says Director of Community Health and Sexual Wellness C.J. Tobe. “And opening these new clinics in this capital expansion — that’s exactly what it is. It’s going to serve more people, and people are going to be healthier and happier. 

“Sexual wellness is really a gateway for people who don’t have access to community resources or to any primary care, behavioral health, or dental care,” continues Tobe. “They use sexual wellness as the first step to engage in some system to get support. And so, when you talk about opening a clinic … you’re opening a door to a community to say, ‘Hey, let’s have a conversation about your health and wellness.’”

With the clinics complete, the focus is on working with the Coachella Valley Housing Authority to create a second permanent supportive housing structure, named Vista Sunrise II, that will offer 61 new affordable-housing units on DAP Health’s Palm Springs campus. “The construction is moving fast,” says Brinkman. “It’s just a few months behind, and its completion impacts the next phase of construction.”

Given the current cost and availability of construction materials and labor, delays will actually help the project. “It behooves the organization to take its time, hoping that material supply-chain issues will be resolved, and inflation, materials, and labor will normalize,” says Principal Architect Maria Song of International Design Corporation, the firm leading the project. “That’s important because I think people are going, ‘Why is it taking so long?’ But there’s a real benefit to waiting right now.”

Once Vista Sunrise II opens, the next phase — building the Desert Care Network Health Pavilion — will accelerate. The 19,000-square-foot structure will bridge the Barbara Keller LOVE Building and the Annette Bloch CARE Building, and will boast a central registration area for all clinical services, a diagnostic lab, a pharmacy, and a café with outdoor seating that will be open to the public and staffed and managed by clients of DAP Health’s Return-to-Work program.

A driveway will route clients to this new main entrance, and pedestrian-friendly pathways will link it to the rest of the campus. The existing entrance on Sunrise Way will be repurposed into a service entrance for deliveries, and a new entrance will be created by Vista Sunrise II. The Vista Chino entrance will remain as is.

“These are really impressive plans, both literally and figuratively,’ says Song. “And it’s going to make such a huge difference to [DAP Health’s] programs and what’s offered.” According to Song, it will take a year and a half to complete the pavilion. Current estimates for its opening range from June 2024 to the end of that year.

The overall campus design, including the pavilion and the housing project, was approved last year by the city of Palm Springs during what is called the entitlement process. “This is when the campus developer submits to the city the entire design and legal information of what they propose to do based on a general plan,” explains Song. Next is the plan check, which “means that the plan examiner of the city’s Building Department will be reviewing the plan for construction to see that it meets the building code, the energy code, the plumbing code, and the
structural code.”

While working with the Building Department during this process — which can take up to six weeks and involves correcting and reworking any code issues that are found — Song and her team will develop a tenant-improvement plan which fleshes out the plans for the interior of the buildings. Once permitting is approved, Song will select the general contractor and all the subcontractors, making sure the project comes in within budget.

“The city of Palm Springs Building Department has been very collaborative,” Song reveals. “DAP Health is an established and important organization here in the valley. The city knows and supports that.” 

Collaboration has been a key part of the entire Vision Forward planning process, and it will continue as DAP Health’s leadership works with Song to finalize the interior design. From the beginning, the goal was to create the look and feel of bringing the outside indoors, which will be achieved by using organic materials throughout the pavilion. With that, “those qualitative words now become quantitative in specification material selection,” says Song.

Song identifies the expansion as two separate projects: the west space (which includes the pavilion) and the east space (which is mostly facade improvements, exterior building upgrades, and smaller additions). The east space “is more of a site design,” says Song. But because the buildings are exposed and visually integrated with the image of the city, “any design that we do would have to go as a major architectural application so that [when] we get the concept approved … we can start developing the plans for construction,” she continues. 

Design of the east space will begin as construction is underway on the west area. That way, by the time construction is finished on the latter, plans will be approved for work to begin on the former.

As plans continue to evolve, input from staff becomes a vital part of the process. It also speaks to DAP Health’s mission of inclusion and collaboration. “There’s a saying that goes, ‘If it involves me, involve me,’ and so that’s what we do,” says Chief of Clinical Operations Carol Wood. “We really do get right down to the root of it, even to the extent of asking nurses and medical assistants, ‘What’s going to make your job more efficient, and how are you going to be able to do a better job for your patients in your role?’”

With the expansion of the campus comes the expansion of the definition of health care itself. No longer does it just include traditional physical well-being. “We have a very unique campus model,” says Brinkman. “It’s one that acknowledges that health care is access to housing, health care is access to acupuncture and chiropractic and meditation. Our model understands that health care is proper nutrition combined with good mental health care and substance use counseling and, last but not least, that it should be accessible to all, regardless of one’s ability to pay. To be able to go from offering all this to 10,000 folks today to 25,000 people at the completion of this campaign is extremely exciting.”