The DC CENTER home for GLBT in Metro DC Fall Fundraiser

You're Invited - to The Center's Fall 2007 Fundraiser

Christopher Dyer, Brett Parson, David Schwartz,
Kevin Shipman, and Bruce Weiss

To be Honored as "Co-Founders" of the DC Crystal Meth Working Group

Center's Fall 2007 Fundraiser to Host Reception and Award Ceremony


Washington DC ~ The Board of Directors of The Center – Home for GLBT
in Metro DC is pleased to announce that Christopher Dyer, Brett
Parson, David Schwartz, Kevin Shipman, and Bruce Weiss are being
honored as "Co-Founders" of the DC Crystal Meth Working Group at The
Center's Fall 2007 Fundraiser. The DC Crystal Meth Working Group is a
coalition of community organizations and concerned citizens that is
committed to providing information and resources to help people make
informed choices about crystal meth. Its two main goals are to educate
and inform the community about crystal meth and to advocate for
increased funding and support for substance abuse prevention and
treatment services.

The DC Crystal Meth Working Group has held educational community
forums with expert panelists leading informative discussions on
health, legal, social, and sexual consequences of use and abuse of
crystal meth; conducted outreach at gay bars and nightclubs throughout
2005, 2006, and 2007 and at annual Youth Prides, Black Prides, and
Capital Prides; launched a comprehensive and interactive website
www.LetsTalkAboutMeth.org; formed a speakers bureau; has testified
before the DC Council's Committee on Health, Chaired by Councilmember
At-Large Mr. David Catania; and conducted online and in person surveys
of community members to determine their disposition with regard to
crystal meth.

"Christopher Dyer, Brett Parson, David Schwartz, Kevin Shipman, and
Bruce Weiss were the driving forces that provided the foundation to
launch the DC Crystal Meth Working Group," states Michael Sessa,
president of The Center and chair of the DC Crystal Meth Working
Group. "Their passion, focus on results, and persistent voluntary
dedication in this effort together created a strong message that has
permeated throughout DC, the region, and actually all across the country."

In June of 2006, The DC Crystal Meth Working Group was selected by the
Caron Foundation as recipients of its Educational Excellence Award for
an Institution or Organization. This award recognizes an educational
institution or organization that has proactively supported and
embraced programs that educate students, families, and communities to
understand chemical dependency through awareness programs. The award
was presented at Caron's Annual Community Service Awards Program, held
Friday morning June 16, 2006 at the Marriott Hotel in Bethesda,
Maryland. In October of 2006, The Center was awarded by the DC Council
a $100,000 grant, funding under the Budget Support Act and
administered through the DC Department of Health's Addiction
Prevention and Recovery Administration (APRA), to continue outreach
efforts.

The Center's Fall 2007 Fundraiser is being held Wednesday September
19, 2007 at 1517 Webster Street NW in Washington, D.C. from 7pm – 9pm.
For more information about the Fall 2007 Fundraiser, click on
http://www.thedccenter.org/images/Fall2007Fundraiser.pdf.

For more information about The Center, please visit
www.TheDCCenter.org. For more information about The DC Crystal Meth
Working Group, please visit www.LetsTalkAboutMeth.org.

About The Center

Founded in 2002 and located in Washington, D.C., the mission of The
Center is to celebrate, strengthen, and support community among the
GLBT residents and organizations of Metropolitan Washington, DC. For
more information on The Center, please visit www.TheDCCenter.org.

About The DC Crystal Meth Working Group

The mission of The DC Crystal Meth Working Group is to provide
information and resources that help people make informed choices about
crystal methamphetamine (crystal meth). Begun as a grassroots effort
to address the use and abuse of crystal meth in D.C. – an issue of
deep and growing concern in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender (GLBT) community, the DC Crystal Meth Working Group now
includes a number of community activists as well as representatives
from The Center, the Lambda Center at the Psychiatric Institute of
Washington, PreventionWorks!, the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance
League (SMYAL), and Whitman Walker Clinic. The group also works
closely with the Metropolitan Police Department's Gay and Lesbian
Liaison Unit (GLLU), the HIV/AIDS Administration and the Addiction
Prevention and Recovery Administration (APRA) both of the DC
Department of Health, and operates with funding provided by the
District of Columbia City Council. For more information, please visit
www.LetsTalkAboutMeth.org.

Michael Sessa
President

The Center - Home for GLBT in Metro DC
1111 14th Street, Suite 350
Washington, D.C. 20005
www.TheDCCenter.org

P.S. this is not Michael Sessa Blog.