​Local Organizations Host Empowerment Event For Fairfield LGBTQ Community

From Circle Care Center, Pride Center, MFAP: Three organizations located at 618 West Avenue in Norwalk will bring together the local LGBTQ Community for a day of empowerment and each will be announcing new initiatives in an “open house” setting. CIRCLE CARE Center (www.CIRCLECARECenter.org), Triangle Community Center (www.ctpridecenter.org) and MFAP (www.MFAP.org) will open their doors from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, March 4, 2017 for tours of the building, conversations about their services and a free lunch to all who attend.

CIRCLE CARE Center’s new Medical Director and clinician David S. Rubin, MD, FACP, AAHIVS, will be available for a meet-and-greet, and clinical staff will be available to answer questions about healthcare services, PrEP, HIV testing and treatment, and to discuss more about CIRCLE CARE Center and CIRCLE CARE Center Pharmacy. Dr. Rubin comes to the non-profit practice from New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital with specialties in general medicine, infectious diseases, HIV and LGBTQ healthcare.

“I’m passionate about HIV care and developing relationships with my patients,” said Dr. Rubin. “I believe it’s important to gain a patient’s trust, which allows for the development of a beneficial, long-term and therapeutic relationship between the patient and me as their provider. But no matter what, I am clear with my patients that no diagnosis is going to be your life, it’s simply going to be part of your life.”

Triangle Community Center’s (TCC) Executive Director Anthony Crisci added on TCC’s behalf, “We are really excited to announce several new initiatives alongside CIRCLE CARE Center and MFAP. TCC will be announcing our youth drop-in center for at-risk young adults—the LGBTQ community has higher rates of homelessness than its peers, and TCC, as Fairfield County’s LGBTQ community center, will be there to provide a safe space not just for LGBTQ young adults but also allies in the area.”

Crisci also added that TCC will provide information about regular TCC programs and groups. It is also inaugurating a small art gallery at 618 West Avenue to showcase local work from LGBTQ artists, kicking off the initiative with works from Joseph Dermody of Greenwich.

Mid-Fairfield AIDS Project (MFAP) will promote its current roster of services and programs, including its new program, “Drug User Health” (D.U.H.), which was prompted by rising death rates resulting from increased opioid use. The CT Department of Health is funding MFAP to operate this program, which consists of one full-time Drug Treatment Advocate (DTA) who has three tools to fight this pandemic: entrance to a drug treatment program, a safe environment for treatment and educational programming about and against opioid use, abuse and treatment.

MFAP also provides access to its Nutritional Program to clients of both Triangle Community Center (TCC) and CIRCLE CARE Center (CCC). Attendees will have the ability to meet with Carol Anne Simpson, our Registered Dietitian (RD) for nutritional counseling, food pantry access and free supplements. MFAP provides free walk-in HIV & Hepatitis C testing with a rapid 20-minute result. All HIV-positive results will be referred to the CCC clinic on the first floor for confirmation and medical care.

To learn about the services of any of these organizations, please visit www.CIRCLECARECenter.org, www.ctpridecenter.org or www.mfap.org.

About CIRCLE CARE Center (CCC)
CIRCLE CARE Center (CCC) is the only primary care clinic in Southern Connecticut specializing in LGBT health and Transgender care, as well as HIV, PrEP, Hepatitis C and STI testing and treatment. www.CIRCLECARECenter.org

About Triangle Community Center
Triangle Community Center (TCC) is Fairfield County’s LGBTQ community center. It provides regular support groups for the LGBTQ community and allies, and helps those in need through its case management program. TCC produces events for the LGBTQ community locally including Pride in the Park.www.CTpridecenter.org

About MFAP

MFAP’s mission is to act as a direct and indirect service provider and advocate for all those affected by HIV/AIDS and other co-morbidities; to create lasting solutions to prevent the spread of HIV/HCV, recurring homelessness and addiction through education, prevention programs, collaborations and housing initiatives. mfap.org

Photo courtesy of Circle Care Center, Pride Center, MFAP