PRIDE
Bronx LGBT Expo Pays Tribute to Jose Ramon
Event highlights importance of mental health resources
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Pride Month continued in the Bronx on
June 17 when the community joined
together for the annual Bronx LGBT
Expo, which brought attention to a
wide range of LGBTQ issues, from HIV/AIDS to
substance use and mental health.
The borough-wide expo, held at 2134 Barnes
Avenue in the Bronx, followed the death of
Bronx LGBT Expo and White Shirt Project
founder Jose Ramon, who passed away earlier
this year after a battle with ALS. His long-time
best friend, Connie Pacheco, was tapped to continue
the advocate’s work through the Bronx
LGBT Expo, and this year’s event helped raise
awareness about that cause.
Pacheco, who donned a rainbow jumpsuit
and colorful eyeliner, organized this year’s
event and said she is honored to keep Ramon’s
mission alive.
“I’m doing this in memory and tribute to his
life and legacy and to the work that he did,”
Pacheco told Gay City News. “I loved Joey. Who
didn’t love Joey? He took people from different
walks of life, different socio-economic backgrounds,
different involvements within the
community, and created a whole family of individuals.”
Dozens upon dozens of Bronx residents,
including several community agencies and
queer businesses, were in attendance during
the evening portion of a two-part LGBT Expo
that started in the afternoon. The event space
was transformed within minutes from a stage
for panelists to a dance fl oor and a ballroom
runway. The event was hosted by HIV/AIDS
➤ GSA, from p.18
Caterina Scorsone.
“I thought that was really cool because we
were able to determine how good the representation
was, what could be fi xed, and we could
have a broader discussion about representation
in general,” Randall said.
These empowering conversations end up bolstering
the students’ own development by allowing
them to work through the issues fresh
on their minds every day. Drawing from their
own experiences, members of both clubs are
anticipating opportunities to impart wisdom
to incoming freshmen and other students who
could be interested in joining their respective
clubs in the future.
Taveras said he feels he is at a point in his
life where he “can help students and be there
for them,” while Fernandez said she has a desire
TAT BELLAMY - WALKER
Harmonica Sunbeam hosted the Bronx LGBT Expo on June 17.
advocate Jomil Luna of the AIDS Healthcare
Foundation and legendary “comedy queen”
Harmonica Sunbeam.
Ramon started the Bronx LGBT Expo in
2019 following the White Shirt Project, which
called attention to mental health issues and
stigma. The Bronx LGBT Expo helps connect
LGBTQ individuals to community organizations
and provides them a safe space to gather
during Pride Month. However, Pacheco had
said Bronx LGBTQ residents are not always in
the know about the local resources for mental
health.
Sean Coleman, the founder and executive director
of the Bronx LGBTQ center Destination
Tomorrow, which sponsored the event space,
to serve as a mentor for students who are
younger and just beginning their own coming
out process.
Such assistance can be critical for students
who face adversity at such a precarious time in
their lives. A survey of more than 40,000 youth
commissioned by the Trevor Project last year revealed
that 29 percent of LGBTQ young people
have been homeless, kicked out of their homes,
or fl ed their homes, and 46 percent said they
sought out psychological or emotional counseling
but could not receive it.
As a social worker, Polanco said she previously
worked in other schools where she witnessed
a lack of acceptance on the part of school administrators,
parents, and guardians.
“Kids are supposed to be safe in school and at
home, and they’re supposed to confi de in their
parents,” she said. “But some students can’t be
true to themselves at home.”
said LGBTQ individuals are still struggling to
access mental health services because of the
pandemic.
“Mental health is not prioritized within Black
and Brown communities, and COVID exacerbated
that problem,” Coleman said. “We need
more mental health providers that understand
transgender, gender-non-conforming, and nonbinary
folk.”
Tenecia Williams, a 38-year-old transgender
man of the Bronx who attended the Bronx
LGBT Expo, knows this issue all too well. Since
the pandemic started, he has faced several
backlogged mental health clinics.
“I started my transition and needed therapy
for that, and the process was extremely excruciating
to even connect with anyone,” he said.
“It was a lot of back and forth phone tag. I know
it’s not deliberate. It’s just an overwhelming sea
of a need for mental health right now, and it’s
not a lot of hands-on.”
Even as he made efforts to connect to care,
barriers stood in the way.
“It took me two to three months to fi nd the
right mental health assistance for me,” he said.
“Due to the pandemic, not going in-person, the
Zoom, the Wifi messing up, the phone calls
back and forth, the cry for more help, and the
understaffi ng.”
Despite these challenges, Williams said coming
to the Bronx LGBT Expo gave him hope.
“I felt connected, and I felt a source of family…
it’s a beautiful thing when you know you’re
not alone,” Williams said. “We got together to
do this — there are so many things in the future.
Let me press forward — I have something
to look forward to.”
Club members, then, fi nd themselves doing
the important work of creating an inclusive
world for those who will follow in their footsteps
after they graduate and enter the next phase of
their lives. The members at the Bronx Science
GSA are working to ensure the club can continue
to exist after the current roster is cycled
out.
The students believe they can help make a
positive impact on the lives of other students,
but their infl uence extends far beyond their
peers. Mendoza, who teaches grades 9-12 at the
High School for Law and Public Service, conveyed
that message directly to students.
“You don’t know it, but there are teachers
who are still struggling with their identity, and
when they see how strong you are, they are also
learning to become comfortable with themselves,”
he said. “You have done a lot more than
to create a bubble for other students.”
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