6 Gay City News Impact Awards 2020
HONOREE
JOSÉ ALBINO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GRIOT CIRCLE
José Albino is the executive director of GRIOT Circle, the nation’s only nonprofi
profi t created to serve the needs of LGBTQ elders of color. Established nearly
25 years ago, GRIOT takes its name from a West African word for storyteller
but is also an acronym for Gay Reunion in Our Time. The group’s mission is
to challenge all forms of oppression, including ageism, racism, sexism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, poverty, xenophobia,
and their intersections.
Funded largely by private donors as well as some small bursts of city funding, the group, with tight fi nancial constraints, has grown
during the past six years under José’s leadership from a health and wellness-based focus to a “comprehensive, one-stop shop service
for seniors,” he explained last year to Gay City News’ Matt Tracy.
Since joining GRIOT Circle, José has created support groups for men, women, transgender folks, and HIV-positive individuals.
“Fifty percent of individuals who are HIV-positive in this country are over the age of 50,” he pointed out.
Tai Chi, knitting, wood carving, and fi nancial literacy workshops are among options available to members, and GRIOT Circle also
has a peer-to-peer program so folks can go to movies, shop, and enjoy other activities together. It has also found a way to reach
homebound seniors who can’t make the trek to its downtown Brooklyn space through a friendly visiting program.
“We refuse to do bingo,” Albino said, smiling. “Our members deserve a more elevated approach to living in their truth.”
José, a therapist and respected authority in gerontology, has worked in management capacities in the aging fi eld for more than 20
years. With a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University at Albany and a master’s in education and human development
from the George Washington University, José has built a career informed by a commitment to intersectional justice and equity for
disenfranchised older adults such as immigrants, people of color, those living in poverty, and the LGBTQ community.
Given that many members experienced homophobia and transphobia in their families or places of worship, mental health services
have emerged as an important piece of the GRIOT Circle’s work.
“This is where we have to realize that this is a population that has not basked in the civil liberties that we have now,” José explained.
“Everyone is using these gender pronouns and getting married. These are people who came from a place of trauma in the ‘80s and
‘70s when being gay was viewed as a psychological disorder.”
Many clients remain closeted at home, so they travel long distances — some commute more than an hour and a half from the Bronx
daily — to the friendlier confi nes of GRIOT Circle. The organization hopes to one day ease that strain by opening satellite locations
in other boroughs.
Beyond his responsibilities at GRIOT Circle, José serves on the board of Stonewall Community Development Corporation, which
works to create safe spaces and affordable housing for New York’s LGBTQ older adults.