The MOCHA Center, Inc.
Events
Buffalo Department of Programs & Services- March 2012 Calendar
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Rochester Department of Programs and Services – March 2012 Calendar
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Chief In The Streets
In conjunction with Unity Fellowship Church of Rochester, The MOCHA Center presents: ”Chief In The Streets: A Conversation With Rochester Police Department Chief James Sheppard.” This is an opportunity to engage the Rochester Police Department around issues of safety and the LGBTIQ community.
PLEASE JOIN US
When: Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Time: 630p-800p
Location: Unity Fellowship Church of Rochester
120 Caroline Street
Rochester, NY 14620
Contact: Rev. Alicia Heath-Toby 973.476.4061
Thaddeus Price 585.420.1400 x24
Support the MOCHA Center – ROC THE DAY is Today – 12/8/2011
The MOCHA Center, along with other nonprofits in Rochester, is participating in the ROC the DAY event. This is an opportunity to contribute to nonprofits in a 24 hour period. We need your support and I encourage you to take a moment to contribute to the MOCHA Center today. Whether it is $5 or $5,000, everyone can help the MOCHA Center. We provide programs and services primarily in Rochester and Buffalo with satellite services in Niagara Falls and New York City. With over 15 years of service, we have touched many lives through HIV prevention and services for people living with HIV/AIDS. As one of the few organizations specifically serving the LGBTQ communities of color, we are at the forefront of addressing HIV/AIDS in communities most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
As you know, many nonprofits struggle in challenging economic times. We need your support. Take a moment today and visit the ROC the DAY link below. Contribute to the MOCHA Center so we can continue offering quality programs and services. This is an online service and anyone can contribute to the MOCHA Center. Also help us get the word out today. This is a one day event that ends at midnight on Thursday, December 8th. Share with your friends and colleagues and ask them to support us.
Contribute to the MOCHA Center via ROC the DAY by clicking on the direct link below:
http://www.roctheday.org/Agency/THEMOCHACENTERINC
Thank you for your support!
Bruce E. Smail, Executive Director
Today is World AIDS Day
The world stops on December 1st to honor and remember the many lives lost to AIDS and re-energize HIV prevention efforts. The MOCHA Center joins this international day of remembrance and action and encourages you to remember and take action in your sphere of influence. Here are a few things you can do today:
- Encourage someone to get tested for HIV.
- Do you know your status? Take a HIV test today and know your status.
- Reach out to People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) with a smile, a hug, or comforting words.
- Stand up with others today and attend a World AIDS Day event.
- Volunteer your time with a HIV/AIDS organization.
- Donate to organizations advocating for PLWHA and educating communities on HIV prevention.
- If you are a PLWHA — seek medical care and develop strong support systems.
- Familiarize yourself with the latest safer sex practices.
- Identify places to obtain clean needles or bleach kits.
- Participate in a biomedical HIV prevention research education (microbicides, pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and treatment as preventions).
HIV impacts the following groups at disproportionate rates: Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, Transwomen of all races and ethnicities, Gay and Bisexual men of all races and ethnicities, and Youth in all of these categories. HIV/AIDS is a community issue and we all have a responsibility to end this pandemic. Let us join forces, increase the dialogue, and actively address the critical nature of HIV/AIDS in our communities.
—– Bruce E. Smail, Executive Director
A Dialogue on Living with HIV
The MOCHA Center’s Youth Drop-in Center will host “A Dialogue on Living with HIV” on Thursday, October 6, 2011 from 4:30 – 5:30pm. Bruce E. Smail, the Executive Director of the MOCHA Center, will share his story and lead a discussion on the challenges and opportunities of living with HIV. This event is limited to our LGBTQ youth of color aged 13-24. The event will take place at the MOCHA Center, 107 Liberty Pole Way, Rochester.
The MOCHA Center Reaches Out to People Living with HIV/AIDS
In October, the MOCHA Center will launch two support groups for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). As a person living with HIV since 2003, I am pleased to offer two groups in Rochester as a way to support PLWHA. The MOCHA Center was founded on the support and care for men of color living with HIV/AIDS.
The challenges of a new diagnosis or finding support in communities are challenges we all face being positive. The weekly support groups will come together for 90 minutes and provide opportunities for dialogue, sharing experiences, group support, and access to helpful resources in the community.
The Support Group for Newly Diagnosed targets men of color who are living with HIV for 2 years or less. The Support Group for People Living with HIV/AIDS targets men of color who are living with HIV/AIDS longer than 2 years.
Because these are confidential support groups, please contact me directly at bsmail@mochacenter.org or (585) 420-1400 x17 for more information or to join the support group.
I look forward to reaching men of color living with HIV/AIDS through this initiative. I have found that as we share our stories and dialogue about our experiences, it improves our acceptance and our ability to value our lives. On my seventh year anniversary, I wrote a blog about living with HIV. I share my story as a way to reach out to various communities about HIV. I hope you will take a moment to read the story and realize that we all have our own stories and paths in becoming HIV positive.
Bruce E. Smail – Executive Director
A Proud Community Partner of the 19th Annual IMAGE OUT
Leave It On The Floor
The MOCHA Center is a proud community partner of the 19th Annual IMAGE OUT – The Rochester Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival. Please support the festival from October 7-16, 2011. Visit their website at www.imageout.org.
Each community partner serves as a host to a film. Please join the MOCHA Center for the showing of Leave It on the Floor on October 8, 2011 – 1:30pm – Dryden Theatre.
More Information and trailer for the film - Leave It On the Floor.
Leave It On the Floor Press Kit
Leave It On the Floor tells the story of Brad, our hero, who is thrown out of his dysfunctional home by his mother, Deondra. He steals his mother’s car and travels into Los Angeles where, through a chance encounter, Brad, a little like Alice in Wonderland, stumbles into a noisy raucous, chaotic event and meets the ragtag members of the struggling House of Eminence. Initially only looking for a place to sleep(and perhaps someone to sleep with), Brad ends up engaging with the colorful members of the house led by the indomitable house mother Queef Latina, herself an aging ball-legend and the fierce protectrice of her family. Laughter, tears, sex sirens, and butch queens up in pumps ensue and remarkably, Brad ends up finding an extraordinary home and loving, caring family in this, the strangest of places.
Smail Speaks on Rochester Radio Talk Show
Bruce E. Smail, the Executive Director of the MOCHA Center, will be interviewed on the “What’s Going On? — with Nate Brown and Kevin Allen” show on Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 8:00 am (ET). Once a month, Rochester youth interview guests in the community. You can listen in on 1280 AM or 107.3 FM in Rochester. You can also visit the link below and listen in live via the internet (Look to the top left corner for the link for the live internet broadcast). Join me on Sunday as I talk about the MOCHA Center, HIV/AIDS, and other issues!!!!
1280 WHTK & FM 107.3 – Rochester’s Sports Talk
