06.15.23
La Roche-Posay will partake in the Third Annual Pride in Dermatology event benefiting OutCare Health, The Trevor Project and Homeward NYC.
"La Roche-Posay has been an incredible partner in our mission to improve LGBTQ+ healthcare access and support. Their past contributions have played vital roles in accelerating our growth and enhancing our programming. We are grateful for their generosity and commitment to making differences in the lives of LGBTQ+ people," said Dustin Nowaskie, M.D., founder and president of OutCare Health. "With this donation, we are excited to take our newly announced initiatives, such as our care navigation solutions, to the next level. This continued collaboration will enable us to provide even more comprehensive and inclusive support to our communities. Together with La Roche-Posay, we are making strides towards a future where every LGBTQ+ person has equitable access to quality healthcare."
OutCare Training Program
La Roche-Posay originally launched its partnership with OutCare in 2021 to create a training program to help improve LGBTQ+ affirming care in provider practices and patient interactions. The OutCare training program educates dermatologists on how to communicate with LGBTQ+ patients and care for them with increased sensitivity and affirmation.
Studies have shown a critical lack of LGBTQ+ affirmation among providers across the country that contributes to stigmatization and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. When patients are uncomfortable or do not feel safe talking to providers, they are less likely to seek healthcare, which can exacerbate pre-existing conditions or allow new or developing issues to take hold.
"With an increase in diversity in medicine, it is our responsibility to represent the patients we treat. Having LGBTQ+ providers decrease stigma and increases access for patients who otherwise would not seek care," says board-certified dermatologist Dr. Karan Lal. "When patients come to see me, they have a sense of comfort knowing that I am well versed in the healthcare issues of the LGBTQ+ community."
Homeward NYC and The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project provides crucial crisis and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ young people, conducts important research that brings knowledge and clinical implications to the field of suicide research, and helps allies and educators understand the needs of LGBTQ+ young people.
Homeward NYC provides housing and wraparound services that help empower homeless young mothers and LGBTQ+ young people. By helping to obtain housing first, LGBTQ+ people can find the stability necessary to address trauma and build the skills they need.
"Homeward NYC provides LGBTQ-affirming supportive housing (affordable housing with onsite support) and has a mixed-age site that is a transitional family shelter for homeless young mothers and their children and affordable housing for homeless seniors,” said Jeannette K. Ruffins, CEO at Homeward NYC. “Our third LGBTQ site opens this fall. The communities we serve have shared intersecting traumas—homelessness, discrimination, family or interpersonal violence, and mental health and substance use disorders. We know that a future starts with having a place to live. At each housing site, Homeward NYC provides onsite case management, behavioral health care, group activities, and skills-building and empowerment programs. This provides young adults with a place to heal and gain the independent living skills to live life forward. We would like to thank La Roche-Posay for their very generous continued support and thank Tyler Steele for including us in the third annual Pride in Dermatology event."
LGBTQ+ people are members of every community and make up an approximate 7.2% of the population, according to a recent Gallop poll. This is more than double the percentage that Gallop originally measured a decade ago. The LGBTQ+ community continues to experience barriers to healthcare due to stigma and discrimination, financial insecurity, lack of healthcare insurance, and higher rates of physical and mental health conditions as well as suicidality. It is important to recognize that these issues disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ subgroups, particularly transgender women of color.
"Through this partnership, we are excited to expand the capacity of our trained crisis counselors who support LGBTQ young people every day via our 24/7 crisis phone, text and chat lines," said Bret Koch, corporate partnerships manager for The Trevor Project. "We are incredibly grateful for the support of La Roche-Posay as a partner in our lifesaving mission to protect the lives of LGBTQ young people and for helping send a powerful message this Pride that they should be proud of who they are and deserve love, affirmation, and support."
This year's Pride In Dermatology event will be held at The Gramercy Theater in New York City on June 15, and will feature a special performance by Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winner Vanessa Williams; a comedy set by comedian Judy Gold; and a DJ set by Cazwell. The event is open to dermatology health care providers who identify as a friend, family, ally or member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Suggested donations will go towards supporting LGBTQ+ nonprofits OutCare, The Trevor Project and Homeward NYC.