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Milwaukee’s history of LGBTQ health services began nearly half a century ago. In 1974, community leaders recognized the necessity to provide targeted medical and mental health care to a demographic with very specific needs. Beyond general health care, certain health concerns were integral to LGBTQ life. Rates of obesity, substance abuse and other mental health issues were always higher among people identified as LGBTQ.
It was also at a time when revealing one’s sexual orientation and gender identity to a family physician risked possible denial of service, outing or even institutionalization. The patient’s fear, coupled not only with the unfamiliarity with specific LGBTQ needs among health care providers but also their potential animus, contributed to a lack of care and treatment for this segment of the population.
The earliest community response to this dilemma was the establishment of a small VD clinic in the Third Ward, then a neighborhood of neglected warehouses and many of the city’s gay bars.
During the decades that followed, Milwaukee’s LGBTQ health care services have grown exponentially. They now span a comprehensive spectrum of medical and mental health, anti-violence and, since the intuition of marriage equality, family related services. They are provided by major health facilities, support agencies and individual private practices.
Milwaukee Pride has recently launched a comprehensive listing of LGBTQ health and wellness resources as a digital directory. A virtual version of its popular PrideFest Health & Wellness Area program, it supersedes all previous service online listings, providing an online “yellow pages” of services. The platform allows users to search through over a dozen categories that include local and statewide resources for specific health needs. Included are legal, medical and mental health care providers, senior and youth services, pregnancy and transgender specialists, and many others. The directory may be found at pridefest.com.
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Among the medical health care providers and support agencies, the following represent the leading resources for LGBTQ needs.
Brady East STD Clinic: Opened in 1974 as the Gay People’s Union VD Examination Clinic, BESTD Clinic now offers a broad range of no-cost, high quality sexual health services for walk-in patients and by appointment. Services include HIV/STD counseling and testing, STD treatment, PrEP discussion and referral. BESTD Clinic is trans affirming.
Diverse & Resilient: Recognizing anti-LGBTQ discrimination as the cause of health care disparities, Diverse & Resilient’s mission is to “achieve health equity and improve the safety and well-being of LGBTQ people and communities in Wisconsin.” It offers HIV and STI testing, consulting and training in areas of mental and sexual health, as well as anti-violence, substance abuse and leadership programs.
FORGE: Founded in 1994, FORGE has become a national leader in transgender awareness and trans wellness, providing resources, training and tools to address anti-trans and sexual violence.
GALANO Club: For nearly 50 years, the GALANO Club has provided anonymous services for those dealing with drug, alcohol and sexual addictions and their families.
Inclusion Health Clinic, Sargeant Health Center: Recognized by the Human Rights Campaign as “Top Performers in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality,” Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin Inclusion Health Clinics are designed to meet the LGBTQ community’s myriad health care needs. They offer HIV, reproductive, OB/GYN, psychiatric, and other comprehensive primary, preventive and specialty services.
Sixteenth Street Community Heath Centers: With numerous clinics throughout Milwaukee, Sixteenth Street delivers culturally sensitive HIV services as well as other LGBTQ relevant health resources with a focus on addressing the needs of people of color, seniors and youth.
Veterans for Diversity: With its focus on “helping those who served, are serving, and their families,” Veterans for Diversity provides a range of resources for former and current LGBTQ military service members. It assists them in accessing Veterans Administration benefits and programs, holds healing retreats and offers mental health support.
Vivent Health Medical Center: Formerly known as the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW), Vivent Health is the largest and fastest growing HIV health care system in the country. It offers full medical, dental and mental health clinics, a food pantry, legal and social services as well as innovative HIV prevention programs.
