HMI NEWS UPDATE
From Dom DiPasquale & Josh Saterman
HMI Board of Directors Co-Chairs

We are pleased to announce Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) Board of Directors have appointed Amy Harclerode — HMI’s Chief Development Officer since 2017— as interim CEO to fill the vacancy of the role upon Joe Pressley’s departure, while the Board conducts a comprehensive search to fill the role of a permanent CEO.

Meanwhile, HMI Leadership and staff have been keenly focused on ensuring all LGBTQIA+ youth have direct and/or indirect access to support services and resources using a three-channel approach:

Youth Membership
Serving young people, who become members through HMI’s intake process, with free and easy access to all services.

Outreach and Community Engagement
Serving youth who are not HMI members by connecting them to services through community partnerships and outreach.

Advocacy and Capacity Building
Helping others who serve LGBTQIA+ youth by sharing best practices and elevating voices of youth advocates who support the well-being of all young people regardless of identity or circumstance.

Additionally, there are many exciting things happening at HMI that we hope you can engage in and/or support over the next several months.

HMI’s Dinner Service is back in full swing with Chef Gerardo leading the helm at Café HMI. Hot meals are being prepared in our new oven replacement thanks to everyone who helped with our crowdfunding initiative. We invite anyone who is interested in volunteering to serve dinner to our youth, to contact Ira Rogers at irogers@hmi.org.

The Community of Wellness initiative that was introduced late last year is successfully off the ground. HMI’s leadership team will begin to conduct strategic planning with the Board beginning in June to address the growing need for mental health and wellness services.

We are gearing up for Pride Month by bringing back Youth Pride Fest after several years off due to the pandemic. This year, for the first time in its history, it will be held outside of HMI at 2 Astor Place on Saturday, June 17. Later in the month, we will be hosting our annual Damien Awards on June 22, when HMI’s young people are recognized for their achievements and dedication to the betterment of HMI and the LGBTQIA+ community.

School’s Out Co-Chairs and Hosts, together with HMI’s Development Team, have been working fervently since the start of the year to produce another amazing fundraiser this summer in the Hamptons. The cocktail party kicks off the event at 5:30 pm on Saturday, July 15 and will be followed by a “Best of the Hamptons” dinner at 7:30 pm that will be sure to stimulate your culinary senses. The team is aiming to break last year’s record which was the highest grossing event in the history of School’s Out.

These are just some highlights of what HMI is doing to ensure that access to free and high-quality support services and resources are available to queer and trans youth within the NYC area and beyond. We hope you know that your commitment to Hetrick-Martin Institute and the youth we serve has made an immeasurable impact, and we thank you for your continued support.