Fund is a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization, which focuses on the needs of women, seniors, healthcare, the arts, and the youth in the community. They work with other not-for-profits and service organizations, including the Wilton Manors-based Brian Neal Fitness and Health Foundation, for which they offer resources for men and women living with HIV/AIDS, in conjunction with Island City Health and Fitness. Our Fund has helped sponsor those that are unable to pay for gym memberships and life and nutritional counseling programs. Our Fund CEO Anthony Timiraos says the organization has developed several levels of support.

“We have so many ways that people can help,” he notes. “There is the entry—or, “Bronze”—level, which is a contribution of $1,500 to $2,499. Our “Silver” level is $2,500 to $4,999. “Gold” level is a contribution of $5,000 to $9,999. The “Diamond” is set at $10,000 to $14,999, and our “Platinum” level is $15,000 and above.”

“One of the things about us is that if you want to leave money to several organizations—let’s say the Pride Center, Poverello, and Broward House, as examples—you can express the amount for each organization, and we will disperse that money for you—I hate to say ‘upon your departure,’ but that’s what it comes down to,” he notes, in a manner that’s almost apologetic.

“Every dime that we bring in stays in our community, hence the name ‘Our Fund,’” Timaraos explains. “When someone wills us money, we keep it in the community, and dispense it in that manner. For example, let’s say someone leaves $500,000, and they specify a certain organization to receive that money. Perhaps that puts the donation level over a certain amount that may cause them to lose other federal, state, or local funds. “What we do is we send that money over a period of time, as to not compromise other incomes.

Let’s face it, right now all of the nonprofits are suffering, due to budget cuts. What we do is perfectly legal, and we don’t want to see any of the LGBT organizations get hurt. They all are doing so much good work, the last thing that we want to do is limit their ability to continue to serve a community that is in need,” he adds. For more information, visit: our-fund.org.

“This is an

historic month at the Pride Center for women,” says Donna Woessner, Women and Senior Service Coordinator at The Pride Center. “We are thrilled to be offering a wide range of events in celebration of Women’s History Month.”

Women’s History Month is an annual declared month worldwide that highlights contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. The National Women’s History Project has named this year’s Women’s History Month 2011 – Our History is Our Strength. In honor of this theme, the women at the Pride Center and throughout the community have organized events that will highlight some of our history throughout the decades.

For Women Only: Spaces, Organizations, Events and Publications Created by and for Women – A 13-panel retrospective provided by Stonewall Library and Archives. This exhibit explores the history and implications of some of these special spaces for women.

Installation – Friday, March 18, Will displayed for the rest of the month of March.

Simply … Woman: A Symposium – A free day-long event featuring plenary sessions about the state of LGBT rights in Florida and nationally, a generational round table, breakout groups, networking and more. Breakfast and lunch will be offered. Saturday, March 19, 2011, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

“Naked with Fruit”, by Meryl Cohen – A Lesbian play reading presented by the Women’s Theatre Project, Saturday, March 19, 2011, 8- 9 p.m., Tickets $10.

Speak Fire: Womyn’s Spirituality Conference – A free event that brings together spiritual leaders in the women’s community to empower them to reconnect with the spirit and truth inside. Saturday, March 26, 2011, 12noon – 6 p.m. South Florida Womyn’s Music Fest – A free event that features the best of South Florida’s independent music scene. Saturday, March 26, 2011, 7 – 9 p.m.

The Pride Center’s S.F. Makalani-Mahee states, “These events are designed to encourage women to speak and sing in their own unique voice.”

For more information about the Pride Center or this event, please contact Linda Jain, Program Operations Manager or Donna Woessner, Women and Senior Services Coordinator at (954) 463-9005.

Not often talked about in the lesbian community, domestic violence affects a reported 30 to 40 percent of lesbian couples, similar to that suffered by heterosexual couples. Like their straight female counterparts, lesbians tend to keep quiet and stay in “the second closet” out of shame and fear, not reporting what is going on and not seeking counseling.

Lesbians do not often speak about their struggles with domestic abuse, or seek help for these issues, due partly to a lack of recognizing and understanding the signs of abuse. Relationship abuse can take three forms: sexual, emotional, and physical.

The most recognized and acknowledged form of domestic violence is physical abuse, yet even

physical abuse can be hard for some lesbians to define. Most people think of physical abuse as punching, kicking, and battering a partner, however, any kind of negative physicality is considered physical abuse, such as pushing, shoving, biting, hair-pulling, or holding a partner to prevent them from moving. Some lesbians in physically abusive relationships tend to brush off behaviors such as pushing and shoving, not realizing that such behavior can and will escalate in to more severe forms of physical abuse. “My ex-girlfriend would push me around and slam me into walls, but I didn’t think anything about it,” says Amanda, a 23-year-old lesbian in West Palm Beach. “Then one day, she punched me straight on the mouth and I was bleeding everywhere. That is when it first occurred to me that something was seriously wrong with our relationship.”

It is a common misconception among those outside the lesbian community that one woman cannot sexually abuse another woman. The reality is that 30 percent of women have reported experiencing sexual abuse by another woman. “Between the ages of 18 and 21, I had a girlfriend who would come home drunk and wake me up by penetrating me. I was asleep and she would penetrate me without my consent. It took me a while to realize that it was rape. In fact, if I hadn’t been reading a straight women’s magazine and come across an article on sexual abuse, I might have never realized it.

There is no material directed at lesbian women to help them understand they are being abused and how to get out of an abusive relationship,” says Lourdes, a 35-year-old lesbian in Miami.

While physical and sexual abuse are not rarities, studies show that emotional abuse is probably the most common form of abuse in lesbian relationships. “My worst experience in a relationship, probably ever, was subjecting myself to a woman who abused me verbally, emotionally, and psychologically, to the point where my self-esteem was nonexistent,” says Vivian, a 29-year-old lesbian in Aventura. “I was young and naïve; she was older and an excellent liar. It got to the point where she convinced me that I was worthless and that no one else could ever love me.”

At times, especially with younger lesbians, extreme jealousy and possessiveness are common. Due to the prevalence of this type of behavior, many young lesbians do not realize that they are in an abusive relationship until years after the relationship has ended. Controlling behaviors such as checking phone call logs, text messages and emails, and dictating whom a partner can talk to or socialize with, are forms of emotional abuse. Lillian, a lesbian in Miami, recalls this type of controlling behavior, “My girlfriend would unplug all the phones in the house and put them in her car. We had iron bars on the windows and an iron gate on the front door. She would lock me in the house. I couldn’t leave and I couldn’t call anybody. If there had been a fire, I would have been dead. And she would have been the one who killed me.”

Apart from being ashamed and scared, lesbians have an extra problem to worry about in regards to seeking help, which straight women do not encounter. “I remember one time that I actually called the cops; it had gotten that bad. She had hit me so hard that my eye was bruised shut; I couldn’t open it and my lip was split and bleeding,” says Lillian. “The cops came, took one look at us, and started laughing. They asked me why I didn’t just fight her back.”

There are no protections for lesbian victims of domestic abuse. Due to a fear of encountering homophobia or prejudice, many lesbians feel that they have no legal recourse. Most battered women’s shelters will not turn lesbians away, but these shelters are hetero-centric. They are not equipped to deal with the particulars of a lesbian domestic abuse victim.

While it is true that abuse is abuse, regardless of sexual orientation, lesbian victims do experience domestic abuse in a particularly unique way. “I am a butch and I was getting beat up by my femme girlfriend,” recalls Lillian. “People, including the cops, would ask me why I didn’t just beat her up; it was obvious that I was stronger than her. They didn’t understand and I couldn’t explain, there was more to it than who was stronger or who could beat up who. Even though she was hurting me, I didn’t want to hurt her.