A Better Future Transgender Day of Remembrance in West Hollywood honors trans lives lost. TEXT & PHOTOS BY PAULO MURILLO The City of West Hollywood joined its Transgender Advisory Board to host the city’s annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20. The day serves to honor and memorialize people who have lost their lives…
Grief And Recovery Three clean and sober men who recently lost friends from their sober circles on how their loss effects them. CURVE BALL The recent death of my friend Eric Danko hit me hard and it shifted my program. I realize that I need to be spiritually fit. I’m now doing 30 meetings in 30 days.…
Recovery Royalty We asked Tatiana, Lotta Slots and Chanelta, well known in the recovering community, on how being of service at sober events affect their recovery as they prepared for Best in Drag Show, a fundraiser for Aid for AIDS. Sense Of Purpose “The name Tatianna came from a Diane Von Furstenberg fragrance in the 80s…
The Last 48 Hours We asked a few local folks with various lengths of recovery what their last 48 hours of drinking and using was like and what their life is like now that they are clean and sober. Recovery First “In my last 48 hours before I got sober, I could not stop. I…
Sober Gay L.A. We asked a few local folks with different lengths of sobriety what their experience has been like within the sober gay community in Los Angeles. COMMON THEMES “… It can be to be a little cliquey, which is a lot of what you would get at a gay club. That can happen within…
Galvanizing The Community Robert Gamboa, one of the producers of the sober #SIZZLE at the LA Pride Festival, on staying on track, the #ResistMarch and “Take a Sober Stand.” The way I stay sober during Pride season is I am of service. I get to be of service at a multitude of capacities. Being of service…
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK STARS TIE THE KNOT Actress Samira Wiley, known for her role as gay prisoner Poussey in Orange Is The New Black, married her long term girlfriend Lauren Morelli, the writer and producer of the show. The wedding took place in Palm Springs at the same location as the engagement. They…
Returnees In Recovery We asked a few local clean and sober guys what it was like to get sober again and stand up as returnees in recovery after their last relapse. WALK THROUGH SHAME I had eleven months before I relapsed. Coming back wasn’t hard for me because I knew I wanted to get sober and…
By Paulo Murillo – Recovery gift boutique My 12 Step Store partnered with the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (WHCC), WeHo’s Institute for Public Strategies and WeHo Safe Project to host the alcohol-free networking event Mix ‘N’ Mingle on the Blvd. The mixer is scheduled for April 26, from 6-8 p.m. on the front lot…
Construction begins on LA LGBT Center’s multi-generational Anita May Rosenstein Campus. BY PAULO MURILLO The Los Angeles LGBT Center hosted a groundbreaking ceremony last month to start construction of The Center’s Anita May Rosenstein Campus—a comprehensive multi-generational services and affordable housing project. The ceremony was attended by LA Center officials, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti,…
– Photos & Text by Paulo Murillo – The Los Angeles LGBT Center hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to start construction of The Center’s Anita May Rosenstein Campus this past Saturday, March 18. The ceremony was attended by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilmember David Ryu, who were both speakers at the event. Lead donor…
Day One We asked a few local sober folks with over 10 years of sobriety to reflect on their first day sober and what life is like for them now. GOOD SAMARITAN “I had passed out in front of the Laurel Pet hospital and a woman picked me up and took me home. I call her my…
Stuart Timmons, gay author and LGBT historian, dies at 60. BY PAULO MURILLO Stuart Timmons, an LGBT activist, historian, journalist and author passed away last month. He was 60 years old. The cause of death appears to be due to breathing problems that led to heart failure. Timmons was best known as the author of…
Solidarity With Women’s March An estimated 750,000 people packed the streets of downtown Los Angeles last month in solidarity with all women for the Women’s March Los Angeles. The march was designed to unify communities, taking a stand for justice and equality for all – regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, or religion. Singer…
Letting GO With Valentine’s Day in mind, we asked a few local sober folks how they maintained their sobriety throughout the heartbreak of a breakup while in recovery. BY PAULO MURILLO TRY NEW THINGS “My divorce was around three years ago—I was like nine years sober at the time. I didn’t really think about using. I…
Four community leaders resign from Christopher Street West. BY PAULO MURILLO Turmoil from within continues to plague Christopher Street West (CSW), the non-profit organization responsible for organizing LA Pride in West Hollywood, as it now faces the New Year sans four valuable community leaders who jointly resigned as CSW board members in late December. Community…
KeepComingBack By Paulo Murillo Jacqueline Habhab on being newly sober again, life as a transgender woman and what’s it like coming out (twice) to a Muslim family from Des Moines, Iowa. FACING FACTS Coming back and getting sober again is overwhelming. I now identify as transgender. Coming from a family that’s Muslim in Des Moines, Iowa,…
