Dear Editor:

I would like to commend the Gay & Lesbian Times for selecting Gloria Johnson as its Person of the Year. Gloria has been an outstanding leader in our community for decades and is extremely worthy of this recognition.

I first met Gloria many years ago volunteering on local Democratic political campaigns. Her activism was an inspiration to me then as a young person in our community and now as a City Councilmember.

San Diego is a better place because of her many contributions to LGBT and women’s rights. Women, lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and other marginalized groups enjoy a greater degree of equality and freedom due in part to Gloria’s efforts over so many years.

Thank you Gloria for your service and to the GLT for acknowledging one of our community’s heroes!

Todd Gloria

Dear Editor:

I find your cover picture of a man strangling himself with a cord and the caption ‘surviving the holidays’ to be extremely insensitive and offensive. Suicide and suicidal thoughts are not a laughing matter, especially in our community where the statistics for suicide are so much higher. You should have know better and been more thoughtful before publishing that cover. A cliche sexy santa would have sufficed.

thank you,

Jim

Dear Editor:

On behalf of the staff and volunteers at Auntie Helen’s I want to say thank you for the wonderful story you did on us. On January 2, 2010 I will have been here working in the gay community 22 years. Their have been ups and downs, happiness and a great deal of tragedy. Frankly I am not sure why I am still here. I wasn’t any healthier or sicker than the rest of the P.W.A.’s, I guess just luckier, But I wouldn’t change any of my experiences for the world. I personally consider myself a better person for all the guidance we got from alot of the leaders that are no longer with us.

Their are a few things that I should clear up about Auntie Helen’s:

First: We are not in Normal Heights. We are on 4028 30th street. Five doors down from the Redwing Bar and Grill. We have been there for almost 18 years.

We didn’t lose our Ryan White funding 2 years ago. We lost it in 1999. But through the skill and help from a great grant writer we overcame that shortfall.

However after receiving Aids walk money from the very beginning, 2 years ago we were cut off. No explanations that were valid were given to Bob Stanley, me or the rest of the staff.

We still do laundry for a a large amount of A.I.D.S. patients. We still provide services for aids patients south of the border. And most of all we help in our community whenever we are asked. The AIDS walk money is very important. We, like most of the country are struggling economically. We respectfully ask the people in charge of A.I.D.S. walk to please consider all I have said. Auntie Helen’s has been there since the beginning and hopefully we will still go on serving our community.

Sincerely,

Michael John Dudley

Volunteer Emeritus/Store Manager