Family Health Centers of San Diego’s Transgender Health Project is researching the needs of the San Diego County transgender community. Funded by The California Endowment, the project is currently conducting a comprehensive needs assessment to document the specific needs of this community. The results of the project will culminate in the San Diego Transgender Healthcare Needs Report. Many transgender people live below poverty level with yearly incomes less than $10,000. Additionally, many health and social service agencies lack the training and experience to meet the specific needs of this population. The needs assessment acts as a blueprint for developing much-needed services. All individuals who identity on the transgender continuum are asked to participate in the needs assessment by contacting Tracie Jada O’Brien at (619) 515-2411 or tracieo@fhcsd.org. There is an incentive for all who participate.

Fraternity House, Inc., invites the community to dine in style while simultaneously making a difference in the lives of men and women living with HIV/AIDS. As San Diego County’s only nonprofit organization licensed to provide residential care facilities for the chronically ill, Fraternity House presents its fifth annual Fraternity Feasts series, a sequence of elegant dining experiences designed to raise funds in support of the vital services Fraternity House provides. Guests enjoy sumptuous meals, beautiful homes and gardens and inspiring people. Each host has agreed to underwrite the cost of the evening so that the full proceeds from the dinner ticket sales go straight to the support of Fraternity House residents.

The next dinner in the series is “Bird Rock at Sunset”, taking place at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18. Bill Purves and Don Schmidt will host the dinner at their award-winning home overlooking Bird Rock at sunset. After cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, an intimate roast beef and Yorkshire pudding dinner will be served. Space is limited to six guests and tickets are $75 per person. To make reservations for the feast, contact Abby Schwartz at (760) 736-0292, ext.103.

The fifth annual North County Pride in the Park is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 2. The event takes place at Brengle Terrace Park, located at 1200 Vale Terrace Dr. in Vista. The theme for this year’s festival is “5 Years of Expanding Community Through Awareness”. The free event runs from 12:00 noon until 5:00 p.m.

North County Pride in the Park offers a resource and health fair, live entertainment and a children’s area. Refreshments, food, beer and wine will be available for purchase. Visual artists will be able to display their work in a special exhibit space being sponsored by Real Individuals Seeking Expression (R.I.S.E.).

The Center will host an evening with Kate Kendell, the executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) on Friday, Sept. 17, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

In her conversation, “Breaking Ground: The New Legal Landscape in America and California for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Folks”, Kendell will discuss marriage, the exciting and groundbreaking work of the NCLR and the overall movement for GLBT equality. Kendell and NCLR have been at the forefront of working on legal protections for same-sex couples and their families. This year, NCLR, Lambda Legal and the ACLU have jointly filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that excluding same-sex couples from the right to marry violates the California Constitution.

For more information, contact AJ Davis, The Center’s director of public policy, at (619) 692-2077 ext. 212.

During the fall scholarship cycle, from Aug. 16 to Oct. 18, San Diego State University will be accepting applications for the Cotton-Metzger Gay and Lesbian Scholarship and the Tobias “Toby” Edgmon Memorial Scholarship. These scholarships are made available to GLBT students from all class levels. SDSU encourages all GLBT students in need of financial support for their SDSU education to go to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship website to review additional information on these scholarships and apply online.

For more information, contact Patti Scott, associate development director for scholarships at SDSU, at (619) 594-0279.

On Friday, Sept. 24, the first ever “Rock the Walk”, a benefit concert for AIDS Walk San Diego 2004, will be hosted by Joelle Reeder and Allison Gill at the Casbah, located at 2501 Ketner Blvd. in Little Italy. This concert, the first of its kind locally, will help raise needed funds for HIV and AIDS research and services in San Diego. All proceeds from the concert will be donated to the AIDS Walk on the day of the walk.

Rock the Walk starts at 7:00 p.m. and features a lineup of some of the top bands in San Diego, including Rayleigh Scattering, The After Party, Velvet Tongue, The Q and Buckfast Superbee. Guitar Center in La Mesa has donated a top-of-the-line guitar that will be auctioned off during the concert.

For more information about Rock the Walk, including donation information, band roster and event updates, email joelle@rockthewalk.org. For more information on AIDS Walk San Diego, call (619) 291-WALK.

The Center will host a Community Coalition Breakfast focusing on home ownership, investing and wealth management on Friday, Sept. 17, at The Center from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. The Community Coalition Breakfast panel will include financial planning, real estate and banking/financing experts.

The Center’s Community Coalition Breakfast occurs on the third Friday of each month. The mission of the breakfast is to bring together fair-minded individuals to network, educate and discuss the diverse issues that concern the GLBT community and allied neighbors and citizens of San Diego. Each attendee is asked for a $6 donation to cover the cost of the full breakfast, provided by The Abbey Café. RSVPs are not required. ASL interpretation will be provided upon request. Requests must be sent to AJ Davis at adavis@thecentersd.org at least seven working days before the event.

For the fifth year running, Home Start, Inc. teams with Bourbon Street to host “Harvest Fest V”, a hip annual celebration to raise funds for child abuse prevention, on Thursday, Oct. 14, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Bourbon Street. Support for the event, which drew over 100 attendees last year, is provided by Wells Fargo, 2004 lead sponsor, and by the Imperial Court de San Diego, Shaw Web Technologies, Frenz Designs, Cox & Scott Entertainment, Stu’s Carpet Clean and Beesworks. Frenz Designs’ owner, Big Mike, will chair this event. The guest emcee will be Dave Carlin, a reporter and anchor of KSWB’s News at 10, and Bourbon Street’s DJ Kenny will also participate. There will be surprise live entertainment and a silent auction.

The event will feature premium beer sampling, courtesy of Anheuser Busch Sales of San Diego, and hors d’oeuvres from Abellire, Chipotle Mexican Grill, The Abby Café, Taste of Italy, Hummingbird Confections and Twiggs Bakery. Admission is $30 and, because space is limited and the popularity of this event grows each year, reservations are encouraged. Contact Sharon Hudnall at (619) 692-0727 for more information.

The organization formerly known as Outfest San Diego has reorganized and expanded under a new name, FilmOut San Diego.

Along with the name change, FilmOut San Diego has changed the festival dates to a spring timeslot. The first festival under the direction of FilmOut San Diego will be presented April 13-16, 2005. According to FilmOut San Diego’s executive director, the affiliation with the Outfest organization was no longer logical and the advisory board felt it was time to break out on their own.