Charles Koehler  0:02  
I'm Charles Koehler, and this is Lambda Reports, a program by and for the St. Louis lesbian and gay community. Every year about this time, many of us are asked by our employers to dig deep in our pockets to contribute to an organization that some feel is not meeting the needs of the lesbian or gay community, however, others feel quite differently about it. I welcome to Lambda Reports. Mr. Charles White from United Way of Greater St Louis. Good morning and thank you. Mr. White is Vice President of Communications for United Way and has been with United Way of Greater St Louis for over 15 years. That's quite a track record.

Charles White  0:44  
Well, it's, I think, a very worthwhile organization, and it's been a very pleasant 15 years.

Charles Koehler  0:51  
Can you tell us about how many agencies are supported by the United Way and the range of services that United Way provides through these agencies.

Charles White  1:00  
We fund provide program support to more than 130 agencies and organizations throughout the Missouri and Illinois, Greater St Louis area. The range of services that those groups provide go from residential care for the elderly, on the one hand, to care for children who have been abused. On the other, as far as age is concerned, many, many health services are provided, from the work of the United Cerebral Palsy, which has been a member for many years to next year, the work of a number of national voluntary health agencies that have been amended for first time funding. There are too many, really, to remember or to list them. 

Charles Koehler  1:52  
Yes, I've noticed that some of the agencies that you mentioned are quite specific in terms of the population or the people that they serve. I was wondering if you could tell us of any agencies that specifically address the needs of the lesbian or gay community.

Charles White  2:10  
None to my knowledge, specifically address the needs of the lesbian or gay communities, with the exception of three organizations that are conducting programs aimed at AIDS and helping persons living with AIDS. United Way has provided venture grant funds to these three organizations in excess of a quarter of a million dollars, and I think it might be worth mentioning those three (Sure.) agencies in those programs. One is the American Red Cross, which is a long time partner of the United Way and in this community, and they're conducting a public education program aimed at helping people to understand the problem that is AIDS, how to avoid coming in contact with it, how to avoid contracting AIDS. This is done through school groups, community groups, at the workplace, and includes voluntary testing, and then if indeed the individual who has taken the test shows a positive reaction, then it includes counseling and referral as necessary. A second program that the United Way has funded is under the auspices of the Interfaith Task Force. This is called Doorways, and it provides residential and other services to persons living with AIDS. Excuse me, whether it be through various apartments that they they manage, or in the form of financial assistance to people who want to or must, for some reason, remain in their own homes, and also includes comprehensive case management. The third one is the St. Louis Effort for AIDS, which operates, or is just beginning to operate, something called a Venture Club, which is a drop in center for persons living with AIDS, where they can come in, meet each other, work together in projects whatever, and in essence, form a support group for themselves. This is a very frightening problem, I'm sure, for those who have been diagnosed as having it, and this way, they can be a sort of a self help support group through this place, it is a structured and yet very unstructured environment that is is being offered here. 

Charles Koehler  4:57  
I see, and It's interesting that you should mention about St Louis effort for AIDS, because a recent survey, reader survey in the Riverfront Times listed the best of all different types of areas in St. Louis, and they listed the number one charity in St Louis as being the United Way, and number two was St Louis Effort for AIDS. And so we see here that the St Louis Chapter of United Way is addressing the needs that that need to be met through St. Louis Effort for AIDS. I was I was wondering what sort of training employees working at United Way agencies might have received to sensitize them to the needs of the lesbian or gay community.

Charles White  5:53  
Charles, I cannot answer that. I am not aware of what programs there may be to satisfy that.

Charles Koehler  6:03  
I am aware that that the lesbian and gay hotline refers callers to an United Way funded agency in case the emergency comes up and the caller needs help immediately. And I think that might be contact St. Louis or some other agencies such as that. So I would imagine that those folks that answer calls when someone is not available through the lesbian and gay hotline is trained and is sensitized to needs in the lesbian and gay community,

Charles White  6:41  
I would hope so. 

Charles Koehler  6:42  
Yes, go ahead.

Charles White  6:45  
United Way, speaking of hotlines does have, I will call it a hotline, for lack of a better term for it, something called first call for help. And this is a direct service to the members of the community. And I think it's worth mentioning this phone number, perhaps several times as in the commercials. It's 421-info, I, N, F, O, which, if you look at the little buttons on your phone, translates into 4636, but it's easier to remember as info. And this is a 24 hour day service, confidential, free, provided by the United Way. And there are highly qualified and trained volunteers and staff who respond to calls from the public, and they can refer individuals to a data bank list of more than 1200 organizations offering more than 4000 programs to help people. Now they do have in this data bank organizations which relate to the members of the gay and lesbian communities. I talked with the young woman who is involved in this program before coming out here to talk with you today, sure, and she suggested the best thing to do is just give that four to one info number, rather than my trying to speak of a whole raft of different organizations, because some of them are less than full time office operations with receptionists and that sort of thing. Many of them are support groups, where, as she pointed out, quite rightly, I think it might be somebody's home phone, and start passing out home phones over the air in this way, could be a problem. The people there who will respond to that, 421-INFO, right, will indeed, as necessary, perhaps screen the calls and so forth to determine that these are indeed legitimate calls before they make any referrals.

Charles Koehler  8:57  
I know of several people who work for United Way agencies that are lesbian or gay, that the people they are that is and they've relayed many of the good work that the United Way does for individuals in the lesbian and gay community, one of which is the work that the support that United Way supported agency that helps women who have been physically abused, that they are also open to and and regularly give assistance to lesbians who might have been abused in one way or another by their their partner. So I know that that firsthand in in other cities,in the United States, lesbian and gay related organizations, like Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays or PFLAG receive funding directly in their area from the United Way. I was wondering why we haven't seen this happen in St Louis. 

Charles White  10:19  
I think it's as simple as the fact that no applications for funding have been received.

Charles Koehler  10:27  
Can you tell us a little bit about that process? 

Charles White  10:30  
The process and we make a point of this being a benefit to those we ask to give is a fairly vigorous one. C ase there are folks listening who might wish to participate in that, I can, I can say that now would be the time to take the first step, which is to call the United Way office phone number there is 421-0700, ask for the allocations department, and request a copy of the eligibility criteria that will indeed be then mailed. Then sometime between the 15th of November of this year and the 15th of january 1990 submit a written request for an application to be considered as a member. This seems like a lot of steps, and it is, but then indeed, the completed application for membership must be submitted to the allocations department by the 31st of January of next year in order to be considered for funding in 1991. Now, an organization that receives the criteria and feel that they do indeed meet the criteria and fills out this application form, giving all that information would then be their application would be reviewed by staff and by volunteer members of the admissions committee, it would then go to the particular committee that deals with the type of service. And there are nine of these that deal with areas of human service, so that there are nine different committees, each one of which is dealing with a daycare agency, For example, daycare is handled in one committee, so they can refer back and forth from a basis of knowledge. These volunteers and perhaps staff would then visit the agency, look at the agency's programs and evaluate how that agency's services to people served, the needs in the communities relate to the other agencies that do receive funding from the United Way, several very specific needs must be met. One, the organization must have a state charter, must be licensed by the state, must be a 501c3, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Without those things, it needn't go any any further. It also should have been in business for two years, which demonstrates the ability to to operate and so forth. They must have a board of directors, the members of which are not paid for, for serving as members of the board and a number of other things, but that state accreditation and licensing, 501c3, are, are just absolutes, 

Charles Koehler  13:33  
Great. Well, we have about 45 seconds left. Is there? Is there anything else that you'd like to tell our audience about the United Way in relation to the lesbian and gay community,

Charles White  13:46  
I think the last thing would be that the United Way agencies report to us on who they serve and the data they supply indicates that United Way agencies have served one out of every three people in our community. I think that that indicates that the United Way does indeed serve members of the gay and lesbian community.

Charles Koehler  14:10  
Great, well that's that's all the time we have for today. And I'd like to thank our guest, Charles White from the United Way of Greater St Louis. If any of our listeners have any questions on the services provided by the United Way agencies, they can call 421-0700. That's 421-0700. Or they can call the number that Mr. White mentioned, 421-INFO, that's 421-4636, if you are in need of help, I'm Charles Koehler, and this has been Lambda Reports. Tune us in next week. .

Transcribed by https://otter.ai