New Pride center director aims to improve health care access, broaden reach in Savannah
Michael Bell got involved in his community in New Jersey following an assault, stints in psychiatric hospitals and addition to prescription medication when he was young.
It started with lobbying for hate crime legislation during President Bill Clinton's administration with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, being mentored and guided by non-profit leaders and has culminated here, as the new executive director for Savannah's First City Pride Center.
"This is the work and dedication I've been doing for a long time," Bell said. "Centers outlive and are much bigger than people and personalities. There is a larger responsibility to care for a community that has significant barriers, historically, to health care."
When Bell and his husband came to visit Savannah in August 2023 and came across the Pride Center, he felt like he could bring his 20 years of experience to the community, find a permanent location for center and expand its already existing programs.
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First City pride offers programs like vaccinations, HIV Testing, various support and clinical groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and youth groups, a Sunday service at St. Luke's and social events like open mic nights.
Bell was previously the CEO of Hudson Pride Center, New Jersey's largest LGBTQ+ center, where they "achieved significant milestones including forging strategic partnerships to improve access to quality healthcare for LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly those living at or below the federal poverty line," according to a press release.
He looks to continue that work here in providing essential care for LGBTQ+ community, and believes that FCPC, like all centers across the country are at a crossroads.
"Okay we've done the grassroots organizing and opening, we have Pride, we have vital services that we offer a center," Bell said. "It's a natural thing that happens across the country where you get really heavily involved in your events stuff because it pays the bills. But now it's time to expand."
While members of the LGBTQ+ community have many of the same health concerns as their straight or cis counterparts, they experience health challenges and several unique health challenges at higher rates, according to recent research. LGBTQ+ people also typically have challenges accessing health care, whether that's related to cost, insurance barriers or poor provider experiences.
"It's our job to understand the disparities and blockages that our community faces towards health crises," Bell said. "When you walk in our door, we want to give you a connection to care medically, with physicians that are trained to be able to work with you. Then there's holistic care, yoga, meditation, energy healing, bring care back into the person's home and empowering people to take their own self-care back to themselves, rather than giving it up to medical services."
LGBT community centers, or Pride centers, are meant to bring communities together and Bell intends to do that by making sure FCPC's events are "richly diverse" and for everyone. Senior programming is one facet they'll focus on, because he believes that Savannah has positioned itself to be a destination for senior populations.
"I'm also very well aware that, even within the two weeks that I've been here, many of the events that I've been to here are predominately white," Bell said. "I need to get across that it doesn't matter, that we can add on all the programs we want, do the job as the center all we want and exist for 10 to 20 years, but the work really needs to be done in building the relationships. and connectivity and intersectionality."
Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for Chatham County municipalities for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at dambus@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: First City Pride director to emphasize healthcare, intersectionality
