As we look towards a new year, I wanted to say thank you for being a part of the Mazzoni Center family, a group of people from diverse backgrounds that help ensure we can continue providing life changing and life saving care to our community.

As we look back on this past year, I'm incredibly grateful for the energy, passion, and skill that keep Mazzoni Center on the front edge of LGBTQ+ health and wellness.

This past year, we've added EMDR, a game changing intervention to help address trauma in a shorter time than traditional therapeutic interventions, we've increased access to our medical center to help close the gap between availability and demand for LGBTQ+ competent health care in our region, and we've worked to create a more integrated model of care to ensure our patients and clients can receive holistic care that collaborates to address the needs of the whole person.

One of our core values at Mazzoni Center is to never turn someone away for their inability to pay for health care. We also know that, for many in our community, even the cost of a co-pay creates a choice between receiving care and paying for other critical needs like food, rent, or electricity. To help support those in our community who need additional support, this year we launched a Health Equity Fund to help cover healthcare costs for uninsured and underinsured patients, as well as those patients who cannot safely or securely utilize insurance coverage at Mazzoni Center.

Even with these additions, we know there is a greater need to meet when it comes to supporting our community. With attacks against trans health care being increasingly used as a political issue, banning of our history and existence in libraries across the country, and other efforts to erase us as a community, we know that our combined efforts to ensure our community is safe, healthy, and whole is as important as ever.

Whether it's because of the impressive work of the staff and volunteers who help us support our patients and clients, or your support as a member of the Mazzoni Center family, I want to end this year thanking you for being here. Our work is only as strong as the individuals who chose to take a stand for LGBTQ+life, health, and wellness, and I'm thankful that you're one of those individuals.

As we close out the year and look towards a new one, I look forward to continuing this work with you in the year ahead. As always, all that we were able to accomplish in our community over the past year was made possible by your generous support. You can help us continue to grow in impact in 2024 by clicking here.

Sultan Shakir, President and Executive Officer Mazzoni Center