LINA BRADFORD

DJ and Activist

Growing up in Manhattan, I always knew about Callen-Lorde. And when I decided to go the next level in my life, it was the only place for me. Trusting your health provider is one of the most important things in the LGBTQ community. I have never felt more comfortable with a facility as a have at Callen-Lorde. I’ve been with my providers there since the beginning. We don’t just have a patient/provider relationship. We talk about stuff. And that’s what Callen-Lorde is ─ a family affair. If you don’t have one, you have it with them.

I’ve always felt very honored and blessed in my life, to come from the place that I came from. I was put on my own ─ to do my own thing. And with that privilege, I knew that being my own person was the biggest thing I could do for myself. Finding friends, and people that I could come up with, was everything to me. The relationships I have with those people, are still the closest in my life.

In this internet age, that’s something I miss these days. I miss the touch, the feel, the smell of where it is we all came from. Going out, talking to people, seeing their faces, knowing them. I love people. I have always been about bringing people together. I’m one of those old school people who believes in all of us. I really do.

It’s amazing to see so many of our brothers and sisters now not feel like they have to wear a label. I’ve always been that way. I’m not just trans, or biracial, or Jewish. I’m Lina before I’m anything.

Everything I do, I do with love and light. I think about people. I care about people, because we are all deserving of love.

We have so much information now. We’ve come so far. Let’s stand up for ourselves, and our health. It’s the right thing to do.