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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Andrea Rodriguez, Health Equity Liaison at Outsmart NYC, on Nightlife and Health Equity
6:43:23
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146 sec
Andrea Rodriguez, Health Equity Liaison at Outsmart NYC, testified about the importance of nightlife for diverse communities and the organization's efforts to promote health and safety in nightlife spaces. She emphasized the cultural significance of nightlife and its role in providing spaces for celebration, healing, and self-expression.
- Outsmart NYC tailors workshops to reflect the culture of each venue and the communities they serve
- The organization developed a training program focusing on the well-being of trans and gender nonconforming people in nightlife
- Rodriguez requested support to continue their work, including expanding language accessibility for immigrant nightlife workers
Andrea Rodriguez
6:43:23
Hi everyone.
6:43:24
My name is Andrea and I started with Outsmart in May of twenty twenty three as the health equity in LF Liaison.
6:43:31
I'm also a patron of nightlife and I also perform harm reduction for for nightlife.
6:43:36
And as a child of immigrant, I understand this the importance of spaces for joy, dance, and also the importance of immigrants in nightlife community.
6:43:45
As a queer person, nightlife has been a lifeline.
6:43:48
New York has always been a cultural epicenter for the world and so much of that culture comes from nightlife.
6:43:53
What I've come to understand is that nightlife is neutral, she has, and will always be there for all of us.
6:43:59
To celebrate, to grieve, to create, work, inspire, and heal.
6:44:04
These spaces where many of us can finally decompress and take off the mask we've been wearing all day and sometimes all of our lives.
6:44:10
I believe that everyone deserves to return home not safe but well.
6:44:15
Altmar understands that the health of nightlife goes beyond safety.
6:44:18
It's about the well-being of everyone and every stakeholder in the room.
6:44:22
We meet we meet businesses where they're at.
6:44:25
We do not signal virtue.
6:44:27
We tailor our workshops to reflect our the culture of each venue, the people who work there, and the communities they serve without compromising our values and principles.
6:44:36
We also take the history and context of nightlife seriously.
6:44:39
Last year, we brought together a group of trans life trans nightlife workers who designed a training specifically to center the well-being of trans and gender nonconforming people.
6:44:49
This community is not only at higher risk and also and also has and will always shape so much of nightlife culture in New York and around the world.
6:44:57
The training piloted at Elsewhere in Brooklyn included a framework from one facilitator's PhD research.
6:45:03
It focused on a spectrum of safety for trans people from the absence of harm to the presence of celebration and belonging.
6:45:10
It helps staff understand how part of how every part of a venue, including how security checks are done, can be made more affirming.
6:45:19
We ask we are asking for your support so we can continue to support New Yorkers.
6:45:23
We're also working in language accessibility as immigrants and high life workers are facing unprecedented times and becoming more at risk.
6:45:33
We offer workshops right now and information in English and Spanish at this time.
6:45:38
We are asking for your support so we can continue supporting New Yorkers.
6:45:41
And if you want to know how healthy a city is, look at its nightlife.
6:45:46
And for many of us, a DJ really did save our lives.
6:45:49
Thank you.