Fenway Health staff, friends and supporters came out to celebrate the accomplishments of Henia Handler (center, with red rose and jacket) at the Fenway Community Development Corporation’s November 21 event at the Susan Bailis Assisted Living facility.
Photo: The Fenway Community Development Corporation
BOSTON, Mass. — Each year the Fenway Community Development Corporation (FCDC) celebrates a leader who has made a significant contribution to the Fenway and its residents.
On November 14, over 100 community members and friends joined the FCDC at the Susan Bailis Assisted Living in Boston to celebrate the inspiring leadership and dedicated service of Henia Handler, the Director of Government Affairs at Fenway Health. For two decades, Henia has been passionately advocating for quality healthcare access for all and securing resources to improve the quality of lives especially members in the LGBT community. Her work has particular resonance for FCDC as it was the first developer to create housing in the U.S. for people with HIV/AIDS. [pullquote]For two decades, Henia has been passionately advocating for quality healthcare access for all and securing resources to improve the quality of lives especially members in the LGBT community.[/pullquote]
In October, the FCDC board members created the Joyce Foster Community Impact Award in memory of Joyce Foster, the former board member with long-standing community service and mastermind of this Celebrating Community Leader event. It seems especially fitting that Henia Handler, a woman of great heart whose work has touched so many lives, should be its first recipient.
About Fenway CDC:
Fenway Community Development Corporation (FCDC) is a membership organization founded in 1973 that works to achieve greater residential stability and diversity in the Fenway neighborhood. We engage residents in community planning, develop affordable housing, and advocate for services to meet the needs of low- and moderate-income residents.
About Fenway Health:
For more than forty years, Fenway Health has been working to make life healthier for the people in our neighborhood, the LGBT community, people living with HIV/AIDS and the broader population. The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health is an interdisciplinary center for research, training, education and policy development focusing on national and international health issues. Fenway’s Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center cares for youth and young adults ages 12 to 29 who may not feel comfortable going anywhere else, including those who are LGBT or just figuring things out; homeless or living on the streets; struggling with substance use or abuse; sex workers; or living with HIV/AIDS.
[From a News Release]
