30 Days Of Holiday LGBT Giving: Whitman-Walker Health

Note: This holiday season, in lieu of a traditional holiday gift guide, we'll be featuring a different LGBT organization each day for our "30 Days Of LGBT Giving." Check back tomorrow for a look at another incredible group that's working tirelessly on behalf of the LGBT community.

When it comes to health care, people want a provider who they can trust, and this is especially true for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who often face discrimination when seeking treatment or advice. Whitman-Walker Health seeks to "be the highest quality, culturally competent community health center serving greater Washington's diverse urban community, including individuals who face barriers to accessing care, and with a special expertise in LGBT and HIV care."

The clinic, which sits in the heart of Washington D.C.'s Logan Circle neighborhood, has been around since 1973, first operating in the basement of the Georgetown Lutheran Church as the Gay Men’s VD Clinic, which was a part of the Washington Free Clinic. Now, the health center has become nationally and internationally recognized for its venerable, non-discriminatory health care toward the nation's most highly HIV infected population.

"Whitman-Walker was founded because of discrimination and stigma," said former board president Dr. Jeffrey S. Akman. "Whitman-Walker evolved as a way to meet the needs of people who were afraid to get to the doctor, who were afraid to get health care."

To learn more about this amazing health clinic in our nation's capitol and how you can help, take a look at their website, and find them on Facebook and Twitter @whitmanwalker.