HIPS

Future Forward is HIPS' celebration of all that we've accomplished in the last year. And it's a time for us to gear up for the fights to come. The event will include meeting HIPS staff and supporters, music and performances from local queer talent, and brief remarks from HIPS's leadership. Your ticket includes one drink ticket and light hors d'oeuvres. Visit the link in our bio to buy tickets. Event sponsorships are also available. We can't wait to see you.

A party needs music. A HIPS party needs someone who can turn it out. Enter: DJ ramz. Jason Ramsey — ramz [District Ignition | mnmlife | DC] — has spent nearly two decades helping shape D.C.’s underground dance music scene as a DJ, promoter and event manager. One of the original founders of District Ignition, he’s worked with mainstays and legends including Glow, Buzzlife, Badass Raves, Give Productions and mnmlife. Listen here: /EFZlee26pDwja21Rn0 Future Forward just got louder.

Second performer announcement? Baby, we are not slowing down. KC B. Yoncé is joining us for HIPS: Future Forward on May 28. One of D.C.’s most iconic drag performers, KC B. Yoncé is known for her Beyoncé impersonation and can be seen all over the DMV hosting events, brunches and drag shows. Follow her at @kcbyonce — and come see her live at Future Forward. Link in bio.

Clear your calendar. Fix your wig. Text the group chat. Mari Con Carne is performing at HIPS: Future Forward on May 28. Voted 2025 DC’s Best Drag Queen, Mari Con Carne is a local performer and community activist. In the six years she’s been performing, she’s kept community in the forefront while delivering captivating performances. Follow @_mariconcarne and get your tickets now. Link in bio.

Put on something cute and come see us. Join HIPS for Future Forward on May 28 at Johnny Pistolas. Link in bio.

Join Us! Community Powered Public Health: a Screening of the Film, 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐀 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐄. Marking the 45th Anniversary of the first report of AIDS with reflection on lessons to learn from the community led response while honoring those who we have lost to HIV and AIDS. Let’s recommit to the work ahead and celebrate our shared courage. 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 | 𝟓:𝟑𝟎 – 𝟕:𝟒𝟓 𝐏𝐌 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐆𝐖𝐔 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝟕𝟑𝟎 𝟐𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐭 𝐍𝐖, 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧, 𝐃𝐂 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟓𝟐 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄! Register here: 𝐪𝐫𝐜𝐨.𝐝𝐞/𝐛𝐠𝐧𝐃𝐐𝐨 (LINK IN BIO) Brought to you by: Whitman-Walker Health, and our partners: Center for Black Equity, Food & Friends, HIPS, and Us Helping Us 𝑺𝒀𝑵𝑶𝑷𝑺𝑰𝑺 David France’s HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE tells an astounding story of activism and innovation – about AIDS survival, not death – which has been overlooked until this timely documentary. Culled from a massive trove of archival footage, the film is both epic and intimate, tracking a small group of people, most of them HIV-positive, in their nine-year-long battle to save their own lives. They end up saving 6,000,000. It begins in 1987, six years into the epidemic, in Greenwich Village, New York – the early global epicenter of the epidemic, where half the gay men are already HIV-positive. On the unfortunate side of that statistic is Peter Staley, an ambitious young bond trader with boy-next-door looks. Without medications to treat the infection, he is quickly forced on disability at age 26 and given just 18 months to live. Desperate to extend his prognosis – and personally shocked by the indifference of government and Pharma – Peter joins ACT UP, the history-changing AIDS activist group. There he aligns with an unlikely ensemble of fiercely intelligent young men and women: a drama school drop-out, a chain-smoking film archivist, a New Wave club DJ, a teenager with a GED, an avant-garde video artist, and an established PR pro among them. None has any medical training. But in their relentless defiance and will to live, Peter sees his only glimmer of hope. This is their collective story.

She’s giving community. She’s giving celebration. She’s giving support HIPS. Join us May 28 for Future Forward. Link in bio.

HIPS mourns the passing of Michelle Spikes, a community member, fierce and caring advocate, and former HIPS staff member. Michelle served across many aspects of HIPS' work, including overnight shifts with our mobile services team and with our clinical services team. Michelle’s bright, beautiful smile will be missed. May she rest in power. She is already greatly missed by her friends and colleagues.

Y’all are amazing. Thank you to everyone who donated, shared, commented or helped spread the word. You showed up for HIPS in a huge way. We have met our original goal. We are leaving the fundraising page up (link in bio), and any additional gifts will go toward security and the safety of our clients and team. Thank you. Truly.

This is not an April Fools joke. We really wish it were. Someone threw a brick through the window at our main drop-in center overnight. We are trying to raise $3,945 to help us respond. If 100 people give $40, we will reach our goal. Link in bio.

Trans people have always been here, and we’re not going anywhere. Today, we celebrate trans life, trans joy, and the right to live safely, openly, fully. No apologies. Happy Trans Day of Visibility.

Due to the inclement weather, HIPS programs and services are closed for the rest of the day today, Monday, March 16. We will return to normal operations tomorrow. Stay safe.