As Health Care is Slashed Nationwide, AHF and FLUX Create a Health Care Center That is ‘Open for ALL’

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 16, 2026--

Today, in Los Angeles, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and FLUX celebrated the opening of a brand new full-service health care center in the heart of the LGBTQ+ Community that is ‘Open for All.’ The Center, called the Connie Norman Transgender Health Care Center, is now open inside the Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center (CONOTEC).

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Queen Chela Demuir, COO of CONOTEC, CEO of Unique Woman’s Coalition, began her remarks by stating, “We care for everyone. This is not just a ribbon-cutting ceremony. This is about who we are and what we do. This Health Care Center is in our Community but we are inclusive, this is open for all.”

“When you care for the most marginalized in our nation, you end up caring for all. We welcome everyone to stand with us in our Righteous Rebellion as we fight to prevail over injustice. We know we are on the right side of history, and we will never stop fighting for our Community,” stated Queen Victoria Ortega, Int. President & Chief Visionary Officer of FLUX/CONOTEC.

Razan Alawadhi, a Nurse Practitioner who will be a primary health care provider for the Health Care Center, emphasized, “We treat the whole person, offering everything under the health care umbrella: primary care, HIV treatment and prevention, transgender health, and sexual health.”

Laith Ashley, FLUX Ambassador, model and actor, told stories about experiencing personal discrimination in health care and said, “Today we open these doors when TGI (Transgender, Gender Diverse, & Intersex) people are facing more discrimination than ever. Today, we stand together and say we deserve health care - health care that is designed with us, for us, and guided by our voices. Today, we are expanding hope.”

Dr. Carl Millner, the Chief Medical Officer for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, joined the celebration, saying, “When others close doors, we open them. My experience has taught me that healthcare works best when we treat the whole person. This Health Care Center helps move us towards a place where health care is truly a human right.”

The Health Care Center is located on the second floor of CONOTEC and is now open to serve the Los Angeles Community.

(L to R, front row) Queen Victoria Ortega, International President FLUX/CONOTEC & Chief Visionary Officer; Queen Chela Demuir, COO CONOTEC and CEO, Unique Woman’s Coalition; and Dr. Carl Millner, AHF Chief Medical Officer; prepare to cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony of the Connie Norman Transgender Health Care Clinic in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, March 14, 2026. “You are Loved,” the mural on the ceiling, is by Mister Samo, a Trans artist, public speaker and activist, and welcomes visitors with open arms and a “huge warm hug” as they ascend the stairs to the clinic. Jordan Strauss, AP for AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF).

Razan Alawadhi, AHF Nurse Practitioner, Connie Norman Transgender Health Care Clinic (left, in doorway); shows the media a treatment room during a ribbon-cutting and opening ceremony of the Connie Norman Transgender Health Care Clinic in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, March 14, 2026. The addition of the Connie Norman Transgender Health Care Clinic, which can provide all needed health care services and HIV and STI Testing, will provide a safe and welcoming facility that is ‘Open For ALL’ at the Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center (CONOTEC). Jordan Strauss, AP for AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF).

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear arguments over the Trump administration’s push to end legal protections for people fleeing war and natural disaster from countries around the world, including Haiti and Syria.

The justices refused to immediately lift the protections for hundreds of thousands of people Monday, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. legally for now.

The court is expected to hear the case next month.

The conservative-majority court has sided with the Trump administration on the issue before and allowed the end of similar legal protections for a total of 600,000 people from Venezuela while lawsuits play out, exposing them to potential deportation.

The Trump administration filed emergency appeals after lower courts stopped the immediate end of temporary protected status for 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,000 people from Syria.

The Justice Department argued that the Department of Homeland Security has sole power to end the protections, which were originally designed to be temporary.

But immigration attorneys argued that both countries are still largely in crisis and people can't return safely.

Courts in New York and Washington, D.C., have agreed to delay the end of protections, with one finding that “hostility to nonwhite immigrants” likely played a role in the decision to end protections for Haitians. Appeals courts left the decisions in place.

A total of about 1.3 million people fleeing armed conflict and natural disasters around the world have been granted temporary protected status. The administration is asking the court for a broad ruling that would block courts from intervening when Homeland Security decides to end a designation.

Authorities have said conditions in the affected countries have improved and denied racial animus played a role.

Temporary protected status allows people to legally live and work in the U.S., though it does not provide a path to citizenship. Homeland Security has moved to terminate the program for people from multiple countries since Republican Donald Trump returned to the White House.

The U.S. Supreme Court as seen during a snowy day on Capitol Hill Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)