New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
-based
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
devoted to serving the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) youth between the ages of 13 and 24, and their families.
It was founded in 1979 by Dr. Emery Hetrick and Dr. Damien Martin as the Institute for the Protection of Lesbian and Gay Youth as a response to the needs of vulnerable and at risk LGBT youth in New York City. Following a private donation in 1983, matched by a grant from the New York State Division for Youth they were able to open an office at East 23rd Street, provide a drop-in centre and significantly expand their provision of LGBT youth counseling.
In 1985, with funding from the
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...
, HMI established the
Harvey Milk High School
Harvey Milk High School (HMHS) is a public high school in the East Village of Lower Manhattan in New York City designed for, though not limited to, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender young people, as well as those questioning their sexuali ...
, the first high school in the United States that specifically catered to LGBT students. HMI directly managed the school until 2002/3, when it became a fully accredited public school managed by the New York Department of Education. Both the institute and the school still operate out a joint location on Astor Place in Manhattan.
In December 1988, following the death of Dr. Emery Hetrick in 1987 from AIDS related complications, Dr. Damien Martin was interviewed by
Eric Marcus
Eric Marcus (born November 12, 1958, New York City) is an American journalist, podcast producer, and non-fiction writer. He is the founder and host of the ''Making Gay History'' podcast, which brings LGBT history to life through the voices of th ...
, as part of what would become his book and subsequently a podcast
Making Gay History
''Making Gay History'' is an oral history podcast on the subject of LGBT history, featuring trailblazers, activists, and allies. Most episodes draw on the three-decade-old audio archive of rare interviews that the podcast's founder and host Eric ...
, where he recounted his relationship and work founding what was, by then, renamed the Hetrick-Martin Institute in his and his deceased partners honour. Dr, Damien Martin died in 1991, also of AIDS related complications.
In 2011, the HMI expanded its services from Manhattan by launching HMI: Newark, a
pilot program
A pilot study, pilot project, pilot test, or pilot experiment is a small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research pro ...
to serve LGBTQ youth in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. Following the success of the pilot programme in July 2014, Dr. Ashawnda Fleming was appointed Executive Director of HMI: Newark. The program has been subsequently expanded to include four counties in New Jersey and renamed HMI: New Jersey.