Meeting People Where They Are

SMCC Outreach navigator and medical assistant Dylan Harvey shares what it's like meeting the community where they are, and how fatherhood, spirituality, and his roots on the White Mountain Apache reservation keep him grounded.

Spectrum Medical Care Centre
Maricopa County Community Resources
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
Vitalyst Health Foundation

Mental health resources:

Crisis & Suicide Prevention

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — Call or text 988, available 24/7. LGBTQ+ individuals can still call 988 and receive caring, confidential support, though the specialized "Press 3" option is no longer available. EveryMind
• The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ youth ages 24 and under) — TrevorLifeline: 1-866-488-7386 (24/7) | TrevorText: Text START to 678-678 (24/7) | TrevorChat available at thetrevorproject.org/get-help AFSP
• Trans Lifeline (by and for trans people) — 1-877-565-8860 (US), available 24/7 AFSP
• Crisis Text Line — Text HOME to 741741, available 24/7 Human Rights Campaign
• RAINN National Sexual Assault ...

Transcript

0:01

Hello, and welcome to the Lavender Lounge. I'm your host Anna, and today I'll be sitting down with Dylan Harvey, a medical assistant on Spectrum Medical's outreach team. Dylan does HIV and STI testing, helps people get on prep, and meets the community where they are, whether that's at a college campus, a bar, or a bathhouse. In this conversation, we talk about his journey into healthcare, what it's like doing outreach work, and how nature and spirituality keep him grounded. Dylan also shares about growing up on the White Mountain Apache Reservation and what acceptance looked like in his community. I really love this conversation and I hope you do too. Stay tuned. So tell me about yourself. Let's see here. What do you do? So I'm a medical assistant for Spectrum Medical, the outreach team. I've been with Spectrum for actually almost three years. Oh wow. And then I do the HIV STI testing and I help people get on prep, DoxyP, and just educate the community about how to keep themselves safe and and bring patients into the clinic. So it's a quick summary of what I do. But yeah, that's pretty much that's it. That's it. You're just you're just you're so casual about it. I'm like, you're about it sounds like you do a lot. I do. Oh, and I actually I also am in charge of the condom distribution. So it I have I love this job. It's probably the best job I've actually had. It's a lot of I'm outside a lot. I get to drive around, meet a lot of different people, and and yeah, I I really enjoy the people I work with. Oh, and uh a little bit about myself outside of work. I'm originally from a small town called White River. It's on the White Mount Apache Reservation. But currently I'm living in Phoenix and I really love to hike right now. I'm really enjoying hiking. I love the outdoors, and I'm I also like to camp as well. But yeah. Do you have a favorite camping spot? I normally camp up in the mountains, so it's like there's a lot of forests, a lot of lakes, a lot of streams, rivers, and I went camping last year and it was at Holly Lake, and I would say that was probably the best camping trip I've had because I had a lot of family there, and I also have a son, I should have mentioned that. I have a four-year-old, and he he caught his first fish during that camping trip. And I was a proud dude. That's hard to do. That's impressive. I can't, I could not do that when I went fishing. Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah, so tell me about the journey. What led you to outreach work, being in the healthcare field? How did that start? Was there like a moment that drew you to that field? Honestly, it was really a leap of faith. I was just looking to grow, and my last job, it was during the pandemic, and things were starting to die down and just slow, and I saw that spectrum was hiring for exactly what I was looking for, outreach. And so I'm like, why not? So I applied and I got a call back. But then yeah, they offered me the position. And once I got hired and got on board, I was really thrown back about how important this this work really is. Yeah, because I feel like just sexual health is not really talked much. Coming from my upbringing, it was kind of you're not supposed to talk about that. You have to wait till you married or you learn about the stuff in school, but I actually didn't really learn anything in school about it. And here I am three years later, and I've learned so much actually, and met a lot of an amazing people, been to a lot of amazing places, and yeah, I don't plan on leaving Spectrum anytime soon. So So you were talking about you learned a lot. What are some of the biggest things that you feel like you learned in that process with being at a sexual health clinic? I would say that I've learned to just take a step back and learn to make whoever I'm speaking with feel heard and try to make them feel comfortable and uh make it a safe space. And yeah, I've communicating and talking with people is a skill that I feel like I've come a long way. And I would say that's the big thing that I've I've noticed. Was that the question? Yes. Yeah, it was. No, that was that was the question. Um what what communities do you primarily work with on the outreach team? LGBTQ plus, we go to a lot of gay bars like Charlie's, we go to bathhouses and we test either outside in our mobile unit or we go inside and and they provide us with a space and we test where we're allowed to. But yeah. Yeah. And you said that you feel like through your work you help this community feel heard. What part of it do you feel like helps them feel heard? Uh I feel like we live in crazy times. So a lot of people have different opinions, and sometimes people are not able to go to their the people but like their loved ones about certain things and you know, just giving them a an opportunity to feel like you don't have to feel judged and I'm just I'm here to to serve you, to help as as much in the best way as I can. Yeah, so part of your role is to promote sex positivity and yeah, how would open discussion. I would say so, yeah. It's very important. Again, when I came to Spectrum, I didn't realize that HIV in the 80s was so scary, and then to see how far we've come to now, it's amazing to see the new prep pills that we have and just the services we provide. Yeah. Is there any parts of how you perceive gender and sex in your own personal life that's been challenged or transformed while being at Spectrum? Growing up, I have a lot of family members who are lesbian, and growing up on the reservation, it's not for my tribe, it doesn't bother anybody. In my culture, like going back in like the 1800s, we have uh her name was Lozen. I feel I feel like I'm saying her name wrong, but she was believed to be one of the first lesbian known Native Americans from my tribe. So it's always kind of just been a thing, and nobody has ever been uh bothered by by people, either being gay, lesbian, and coming to to Spectrum, it just almost feels normal. And I have siblings now that are coming out as well, and I feel like I'm in a good position to help them feel like it's it's it's okay to talk about these things. But yeah, I'm sorry, I'm coughing. No, that's really good. Uh that's really cool that you have that background. And I and I love that you're saying that in your community, like it's just a normal part of life, which it should be. Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah, that's really cool. Is there something that you believed about health care before you started your work as a community health worker that you think differently about now? I really don't like insurance companies. I like it just makes things so difficult for everybody, including myself. It I just wish it that wasn't a thing. I wish we were all able to have access to fair and good health care. Yeah. And yeah, that's always an issue because when I'm out in the community, that's something that people always tell me as well. That they tell me about because when we when I test some, I they open up to me and they've asked me the same question, semi-questions to what you just asked. And they tell me about how expensive their medical bills are, and and I kind of just I tell them about situations I've had in the past with them as well. And we yeah, I I don't I w I wish that was different. I don't yeah, me too. Yeah, I think every everyone in some capacity feels the same way, right? Yeah, yeah. That's what I think is inspiring about Spectrum Medical is that they offer not just healthcare, but premier specialty healthcare for the LGBTQ community. Yeah. So tell me more about your own background, like your personal identity. What are your own beliefs about health and wellness and healing? I would say I'm spiritual. I love to meditate, and I feel like that's what really helps me. What's what's guiding me? And when I go hiking, sometimes I'll just sit and just look at what I'm looking at, the mountains, the trees, and I don't know what it does, but it just resets me. I I'm I go on walks. Really, I just love to be with nature, but I'm learning more about the different breath works when it comes to meditating. And I would say also my son has a he's my world. I love him to death, and I just want to be the best for him and give him what I never had. So I strive to to be the best I can for him. And going back to meditating, it really helps me to slow down because I feel like life is just always on the go for me, especially having a kid. So meditating just helps me to think better, to make better decisions. So guide me through how you do breath work and meditation. Like what's your what's your process like? I really enjoy it's I I think it's called the the box uh breath technique where you count to four, you inhale, you hold the your breath for four seconds, you release it for four seconds, and then you just stay neutral, you don't inhale, exhale for four seconds, and then you just repeat the cycle four different times. By the fourth time you do it, I feel like for me, uh I get this really calm sensation where I start to notice that all my worries shouldn't worry me anymore. It it's not that big of an issue. And another breath work I do is I don't actually don't even know what it's called, but I what do they is it w the word panting when like dogs like yeah, yeah, I think so. Yeah, like breathing faster, yeah. Yeah, so I do that. So I inhale like two deep breaths, and then after that I pant, like do the panting for like 10 seconds, and then I hold my breath, and then that kind of does something to my mind, and I'm able to see almost clearly what I'm thinking, like visions almost. Like I'm Whoa, yeah. It's so I'm gonna try that right after this. It it it used to scare me, but now yeah, it's like I'm able to see my own thoughts, and uh I it can change what I'm thinking about and see what I'm thinking and Whoa, yeah. I uh I haven't told a lot of people that because some people don't think I'm telling the truth, but I that's her own experience. I encourage everyone to try it. Meditating really makes a difference. Out of curiosity, what are some you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but what are like some of the are the are they like personal things or like what do you you like see visuals? Some of them I feel like were visions that like someone I was gonna meet that day is come true, or or like almost it was like a message that I had to decrypt and figure out what it means and then apply it to myself, and then it does help me with that situation or just whatever it is. But it's how we I can go on and on about this, but I I mean I would love to hear more to be honest. I actually did it yesterday, and I was meditating, and I just I haven't seen my mom for a bit. She lives in Prescott and just thought about my mom, and then shortly after she gave me a call and talked to her. It was good to hear her voice again. Wow, yeah, so just stuff like that. I some of the stuff I don't I'm still trying to understand how I'm doing it, what's doing it. Yeah, I'm just I'm very spiritual right now. I'm in my spiritual phase right now. I haven't got to the the crystals yet. That's I'm gonna I'm gonna I wanna learn, but I mean it sounds like it has a a positive impact on your on your life. It really does, yeah. And then doing it in nature just intensifies it. Oh my gosh. It is like especially when you take off your shoes and socks and you put your your feet in in the dirt and then you meditate, say like on the edge of a cliff, and you can have a good view. Oh my gosh, it's just as if you're getting the best warm hug in the world. It's it's just feels so many positive feelings. And I want to meditate right now. Maybe we should. We're not exactly in nature, but I should have before this podcast. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a I'm still a little nervous. That's okay, that's fair. So it sounds like your spirituality is really tied into your health. Is that yes, is that true? Yeah, there's just so much stuff in my life, just like again, having a kid work and then just other things, and it could become overwhelming. And I feel like since I was a little kid, I just have all I've always had anxiety, like no matter what, and then I'm not able to think correctly. But when I uh I'm able to just sit in a quiet room and just listen to absolutely nothing, then I'm able to be aligned and um yeah, it definitely helps me make better decisions um for the future, for my son, myself, my health, and but yeah, yeah. Do you meditate? I need to meditate more that I've actually been thinking about that a lot recently. That I really need to find more time. I can't just have silence. I have a hard time with silence. You know what? I think it's challenging me. I'm the same way because my son, when he since he was a little kid, he slept with a sound machine, so he falls asleep to like waterfall sounds, and it's so loud. So I hear it, and now I feel like I'm the same way. I can't sleep unless there's that sound in the background. Yeah, even listening to like different frequency beats like theta, beta, alpha beats, brainwaves, some are meant to help you sleep, and yeah, it really just depends on what you're looking for. So depending on what I'm I'm needing in that moment, I'll pick one and just listen to it. And I'll listen to it. I actually was listening to it on my car here as I was waiting in the parking lot. I was I was like I'm like, I need to relax. What about your family? How does your family and community, what is their experience with with healthcare? They were very surprised that I was a medical assistant and phlebotomist because I draw people's blood all the time and occasionally give injections. I'm like one of the first family members in my family to be in the medical field. And so I think it just made them like want to try it out, and so that makes me feel good. So there's not really a lot of healthcare workers in my family, so yeah, I'm probably the only one at the moment, or one of the few. And so I'm not the smartest person in the world, but they think I am because I work alongside doctors, and so I'm like, uh like the pressure sometimes is a bit too much. You're representing, right? Yeah, so there's almost like this pressure that I feel like is upon me where I need to be who they want me to be. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A hundred million gazillion percent. Because I feel like also coming from a different cultural background. So, you know, like having that biculturalism. I know in my experience, you have that expectation of almost being the mediator between your family and the rest of the world, especially if your family is, you know, doesn't want to really interact with the rest of the world. So do you have experience with that? Yes, 100%. Yeah, they're very shy. They may not understand how things are now. So, kind of what I was saying, like the world's moving too fast and they're not really keeping up. I definitely feel that. I'm just like, I would say I'm the one who speaks for them. Like I some I've helped my aunt with her taxes. I'm probably not the best person for that. Like, or like even just going to doctor's appointments, they they want me to come along and they'll ask me to ask the person what this means. And I don't know, it's just small stuff like that. Yeah. I mean, I feel like it's hard to make that decision because you can either go with what your family wants you to do, or you end up being like, I don't want to be who society wants me to be or my family. I want to do my own thing. Yes. What's your experience with that? Like we were close when we maybe like 10 years ago, eight years ago, and now times are different, and they kind of expect that same treatment. And I'm just like, I have a kid now, man. Like, I I can't be be around this type of environment. And it's just yeah, growing up on the reservation, it's uh there's a lot of alcoholism. Uh and that's something I don't ever want to put like want my kid to be around. And a lot of my family members are s are struggling with alcoholism, and it's just I wish I could do more, but sometimes they have to be the one to want to change. Am I making sense? I'm kind of yes, yeah. It's a little it's a little sensitive. It's like, yeah, I just hard to observe that. Yeah, I wish like see that. I wish I can help them, but there's only so much I can do. So yeah, but but life's good. Life's life's outside of that. I love my family, and hopefully I'm making them proud. Yeah. You were telling me that you want to get into jewelry making. Yeah, my I had an aunt who used to do that, and my grandmother did too. What kind of jewelry is it? Like beadwork. Oh, beadwork, yeah, yes. So my tribe specifically does like beadwork and stuff. And I wouldn't mind learning like turquoise. If you're familiar with the turquoise, like bracelets and necklaces, and like going to find them, just like the whole thing. I would it just seems so peaceful to me. Yeah. Yeah. That sounds also really creative, and yeah, you get to put your own creativity into it. Yeah, for sure. Have you had any experience with jewelry work or I mean friendship bracelets? Those were fun. Can you tell me more about the tribe you're from? Do you guys do events? Like, how is that like for you? So I'm from the White Mount Apache Reservation. We're just south of Pint Up Sholo. I would say we're very isolated. So we're in high up in the mountains. And I personally think that the world is moving too fast that a lot of the leaders on my reservation are having a hard time keeping up. And so there should be changes that could help the community that I don't feel like are happening. And for example, like what I do, just like teaching people how to keep themselves safe and just being more creative and teaching our youth to become the new face of our tribe, like the leaders that we need them to be. Because there's a lot of work I feel like that needs to be done. I love where I come from. There hasn't really been a lot of change, and I don't know if it has to do with us being so far away from everything. But no, I love it. The town I grew up in, it's called White River, but I spent a lot of times just running around literally anywhere. In the forest, I'd go over the in the mountains and with my neighborhood friends, and we'd just explore, and I think that's where my obsession with nature came from. Just always being outside. If you were put in like if you suddenly were in a position where you could make the decisions in that area, what would you change personally? Ooh, I like that question because I've actually thought about that a lot. I I wouldn't really know how to do it, but I would first fix the roads and hire people just within the town because there's not a lot of jobs right now, but there's work that could be done. And picking up trash along the side of the roads, making sure our campsites or parks are are well maintained. I would try to bring businesses to come in to invest in the tribe and to provide more jobs, and just to bring people to to hold meetings and classrooms to teach people about different skills. And I would bring a lot of people to share their knowledge and so that we can become self-sufficient. I mean, that sounds like a sound plan. I would I would vote for you. Hopefully one day. Yeah. So I'd love to talk about what it was like being a health worker when the pandemic hit. Is it okay if we talk about that? Yeah. Because you said that before. And that really honestly really, really stood out to me because that was a obviously like very traumatic time, and so many people were just quitting, but you were on the front lines, like you were working during that time. Like that's hardcore. That was intense. I had just graduated the MA school that I went to. That was like one of the last classes to finish before everything got shut down. Um and going in, I had Again, no experience. I didn't know what to expect. And well, that's a historical event. What I noticed first was in the beginning, it was the like the respect I was given because I was in Scrubs, like because nobody in the very beginning, nobody knew what was going on, nobody knew what it was. And so people would be like, Thank you for your service, thank you for what you do, or I'd be in Starbucks and they would give me a free drink. And so I was in the very beginning just respected. People just adored healthcare workers, and then when things started to get a little foggy in the political world, I started to notice people were treating me different. Like this one time I was walking on the sidewalk just during my lunch break, and this truck, some vehicle drove by and was sh was shouting at me and blamed me for the pandemic. And what the how? So yeah, it was it was interesting how I went from being loved to people hating what I did. I think that's when a lot of people wanted to go outside because they were being kept inside. They wanted to get their haircuts. If you did you see it, they were saying it was uh Like we were the cause of it almost, like we were the reason why it kept like they were denying that it was real, essentially, right? Yeah, yeah. And they saw me in scrubs and they just blamed me, like you're the reason why I can't go out. That's horrible. So it that you're risking your life out there. Yeah, it it was I was a little sad because I was like, oh man, no more free stuff. But but yeah, no, I was on an outreach team. We had like three, four nurses, there was nine medical assistants, and we would go to high schools and use their their gyms to provide the vaccines, and or we would just be in a parking lot and do COVID testing. And I felt so cool wearing all the medical gear because we had to wear gowns, I had to wear a 95 mask with a surgical mask, the little hair covers that we have to wear, and then the covers for your shoes. Like I I felt so legit. And so I mean, that's a legit. You're you're saving lives from a pandemic. That's pretty legit. So we would test people, and every day was we would see maybe like three to four hundred people. Oh my god, either testing or giving them the vaccine, and that's insane. What hurt the most was like physically was the 95 mask because it's so tight and I have a big nose. So like it was like making me dizzy almost. But no, it was also the people I worked with were really cool, and that's what made it really fun. And and I I actually really enjoy I I personally do love helping people, like I love what it brings me when I see that I've made a difference. I was definitely scared because I I'd never got COVID, but I was always in the back of my head and like, oh man, I because I have my son was just born, and so I was so scared to bring it home. So when I'd get off work, I would change outside when I'd come inside because I'd go straight to the shower, clean up twice, and then be around my son. And so that was what scared me the most is bringing something home. So towards the end of when the the pandemic was kind of wasn't a big thing anymore. I really noticed that people were, or for me, were kind of doubling down with how they were treating us like in a negative way. I actually received a death threat. Yeah. No, yeah, yeah. And I feel like it's just intensified. And again, I don't I wasn't really paying attention to politics and people were shouting more. They just didn't like people in scrubs. I can't believe that was like four or five years ago. But it yeah, it just intensified towards the end. And so at that time, I think what also motivated me to try something different was because of that. Because I just couldn't really handle it anymore. I'm like, okay, I kind of I've done this long enough. I feel like there's more room to grow somewhere else, and so and that's what kind of what led me to Spectrum, and it was just a really intense time. Yeah, I can't even imagine. Like, I'm so sorry that you had to deal with people denying to your face that what you were dealing with is real because that's just insanity. Yeah, you know, like you're on the front lines, like dealing with this virus, like terrified to bring it home to your family, and then people are like acting horribly. Yeah, I know I really enjoyed the free everything, it was so nice. It was I I felt so cared for and loved and appreciated, and I'm like, why? Like, what did I do to you? I don't even know you. But I want to be a flight paramedic. I love the ultimate film cycle. Oh, yeah. Yeah. What specifically for for on a plane? Helicopters and stuff. So when I was I don't know, maybe like 10, I was taken uh for school, like a field trip. I was taken to like a firefighter training session, and they had a helicopter and paramedics on there, and I got to sit inside and they told me what they do, and they tell me that they are flying in a plane half of the time, and I'm like, oh wow, I want to do that. That sounds fun, yeah. Yeah, so and just the excitement of it. I it's definitely my cup of tea. I love it. So yeah, the adventure. Yeah. Yeah. So through your healthcare journey, what keeps you motivated to keep going out there and being on the fields helping people? I would say just the learning part. As uncomfortable as I could I can be in some situations or the places we go sometime. It's uh it's a learning experience, like just the skills you develop in these places and just talking to people. I'm want to absorb as much as I can right now so I can get better at them. And I would say that's my motivation is just keep learning, don't stop. And I have a whole kid. He's four, and I'm just like, whoa, like I have moments like that, but no, he's I love my son to death. I would say that's yeah, he's he's my number one motivation on everything. So I I I actually really enjoy being a father. I really do. That's really cool. Tell the truth, yeah. Just for me, I would he looks up to me a lot. Whenever he asks me, like, what's your favorite superhero dad? He's like, I want to be like you, I want to work with doctors, and so I would say for me, it's just I don't want to let him down. Like I want to I need to like be constantly getting better for him. Is there anything about what you do that you wish more people understood? That's a good question. That the Spectrum team and everyone on it, uh, we are a safe space to talk about sexual health, and we are here to help anyone and everyone with any issues and anything they're afraid of, and just help direct and guide them and let people know like you can come to us and we're not here to judge, we're just here to make sure you have the right tools and that you're safe and and yeah, that you're protected. Yeah. Are there any specific ways that you say or things that you do to help people feel safe to approach you guys? Yeah, so like a little technique I use, if say if I'm testing somebody, like it's like this one on like just me and another person, I don't just go right into like the sexual health part. Um I like to like let them know I'm human too. So we'll have like I'll get to know the person, like where are you from? Like just a little small talk and then just grow from there. And then after that, we'll kind of go into the testing and the sexual health. So just to make them feel comfortable, like, hey, I'm not scary as I look. But I'm not gonna lie, you don't look scary. Thank you. Well, Dylan, thank you so much. This has been the Lavender Lounge with Anna and Dylan. I want to give a shout out to Vitalist Health Foundation for making this episode and this podcast possible. And uh see you later. Thank you for listening.