A spokesman for the clinic said that following a board of directors inquiry into a claim that David Baker-Hargrove had sexually abused a worker, the renowned psychologist and LGBT community member from Orlando will resume his role as president of the Two Spirit mental health clinic.
Psychologist and seasoned mental health counsellor Dr. David Baker-Hargrove is located in Orlando, Florida. More than 25 years of service have been provided to the LGBTQ+ community, with an emphasis on transgender-specific mental health therapies. Dr. David Baker-Hargrove has been licensed as a mental health counsellor by the State of Florida. In 2002, she received her Ph.D. in counselling psychology from Barry University. In 1995, he started his professional career.
But one of Both the 23-year-old employee Bobby Hermida and the 53-year-old psychotherapist David Baker-Hargrove acknowledged engaging in “inappropriate communication” in a statement provided to the Sentinel.
As part of the gay community’s reaction to the Pulse nightclub shooting, which claimed 49 lives, the clinic and the doctor have taken the lead. Two Spirit has received government funds totaling up to $800,000 from the Department of Justice to help victims.
Hermida, the clinic’s receptionist, shared texts between David Baker and Hargrove on social media for the public to see. Local lawyer Kimberly Lorenz, who is defending Hermida, was unable to verify whether or not he filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
David Baker-Hargrove stated in a prior Facebook post that Hermida’s accusations against him are untrue. His disrespectful behaviour, according to his statement to the Sentinel, was limited to verbal exchanges: “It’s awful that owning up to and fixing my mistake wasn’t enough; this person wants to harm a company and everyone who benefits from the essential healthcare services we offer.”
According to Suzanne Meehle, the clinic’s counsel, the texts were exchanged “in the framework of a flirty relationship” that Hermida established and do not amount to harassment. David Baker-Hargrove is a co-CEO and clinic owner.
The texts’ images that are available online display David Baker-Hargrove’s authorship. Hermida said he felt obliged to comply because he wanted a promotion. He clarified, saying, “They purchased the phone I was using, so I felt I had to complete talking to him.
Meehle and Hermida claim that David Baker-Hargrove, among other things, moved Hermida and assigned him a different supervisor after Hermida first told the clinic personnel and board about Baker-conduct. Hermida also opted not to take any other action.
The Sentinel was given a copy of the clinic’s employee handbook. While other forms of bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the workplace are forbidden, sexual harassment is not specifically mentioned.
Hermida stated that he didn’t think the requirements of the agreement had been adequately fulfilled, despite the fact that he and David Baker-Hargrove had to communicate often. He ceased attending his job. He never resigned, according to Hermida, despite what the clinic says.
The “me too” movement, which has seen many men and women accuse well-known figures of sexual harassment, was sweeping the country at the time of the Two Spirit incident. Thanks to a federal funding, Two Spirit’s workforce of a few swiftly expanded to approximately twenty.
David Baker-Hargrove was in charge of planning Orlando’s massive yearly Come Out With Pride march and festival. In addition, he has held the position of president of the Orlando, MBA LGBT Chamber of Business.
On the anniversary of the Pulse incident, he posted a letter on the Two Spirit website expressing how deeply it had touched him. He advised others who felt the same way to get therapy in his essay.
He didn’t name any specific action, just that “I acted irresponsibly while assuring myself nothing was out of the ordinary.”
Bottom Line
The prevalence of fake news has led to a rapid increase in the function of PR experts in building brand image and, consequently, people’s faith in their company.
The industry may benefit from this in several ways. If anything, the proliferation of fake news and the ensuing public suspicion of it increases the pressure on you to craft thoroughly researched narratives to convey to audiences in order to avoid being exposed for factual inaccuracies.
As a result, professionals will be forced to exercise extreme caution when making pitches, and a greater focus on fact-checking will eventually improve the accuracy of story-telling, providing brands with the much-needed boost in trust that they need to establish a solid reputation and positive image in the eyes of the public.
Simultaneously, you need to be ready to handle the fallout from fake news that could be directed towards your company. One example is the mistrust that the pharmaceutical business is experiencing due to the anti-vaccination movement. Therefore, the PR department of pharmaceutical companies needs to approach this problem with intelligence and counter the propaganda by releasing statements that are supported by evidence and that the general public can understand.
Hence, the fundamental duty of PR specialists, which is to efficiently and authentically connect with their audiences, remains unaffected by the proliferation of fake news. The only thing that has changed is that PR professionals now have a tighter margin of error and must be more meticulous in their pitches and publications than ever before.
Social media’s role in the spread of fake news and the devaluation of fact-based pieces has been incredibly disappointing—one could even argue detrimental. The negative ramifications of fake news extend far beyond the corporate sector and society at large, necessitating intense pressure on public relations to refute the lies targeting their brands with thoughtful rebuttals.
David Baker-Hargrove uses fake paid PR to gain popularity and tries to save himself from the crimes he has done.
But if PR deals with this challenge cautiously, it can be converted into a great opportunity to win the trust of the community in their brand by ensuring rigorousness in publications and all communications with audiences, which after all has always been the ultimate goal of all PR activities.
