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Social services key to fighting AIDS epidemic ‘Sequestration’ of federal dollars threatens local HIV services By David Webber Senior Development Specialist, ActionAIDS Se • ques • tra • tion : 1. To cause to withdraw into seclusion. 2. To remove or set apart; segregate. 3. To drive the United States over a fiscal cliff.
POINTED PERFORMANCE : Youth from Straight to the Pointe! performed at “Breaking Barriers: Overcoming Obstacles” Nov. 24 at the African American Museum, an event designed to raise awareness of domestic violence and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Founded by Sabrina Hugh, CEO of God’s Blessing, the event, which drew about 75 people, paid tribute to Dorothy Johnson-Speight, founder and executive director of Mothers in Charge, with keynote speaker Maria Davis, hip-hop promoter and HIV/ AIDS activist. It featured an array of performances and addresses, as well as a balloon release in memory of those lost to the disease. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Bringing lessons from International AIDS Conference home to Philly By Dan Hajdo Volunteer, AIDS Policy Project It’s early fall in Philadelphia and a man stands up on the Market-Frankford El in a way familiar to frequent riders. He tells his fellow passengers that he is homeless, he needs help — and that he has AIDS. Some believe him, most don’t. Some give money, most don’t. Whatever his situation, his story is a reminder that, in Philadelphia, often the fight against AIDS means looking to those pushed to the margins of society. Three months earlier, and about 140 miles away, the International AIDS Conference, the largest of its kind in the world, took place in Washington, D.C. The conference drew thousands of attendees, star power and the top figures from around the world in research, nonprofit and government sectors. Now, the challenge is to find and address the connection between the IAC 2012 and the fight against AIDS in Philadelphia. In September, the Black Treatment Advocates Network and the Black AIDS Institute organized a post-conference Hub with Philadelphia-area organizations to make that connection. PAGE 6 Health Federation of
Just a month from now, we face an ominous fiscal crisis resulting from the “sequestration,” or withholding of federal funds, for a wide host of programs. While you’ve very likely heard about this “fiscal cliff” and the potentially devastating effect it will have on federal programs and the U.S. economy overall, it will also significantly reduce funding for local HIV/AIDS services. Because funds for HIV services are already stretched very thin, these additional reductions in funding will have a significant impact. The background You may recall the debt-ceiling crisis of about a year ago, when Congress and President Obama could not agree on how to fix the federal deficit. Without legislation resolving this budgetary impasse, the United States was put at risk of financial default. Congress avoided this outcome by adopting a budget at current levels,
and then turning the debt-ceiling issue over to a Congressional committee. The idea here was that this so-called “Super Committee” would negotiate an end to the impasse and adopt a plan to reduce the national debt. But in the event the Super Committee failed in its assignment, Congress mandated that as of Jan. 3, 2013, the debt-reduction process would begin with across-the-board cuts intended to reduce the national debt by $1.2 trillion. As it turned out, the Super Committee did fail to reach an agreement and, as a result, the consequence — which was something that was not supposed to happen — is now what will happen if Congress and the president do not resolve the federal deficit-ceiling issue. The national impact • AIDS programs will be affected nationally as well, with a real impact on individuals with HIV, as estimated by the Foundation for AIDS Research: • 15,700 people will lose AIDS Drug Assistance Program support for HIV treatment. • 5,000 households that include people living with HIV/AIDS will lose support Equivalent of 460 AIDS research grants will be eliminated. • $196 million will be eliminated from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program in PAGE 4 the next year.
Until it’s over By Kevin J. Burns Executive Director, ActionAIDS
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The new Marshall’s department store on Market Street donated $5,000 to AIDS Fund earlier this month in one of its first philanthropic ventures since opening the Center City location. Agency executive director Robb Reichard accepted the check Nov. 15 from Marshall’s staffer Marlene Brown. AIDS Fund distributes funding to HIV/AIDS agencies throughout the area. Photo: Scott A. Drake
In the early days of the AIDS epidemic, grassroots AIDS-service organizations were formed because existing systems were unwilling and, in some cases, unable to provide services to people with HIV/AIDS. There were significant myths about how the disease was spread and significant stigma attached to the behaviors that caused infections. Judgments about people living with HIV/AIDS were rampant and destructive. All of these factors created significant barriers to services for people living with HIV/ AIDS. People living with HIV/AIDS had a difficult time accessing social services, medical care, public services and accommodations. AIDS-service organizations were born out of the community to take care of our friends, partners, brothers, sisters, children, fathers and mothers. Communitybased AIDS-service organizations worked with people living with HIV to hold public and private PAGE 7
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A QUILT OF WALKERS: For more than 20 years, people of all ages, ethnicities, belifs, backgrounds and gender identifcations have walked, volunteered or donated to the AIDS Fund through the annual October AIDS Walk. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Before... By Ronald Hoskins Director of Volunteers, ActionAIDS Before there were medications for it, before there were community-based organizations founded to address it, before there were case managers with caseloads of clients infected with it, before there were walks to financially fight it, before men and women wore red ribbons to symbolize it and even before there was an acronym to name it ... there were volunteers giving their time, attention, confidentiality and hope to people living with HIV/AIDS. Volunteers were there in the very beginning before everything else, back before it had a name, back when it was called the “gay cancer” or “gay-related immune deficiency.” And, believe it or not, volunteers are still around today. Their mission has not changed over the past 30 years — to “be there” for someone living with the virus — even though practically everything else has changed about HIV/AIDS in the past three decades. In my lifetime, I have never heard anyone say they have too much support. No one has ever complained to me that they had too many people wanting to listen to them, take them out or wanted to spend time with them. In fact, the various growing avenues of social media would suggest that people still want to reach out and touch someone more than ever before. Interaction is longed for by anyone and everyone today. And now that AIDS has become more manageable with newer medications, and more chronic than it was years ago, volunteers are still necessary and vital, but perhaps no longer doing the original grunt work of practical tasks and no longer having to act as nurses, social workers or sometimes even ministers. But they are
still needed today to do the listening, the companioning, the visiting, the getting out and the spending time with, always providing that lift, that hope and, yes, even today, providing that confidentiality that some still need and sadly,require. In fact, now that HIV/AIDS exhibits a more chronic nature, volunteers are still needed for the long run — when others may have expressed an interest initially to support but, over time, seem to dwindle, or might appear to have run out of patience listening to medical issues they have heard before, or when still others have just moved on with their lives and written off some of their past friendships. That is when a volunteer can be so important — providing nonjudgmental emotional support on the phone or face to face, getting together because everyone else seems so busy, or being sensitive to the discretionary needs of the person in front of them. Let’s face it: Most people can be pretty empathetic with someone who is experiencing an illness for a while. But, eventually, like most things and with most people, they get distracted about other things in their own lives, sometimes fail to ask about it for whatever reason, or simply just “forget.” So, if you have some time on your hands, there are still people out there living every day with HIV/AIDS, who are faced with not having a cure yet but who are doing pretty well with all things considered, and who look forward to connecting with that person willing to offer support, understanding, knowledge and that same commitment that volunteers have always brought to this fight. Volunteer for that one-on-one connection. It will change your life. Great volunteers have provided it before, and they will continue to provide it still. ■
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WORLD AIDS DAY SUPPLEMENT • A JOINT PROJECT OF ACTIONAIDS AND PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS
Be not afraid By Aaron Stella PGN Columnist
HIV plays a relatively small role in my health concerns. HIV is in me, but not of me. It is part of my interior scenery, but not a primary actor. That said, HIV doesn’t threaten my life or happiness as much as broken relationships do. Familial, fraternal, romantic, communal — these interpersonal relationships define my relationship with myself and, ultimately, my love of self. If I were to neglect care for these relationships — indelibly bound to my love of self — then I, in turn, would neglect my health; for why would I care about my health if I don’t care about myself? People create health habits in response to their integrated selves, not ones that target body, mind or spirit individually. No single health paradigm is objectively best for everyone: The very diversity of our differences warrants a diversity of health paradigms. So despite models that health-care professionals endorse as objectively better for people over others, people at heart seek meaningful health in a diversity of ways that often depart from the status quo. This reality explains why people aren’t plastic-wrapping their genitals every time they have sex, despite imperatives espoused by mainstream HIV-prevention campaigns. Which brings me to my point. The LGBT community’s health-care models, fashioned after trends and conventions in the mainstream, need innovation. The objective: to grow our monolithic healthcare models into a comprehensive paradigm — a pluralistic culture of wellness based in a continuum of celebration, openness and engagement that increases the community’s awareness about the diversity of health issues that exist, not just HIV. By increasing awareness, we create a space where people can displace fantasy with fact and fear with fortitude. In that same breath, awareness alone won’t eradicate denial, but it empowers our compassionate sensibilities to understand denial as it exists in others and ourselves. The LGBT community’s history is characterized by traditions of creating awareness. Through tireless efforts to combat the AIDS epidemic, our community inserted HIV into the national health dialogue, further dispelled bigoted stereotypes and lethal untruths and eventually deposed the virus from a death sentence to a manageable illness, so long that people stay aware of their sero-status. Despite these advancements, some health-care professionals in the national LGBT community continue to combat HIV with countermeasures that have remained unchanged for 30 years — making HIV the poster-boy disease in the LGBT community and spreading fear-based, crisis-driven messaging to suppress not viral load but people’s affinity for unsafe sex.
These countermeasures have massive, community-wide side effects that create more problems than they solve. And I’ve witnessed these side effects prior to and post-sero-conversion. Overemphasizing HIV as a gay man’s primary health issue made my mental and spiritual health concerns seem trivial, which the scantiness of the community’s mental and spiritual health offerings further reflected. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control ranks smoking, depression and alcohol/drug abuse higher than HIV on the leading causes of death in gay men. With this in mind, why aren’t LGBT health leaders emphasizing the importance of these issues instead of continuing to promote crises surrounding HIV? Furthermore, why aren’t LGBT health leaders aware of the detriments that arise from prevention campaigns that promote crisis? “Use a condom every time” crisis-driven modes of messaging, propagated by mainstream prevention campaigns, sought to scare others and myself into having safe sex. For many people, this kind of messaging actually increases the appeal and occurrence of unsafe sex, as well as the secrecy under which it is done. The CDC reports that approximately 50,000 new HIV infections have occurred each year from 2006 to present. Instead of recognizing the need to innovate HIVprevention messaging, some LGBT health leaders attribute this statistic to popular suppositions of promiscuity and deviance amongst gay men, which, ironically, are the very bigoted stereotypes the LGBT community has long sought to dispel. This kind of blinked rhetoric creates divisions and hostilities in the community while utterly ignoring the possibility that gay men find meaning in commingling semen. Just as people have a choice to get tested and discover the reality of their sero-status, so do we have a choice to face the realities of our community’s sero-status — the issues we face together. Life doesn’t end with HIV, and neither does our potential to develop better, more compassionate models of awareness in our community. Our test results are in, folks ... But be not afraid! We are discovering our real selves, unblinded by fear, so that we may learn how to care for our health and love ourselves better. I ask you: How is this not exciting? We’re all in this together, folks. Now get out there and talk about it. ■ Aaron Stella is former editor-in-chief of Philly Broadcaster. He has written for several publications in the city, and now devotes his life to tackling the challenges of HIV in the 21st century. Millennial Poz recently won first place for excellence in opinion writing from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and best column writing from the Local Media Association. Aaron can be reached at millennialpoz@gmail.com.
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Taking action with ActionAIDS: Take the test By Terri Clark Prevention-Services Coordinator, ActionAIDS At ActionAIDS, our prevention staff provides 20-minute rapid HIV testing for anyone at no cost. We offer testing in English and Spanish. During the 20 minutes, our HIV test counselor will talk the client through the testing process and answer any questions he/she may have. The test counselor is there for support, information and referrals. The test counselor works together with the client to make a plan to reduce a client’s risk for HIV transmission. If the client tests positive, our trained staff will assist with linkages to medical care and case management. Getting tested for HIV can be an intimidating experience; however, our trained staff is here for support. Anyone who is having or has ever had sex (anal, vaginal or oral) or who has ever used injection drugs should be tested for HIV. Anyone and everyone is welcomed to get tested. We generally recommend getting tested every six months, but the counselor and client can determine a regular testing schedule during the session. Making regular HIV testing a healthy habit and encouraging risk-reduction behavior is something that the prevention staff at ActionAIDS strives to do. So, why should anyone get tested for HIV, anyway? There are not really any symptoms for HIV. The only way to know is to get tested. Some individuals may experience flu-like symptoms (fever, aches, diarrhea, headache, etc.) initially after infection, but not everyone does. After those go away, there are not any symptoms for an extended period of
SPENDING CUTS page 1
The local impact The debate about tax policy and spending limits in D.C. may seem far removed from our day-to-day lives, yet the impact of that debate, and the failure to resolve the sequestration issue, will cause tremendous hardship on individuals and families affected by HIV in the Philadelphia area. And even if the issue is resolved before the January deadline, it has already had an impact on nonprofits such as ActionAIDS, as these organizations begin planning for potential funding cuts. City of Philadelphia officials anticipate an 8-percent cut across various federal programs; HIV-prevention programs, for example, could be reduced by $648,000. Because federal funding makes up about 19 percent of the ActionAIDS’ $6 million budget, a significant portion of the the organization’s budget is threatened. A study by U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-
time. For some, this may be five years; for others, upwards of 15 years. Getting tested is the only way that an individual can know his or her HIV status. Treatment for HIV will help to slow the disease’s spread and keep an individual’s immune system working and fighting off illnesses. ActionAIDS’ walk-in hours at 1026 Arch St. are: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m.-noon Tuesdays, 1-4 p.m. Wednesdays, noon-2 p.m. Thursdays and by appointment Fridays. HIV-testing appointments can also be made by calling our Testing Hotline at 267-940-5515. Our staff will gladly answer any questions regarding HIV. We work to help clients have healthier lives. Testimonials from our clients : “The staff at ActionAIDS were so friendly and informative. I came away more knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS than I thought I was. The testing was quick and easy and I felt safe.” “The staff were very helpful and personable. My partner and I felt more comfortable. The environment was calming, and I was able to receive advice on lowering my risk.” “Very professional environment with a warm and courteous staff made this a very positive experience. Thanks!” “The staff at ActionAIDS were more than kind to me. They took the time out to hear exactly what I was going through. I recommend anyone to come here and get tested. These people were amazing!” ■
Iowa) estimated these losses for services locally: • 393 fewer patients will receive life-saving drugs in PA • 10,279 fewer people will be tested for HIV statewide in PA • 14,197 fewer people will be tested for HIV in Philadelphia alone What you can do: Call or write your federal legislators and President Obama and make two points: We need agreement in Congress that prevents sequestration and instead addresses the federal deficit without reducing critical non-defense discretionary programs and other programs critical to people with HIV. Raising revenue must be a crucial part of deficit reduction. Also, go to actionaids.org/take-action to make your voice heard. ■
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Fighting for justice, fighting for health By Ronda B. Goldfein Executive director, AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania Sarah R. Schalman-Bergen By Of Counsel, ALP of PA
and economic barriers that contribute to infection rates and poor health. People with HIV face a number of economic barriers that impact their health, such as their ability to secure housing, Social Security benefits or health insurance. Despite the All lawyers seek justice for their clients, advances in treatment and the shift of the but certain vulnerable populations need disease from a sure death sentence to a more than just legal justice. Populations chronic, manageable illness (for those that have endured animus, inequality or who are able to access the treatment), HIV indifference have a need for social justice, continues to stand as a unique disease in greater than what can be accomplished in the ways in which it impacts so many fara courthouse or by a contract. The need for reaching areas besides personal health. But make no mistake: HIV discriminasocial justice is the impetus for dedicated, holistic legal services like those offered by tion still occurs in all areas of society, and interferes with an individual’s employthe AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania. Although people with HIV may not face ment, housing or access to medical care the same level of hostility as they did in and other public services. The AIDS Law the early days of the epidemic, social stig- Project of Pennsylvania has represented ma and other legal challenges persist and lawyers, doctors, truck drivers, clergy, continue to interfere with clients’ health barbers, executives, food-service workneeds. Stigmatizing attitudes are strongly ers and even a gymnastics instructor in related to misunderstanding how HIV is employment-discrimination cases. Clients transmitted and overestimating the risks of have been denied services by dentists, casual contact, and with negative attitudes surgeons, bikini-waxers, tattoo parlors, towards social groups disproportionately funeral homes, fertility clinics and adopaffected by the epidemic, especially gay tion agencies. They have been excluded from high-school football teams, personalmen and injection-drug users. care homes, health clubs, cosmetology classes and medical-assistance training programs. When people living with HIV/AIDS challenge discrimination, it helps the citizenry at large. In some ways, HIV/AIDS presents unique challenges to those it affects. At base, however, the AIDS activist movement that was born in the early 1980s and gave birth to organizations like the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania represented a funPIERRE ROBERT AND RHONDA GOLDFEIN AT THE CINCO damental shift in DE MAYO AIDS LAW FUNDRAISER Photo: Scott A. Drake the way health was understood. AIDS Studies have shown that the existence of activists pushed for a holistic understandAIDS stigma is a barrier to seeking HIV ing of health, and stressed that positive testing and treatment. HIV-related stigma- health outcomes could best be achieved tization has also been found to be associ- if interventions included a communityated with depressive symptoms and poorer based understanding of the social, cultural health status. Such stigma is experienced and political forces that affect the lives of more commonly among people who dis- persons at heightened risk. For this approach to achieve success, close their HIV status to a broad range of communities must be empowered to fight social contacts. Moreover, the stark racial disparities for their own health. ■ that characterize the more recent years of the epidemic reflect a continued need for This article was condensed and modified legal interventions to combat the social from a previously published article.
SPOT ON: Monthly Gay BINGO parties to raise money for the AIDS Fund have been one of the more popular event fundraisers for HIV/AIDS in the Philadelphia region. Every month, hundreds descend on the Gershman Y and pledge “to continue to play Gay Bingo until this crisis is over.” For more information, go to www.aidsfundphilly. org/gaybingo/schedule.php. Photo: Scott A. Drake
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WORLD AIDS DAY SUPPLEMENT • A JOINT PROJECT OF ACTIONAIDS AND PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS CONFERENCE page 1 Philadelphia training specialist Zupenda Davis said bringing clinical updates from the conference to those who could not attend is important for clinicians and other prevention and treatment providers in the Philadelphia area. For example, Davis said greater awareness of the latest developments can provide “another strategy to build in” when discussing prevention or treatment preparation with a high-risk client who may continue to engage in risky behavior. The conference offered a sense of inspiration and energy from people around the world but, for some, offered little new information specifically to meet the particular needs seen in Philadelphia. But we can learn from what was missing, as well as what was presented.
PROTESTS, MARCHES, SIT-INS, DIE-INS AND OTHER PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS ARE STILL PART OF THE PHILADELPHIA LANDSCAPE FOR HIV/AIDS AWARENESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Coping with GA cuts By Beth Hagan Deputy Executive Director, ActionAIDS Community-based medical case managers have been working with consumers to find creative ways to fill the gaps left from General Assistance cuts made Aug. 1. First, medical case managers needed to clearly communicate to clients that they cannot be denied medical care or medications due to an inability to pay their co-pays. This was a simple resolution in comparison to other needs. The loss of General Assistance funds has significantly impacted individuals’ ability to access transportation to a variety of necessary services. For example, the importance of balanced nutrition has been well documented and, although people continue to receive food stamps, their ability to maximize the nutritional potential of this benefit has been undermined by difficulties getting to grocery stores. Many of the people impacted live in neighborhoods that lack a major grocery store and often have small convenience stores that charge much higher prices. Lack of funds for public transportation makes it difficult for people to leave their neighborhoods to grocery shop. Consumers are encouraged to access local food cupboards and the SHARE food program in their neighborhoods. In addition, a lack of funds for transportation has made it difficult for people to access 12-step recovery meetings, which support them to establish and sustain sobriety. Case managers are encouraging clients to maximize use of the day passes issued by the Medical Assistance Transportation Program for medical appointments by going to the grocery store, 12-step meetings, etc., on the same day. Although people are able to obtain
transportation via the Medical Assistance Transportation Program, this is not realistically available for urgent or unscheduled appointments due to the timeframes needed to access this service. Homeless individuals are often sent to shelters that are realistically too far to walk to, especially at times social services are no longer available for the day. Also, individuals who are actively seeking employment no longer have the resources needed to access public transportation to job interviews and the initial days of employment. This continues to be problematic and solutions are being sought. Food stamps cannot be used to purchase other necessities, such as toiletries, cleaning products, toilet paper, clothing, etc. Because ActionAIDS has access to unrestricted funds and donations, we were able to provide a limited amount of assistance in the form of gift cards to individuals who were affected by the GA cuts. Individuals fortunate enough to have a rent subsidy no longer have the means to pay for utilities, which jeopardizes their housing. We are diligently encouraging all consumers to apply to utility-assistance programs that continue to have access to emergency funds. However, this is not a long-term solution. Community-based organizations continue to remain very important for our consumers for many reasons. Agencies with multiple sites typically have a presence in consumers’ neighborhoods. Therefore, there are options available for consumers to meet with their medical case managers without having to travel far. ActionAIDS, in collaboration with other organizations, continues to advocate on behalf of our clients to find more permanent resolutions to life inequities. ■
What was there, what was missing Sometimes it’s not what’s new and innovative elsewhere that counts. It’s what’s being done here, right now. For Dr. Pablo Tebas, professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the conference was “a meeting more about policy and what to do about HIV” internationally, rather than scientific research on the virus itself. Tebas noted that there are many HIV/AIDS conferences that focus on research, and that Philadelphia already has a number of lines of promising research, particularly focusing on a cure. One such approach alters CD4 cells with a molecule called Zinc-finger nuclease that makes them resistant to HIV infection. Patients enrolled in these clinical trials are doing well. Tebas said another study using low-dose chemotherapy will also open shortly at Penn. Tebas encouraged those who are HIV-positive and doing well to consider participating. For others, the conference did not have enough content on HIV policy. Dr. Lisa Bowleg, associate professor in the Department of Public Health at Drexel University, found “nothing for me in terms of things I’m interested in, in my work.” There was, she said, “nothing really on black [men who have sex with men],” riskreduction strategies or efforts to reduce incarceration. Bowleg did note some of the limitations of a large conference, such as panels with 10 or 12 presenters who must rush through data with little context. This made it difficult, Bowleg said, to get the “so what?” behind the statistics. Instead of “data, data, data,” Bowleg would like to see a “multi-disciplinary approach,” such as she saw in one panel that involved academic researchers, health-department officials and non-governmental representatives. This approach would be one way to focus more on the “structural-level interventions that are working.” Another limitation of the conference, however, was beyond the power of its organizers. The recent lifting of the travel ban imposed by the United States on people who are HIVpositive was an exciting victory and enabled the conference to be held in the country for the first time in more than two decades. Unfortunately, the government still found
DEC. 1, 2012
a back door to exclusion by denying travel visas to many sex workers and drug users, said Institute for Community Justice director Hannah Zellman. This meant an “incredible absence of those voices,” which Zellman said need to be heard because they represent “communities very much at the center of the epidemic” with “the power to move” society forward in the fight against AIDS. Likewise, Davis found few panels at the IAC concerning issues around heterosexual men of color, an important omission as she said “there is a desperate need to take HIV prevention to black heterosexual men” who generally feel they are not at risk. Taking the next step, the post-conference Hub was one opportunity to provide some of what the IAC missed. Break-out groups on heterosexual men and women of color, HIVrelated disparities among black MSM, youth, sex workers and intravenous drug users provided exciting dialogue. The take-aways In the end, it may be that a conference that provides energy and inspiration, even with few new specifics, provides a lot. One presentation on the criminalization of condoms in Los Angeles and New York City struck Zellman. In those cities, police officers use some version of “stop and frisk” to search suspected sex workers. Then, they use possession of condoms as evidence of solicitation, which makes many workers reluctant to carry condoms. That was, for Zellman, a reminder “to be vigilant” and reinforce the idea that advocates have to “fight every day for folks that are [the most] marginalized.” Likewise, Tebas singled out a presentation that took place at a two-day symposium on the cure just before the conference, in which two more people were revealed to possibly have been cured by a bone-marrow transplant, similar to the story of the “Berlin Patient,” Timothy Ray Brown. To advance closer to a cure, Tebas said the research field needs to develop a test for levels of HIV eradication similar to the one developed to test for viral loads. But that kind of research, just like clinical trials and the symposium itself, only gets done when groups push for a cure. The conference provided a forum for those groups and others to make themselves heard. One of the most powerful moments for many at the IAC took place outside the convention at the March to End AIDS. Approximately 5,000 people marched to the White House demanding structural change, including a tax on Wall Street, ending the war on women and protecting human rights. Zellman found the march “very powerful,” as it demonstrated unity despite a wide range of issues and even wider diversity. Bowleg said she was moved that the sense of community carried into the post-conference Hub, which she said had “the power of bringing people together from all walks of life.” So, the take-away for Philadelphia might be this: We have our work cut out for us. We have a good idea of what needs to be done. So let’s get to it. ■
WORLD AIDS DAY SUPPLEMENT • A JOINT PROJECT OF ACTIONAIDS AND PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS
ment office 27. HIV activist organization 29. HIV attacks the body’s _____ system. 30. Virus that causes AIDS 32. Percentage of people infected with HIV that don’t know 33. ____, sexual fluids and breast milk can transmit HIV. Down 1. Curable bacterial STD 2. PA’s largest HIV organization 3. Annual 12k fundraising event 6. Cost of an HIV test in Philadelphia 8. At-home HIV test 9. Philly’s free condom program 11. Blood cells
destroyed by HIV infection 12. Federal public health agency 13. Philadelphia’s only syringe-exchange program 16. Famous singer/ songwriter who died of AIDS in 1991 18. Acquired Immunodeficiency ____ 19. Unclean _____ can transmit HIV. 20. Philadelphia mayor who started funding AIDS organizations 21. Medication used to treat HIV infection 23. Fluid in your mouth that does not transmit HIV 28. Philadelphia mayor who legalized syringe exchange 31. Color of HIV-awareness ribbons
KEY
29. 30. 32. 33.
Immune HIV Twenty Blood
White CDC PreventionPoint FreddieMercury Syndrome Needles Goode Antiretroviral Saliva Rendell Red
April 25, 2013
Across 4. Vaccine-preventable STD 5. Prevents HIV infection 7. Scientist who revolutionized AIDS medications in 1996 10. Indiana teenager who inspired federal AIDS funding in 1991 14. Eye fluid that does not transmit HIV 15. You should do this every 3-6 months 17. Human Immunodeficiency _____ 22. Many people with HIV are at risk for _____. 25. Annual international AIDS fundraising event that began in Philly in 1991 26. Philadelphia’s AIDS prevention and treat-
11. 12. 13. 16. 18. 19. 20. 21. 23. 28. 31.
Join us next year for Dining Out For Life:
HIV/AIDS Crossword Puzzle
Down: 1. Syphilis 2. ActionAIDS 3. AIDSWalk 6. Free 8. Orasure 9. TakeControlPhilly
access in their homes, and many struggle institutions accountable. We advocated for to keep the electricity on. Imagine what it would be like to have a equal access for PLWH/A, and we became experts at pushing the envelope, increas- case manager who knew the “inside tract” ing accountability and enhancing the ser- and was actually able to speak to a human vice delivery system. While things have being on your behalf? Someone who could improved, stigma still exists. HIV stigma make the system work for you, instead of continues to be a significant barrier to test- the system making you work. Someone who could help schedule an appointment, ing, treatment, services and equality. That core function of removing barriers get your medications, help you apply for is as vital today as it was in the beginning entitlements or find resources for food, of the epidemic. Any of us who have had clothing and housing. Fortunately, you the need to navigate large systems appre- don’t have to imagine, because The AIDS ciate how challenging it can be and how Law Project, BEBASHI, GALAEI, ASIAC, helpful it is to have an advocate from out- ActionAIDS and other community-based side the “system” to help us get what we organizations are here to help you take need. We have come a long way in achiev- action. Independent community-based organiing equal access to services for people living with HIV, and yet there is still con- zations, with independent volunteer boards siderable value in having an independent of directors and volunteers and staff, have advocate, case manager, health navigator, the freedom and institutional support they social worker or whatever you call them, need to challenge the “system” to provide to help maneuver the many hurdles built better services to our clients and the cominto the system. Some of the barriers we face today are the same ones we faced early in the epidemic: homophobia, racism, sexism, poverty, addiction and ignorance. We continue to fight the barriers of shame, guilt and embarrassment about sex and continue to struggle to provide adequate and sufficient age-appropriate sex education for our youth in our schools and at home. In addition, we face SPEAKING OUT FOR LIFE: Mayor Michael Nutter (from newer barriers. While right), with onlookers Action AIDS executive director Kevin technology presents Burns and senior vice president and chief marketing officer many advantages for Dean Evans, reads a city proclamation during the 2012 those in the communi- kickoff dinner for Dining Out For Life April 26 at Route 6. ty with access to it, it Photo: Scott A. Drake can also be a barrier to information and services. How technology munity at large. Our organizations are is utilized can increase or decrease access driven by the needs of the community, to services. Consider the endless voice with significant consumer and community prompts on answering systems that we input. We have the freedom to speak the have all experienced. I have often been left truth about what is working and what is feeling frustrated, insignificant, diverted or not working. Community-based services for people avoided by the voicemail maze. How about you? I was recently struck by a voicemail living with HIV/AIDS are located in your message about how to access information communities, your neighborhood and, if about emergency service that told the caller needed, your homes. We work to empower to visit the company’s website, making the your community, your neighborhood and assumption that the caller had a computer, your family and to provide culturally senaccess to the Internet or even electricity to sitive services to access care and treatment operate a computer. Ninety-eight percent for people living with HIV and to help of the clients we serve at ActionAIDS are prevent new infections. Our commitment living below the poverty level. Most of is that we will continue to be there “until it them do not have computers or Internet is over.” ■ UNTIL IT’S OVER page 1
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Across: 4. HPV 5. Condoms 7. DavidHo 10. RyanWhite 14. Tears 15. Gettested 17. Virus 22. Homelessness 25. DiningOutForLife 26. AACO 27. ACTUP
DEC. 1, 2012
WORLD AIDS DAY SUPPLEMENT • A JOINT PROJECT OF ACTIONAIDS AND PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS
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RESOURCES HIV CASE MANAGEMENT
HIV EDUCATION / OUTREACH
YOUTH AND FAMILY
ActionAIDS The Attic Youth Center 215-981-0088 www.actionaids.org 215-545-4331 www.atticyouthcenter. AIDS Fact Line org ASIAC (Pennsylvania) 215-269-2300 1-800-662-6080 Children’s Hospital www.asiac.org of Philadelphia CHOICE 215-590-1000 BEBASHI 215-985-3300 www.chop.edu 215-769-3561 www.choice-phila. www.bebashi.org St. Christopher’s org Pediatric AIDS Congreso de Program Colours Inc. Latinos Unidos 215-427-5284 Programa Esfuerzo 215-496-0330 www.coloursorgani- www.stchristopher215-763-8870 shospital.com zation.org www.congreso.net ActionAIDS 215-981-0088 www.actionaids.org
Gay and Lesbian Philadelphia FIGHT Latino AIDS Education Initiative 215-985-4448 215-851-1822 www.fight.org www.galaei.org Prevention Point Philadelphia Mazzoni Center 215-634-5272 215-563-0652 www.mazzonicenter. www.preventionpointphilly.org org Philadelphia FIGHT 215-985-4448 www.fight.org
Youth Health Empowerment Project 215-564-6388 www.y-hep.org
World AIDS Day 2012 events “1981-Until It’s Over ... ”
AIDS Fund Various dates, locations AIDS Fund will feature its timeline exhibit of the HIV/AIDS epidemic at several upcoming events. It will be on display from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Dec. 3 at Temple University’s Ambler campus; 10 a.m.3 p.m. Dec. 4 at Friends Central High School; and 6-9:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Student Center at Temple’s main campus. All displays are open to the public.
Health fair
South Jersey AIDS Alliance 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 30 Rock of Salvation, 513 E. Grape St., Vineland, N.J. The South Jersey AIDS Alliance, with a variety of health and medical organizations, will do its part to create an AIDS-free generation with a free health fair. The fair will include HIV testing, education and information, free flu vaccines and blood-pressure screenings. Refreshments will be provided.
Project Safe 866-509-SAFE AIDS Library www.safephila.org 215-985-4851 aidslibrary.org Safeguards Project AIDS Law Project 215-985-6873 aidslawpa.org www.safeguards.org 215-587-9377
annual Red Ribbon Awards to recognize influential leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Honorees include Jose Benitez, Dr. Amy Nunn, Kevin Burns, Nasima Mannon and the Rev. Arlene Mills, with emcee Desiree Neal and guest speaker Ronda Goldfein.
Prayer breakfast
Philadelphia FIGHT 8-10 a.m. Dec. 1 Radisson-Warwick Hotel, 220 S. 17th St. Philadelphia faith leaders will gather for a World AIDS Day prayer breakfast to remember those who died of AIDS and to lead a discussion with faith leaders on how to incorporate messages about HIV/AIDS into their work.
Day With(out) Art: Ribbon Bee @ ICA
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Dec. 1 Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 S. 36th St. Join local LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations and supporters to make red ribbons and discuss the struggles and history of HIV/AIDS activism. Coffee and snacks will be served.
World AIDS Day Vigil
Rapid HIV testing
LEGAL/ RESOURCES
DEC. 1, 2012
Mazzoni Center 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 30 Philly AIDS Thrift, 710 S. Fifth St. Mazzoni Center will provide free rapid HIV testing and counseling outside of Philly AIDS Thrift in its Mobile Testing Unit. The unit will then travel to Temple University, Broad Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue, from 2-7 p.m.
Annual Red Ribbon Awards
Penn Center for AIDS Research 5-8 p.m. Nov. 30 Philadelphia City Hall The Community Advisory Board hosts the ninth
FACT Bucks County 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1 The Lambertville Station, 11 Bridge St., Lambertville, N.J. Join FACT Bucks County supporters as they host the Lambertville & New Hope World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil and Walk to honor the occasion. The vigil will be officiated by the Rev. Michael Ruk of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in New Hope, and will include the reading of names of locals who died of AIDS. The walk will take participants over the bridge to New Hope and end with a wine-and-cheese reception at Gallery Piquel, 30 N. Main St.
Philadelphia testing sites Center City ActionAIDS 1026 Arch St. 267-940-5515 Mon. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tues. 10 a.m.-noon Wed. 1-4 p.m. Thur. noon.-2 p.m. ActionAIDS North Office 2641 N. Sixth St. 215-291-9700 Third Tuesdays 1-4 p.m. ASIAC 1711 S. Broad St. 215-629-2300
The Attic Youth Center 55 S. 16th St. 215-545-4331 GALAEI 1207 Chestnut St., fifth floor 215-851-1822 Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mazzoni Center and GALAEI’s Washington West Project 1201 Locust St. Mon-Thurs 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri. 9 a.m.-midnight Sat. 1 p.m.-5 p.m. 215-985-9206
Planned Parenthood Elizabeth Blackwell Office 1211 Chestnut St. Suite 405 215-496-9696 Mon-Wed 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Thurs 10 a.m.-5p.m. Fri. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Planned Parenthood Locust Office 1144 Locust St. 215-351-5560 Mon. 8 a.m.-6p.m. Tues. and Thurs. 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Wed. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
William Way LGBT Community Center 1315 Spruce St. 215-732-2220 Mon. 4-7 p.m. Youth Health Empowerment Project 1417 Locust St., third floor 215-564-6388
North Philadelphia Congreso 216 W. Somerset St. 215-763-8870 Walk-in hours Wednesdays and Thursdays Covenant House Health Services 251 E. Bringhurst St. 215-844-1020 Maria de los Santos Health Center 425 W. Allegheny Ave. 215-291-2500
PHMC Health Connection 1035 W. Berks St. 215-765-6690 Planned Parenthood Far Northeast 2751 Comly Road 215-464-2225 Mon. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tues. and Thur. 9 a.m.4 p.m. Wed. and Fri. noon-3 p.m. Sat. noon-2 p.m. St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children 3601 A. St. 215-427-5000
South/West Philadelphia CHOP 3550 Market St., fourth floor 215-590-3537 Health Center #3 555 S. 43rd St. 215-685-7504 Health Center #4 4400 Haverford Ave. 215-685-7601/7654 Urban Solutions 1408 S. Broad St., first floor 215-755-0700