An Overwhelmed D.C. Agency Loses Count of AIDS Cases

From the Washington Post: In late August, barely a month into her new job, Marie Sansone of the District's AIDS agency was astounded by what she discovered: five boxes of unexamined HIV and AIDS cases that had not been touched in more than a year.

In the boxes were records of 2,000 to 3,000 cases that had yet to be entered in the city's database. The records are mostly from 2004 and 2005, some from 2003. Who's getting sicker, who needs treatment, who died. All boxed up.

"Oh, my goodness," Sansone, surveillance chief for the city's Administration for HIV Policy and Programs (AHPP), remembers saying.

"We were flabbergasted, just flabbergasted," adds Sansone's boss, AHPP Director Marsha Martin.

That information is critical to managing a spreading epidemic, now in its 25th year. Under guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AHPP is required to collect, maintain and distribute statistics on the disease, which dozens of community-based organizations depend on for their prevention and treatment programs.

City officials acknowledge that the District is behind in tracking new cases of HIV, as well as in reporting the number of deaths from AIDS complications.

Continue Reading this article in the Washington Post:

DC Young Poz Socials Event This Saturday

DC Young Poz Socials (DCYPS) is an informal social group geared for Washington, D.C. area HIV-positive guys in their 20s and 30s. Activities include parties, picnics, sporting events, hiking, theatre outings and other recreational and social events.

DCYPS hosts a semi-private Happy Hour at the Green Lantern on the last Saturday of every month. Join them this Saturday, December 30th from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Regular Lantern Happy Hour Specials apply.

Should Homophobic Churches Receive DC HIV/AIDS Funds?

A few months ago I included information about the The Union Temple Baptist Church Huggin’ HIV/AIDS Ministry & Akoma Project on this website. In the brochure which I republished, the Union Temple Baptist Church states: "For over thirty years, the Union Temple Baptist Church has provided unbiased and reassuring services to populations who have been rejected and ostracized by society."

After hearing excerpts from a sermon by Reverend Willie Wilson of the Union Temple Baptist Church I'm not so sure that that is true.

Rev. Wilson delivered what is hands down the most mean-spirited homophobic sermon I've ever heard in my life. Don't take my word for it, click here to listen to excerpts from the sermon and decide for yourself.

Which leads me to ask the obvious question. How is it that a homophobic minister can wind up with so much federal and DC HIV/AIDS Dollars?

We know that from our most recent figures (DC AHPP Surveilance and Epidemiology Division: March 2006) approximately 40% of DC residents living with HIV/AIDS are men who have sex with men, the majority of which are African American men who have sex with men. Nationally, one recent study, suggests that as many as 46% of black gay men are HIV positive.

It's important that churches that primarily serve the African American community in DC be part of the fight against HIV/AIDS, and many are deeply involved and contributing much.

In this case, however, I question whether it's appropriate to use federal and local HIV/AIDS resources to fund an agency which may not be safe or welcoming to gay men.

(If you can provide me with any additional information, please do so.)

Reflection

Monte Wolfe writes: With the month of December always comes an anniversary of sorts for me, a neverending series of thoughts. Triumphs, accomplishments, fears, happiness, blues, but above all else--- thoughts of joy, and affirmation of the fact that I am still here. This mainly because two years ago, I wasn't entirely sure I would even live this long.

December of 2004 brought along with it a new way of living for me. Being that I was diagnosed as HIV positive on November 30th 2004 (the last day of that month), the month of December that followed is always one that I will remember. It is from that place of reflection that I stem as I bring forth this piece.

Continue reading this article on the Brave Soul Collective Website

MW Profiles Wallace Corbett

THE UNSEASONABLY warm November afternoon suits Wallace Corbett's sunny disposition. The default look on his face is a smile -- not a toothy grin, but something more reminiscent of the Mona Lisa. And Wallace Corbett has reason to be happy.

''My numbers have remained the same for a very long time,'' says the 45-year-old D.C. native. Though Corbett's carried HIV for roughly two decades, the virus in his system has been as tame as it's been unwelcome.

''I tried a [medication] regimen, and it did not work for me at all. I couldn't work. It had me almost zombie-like, exhausted.'' So Corbett and his doctor came to an agreement: If regular monitoring showed his T-cell counts and viral loads hovering at acceptable levels without medication, he would simply not take any. Since that initial foray into pharmaceuticals, he's remained meds-free and healthy.

Corbett cannot point to any particular reason why his body has kept the virus in check, offering that he puts his faith in, well, faith.

''I'm practicing my belief in Christ. I enjoy volunteering.... My religious belief is that you should help anybody at anytime without asking for gratification. I volunteer the same way I go to my job. The way you treat people every day is God speaking. Treat people kindly. I practice what God tells us to do: Treat others with kindness and help without asking.''

One way Corbett has put his belief into practice is AIDS Rides. He's participated in seven D.C.-based rides.

''The rides taught me kindness, and to push yourself further than you can imagine pushing yourself. When you're on a bicycle, by yourself in an area where you've never been, told to just go in this direction and you can't see the one ahead of you or behind you, the question is: Am I going the right way? Can I make it? What if I fall? Can I push myself?

''Then you complete the event and you say to yourself, 'You know what? There's more to me than what I fear.'''

And there's more to Corbett than his pleasant disposition. Living in Chinatown with his two cocker spaniels, he is a widower who mourns the loss of his partner and best friend, Myron. He mourns for a generation, as well.

''The epidemic has taken some really great minds away -- wonderful designers, and artists, and singers, and people in sports and business. I sometimes wonder what the world would have been if they were still here. Some of the barriers for gay society would not be so difficult. We would not be so slow in reaching things like same-sex marriage, because a lot of those who have gone were truly amazing advocates. They were intelligent, articulate, compassionate advocates who had the skills to motivate others to move forward. Groups like ACT-UP knew how to get the issues on the front page.''

Corbett's sadness over what has been lost is matched in equal parts by his frustration over a lack of kindness, a lack of leadership and ongoing stigma when it comes to HIV. For example, while his church, the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C., meets his expectations, other churches have fallen short.

''Where is the volunteerism? Churches are there to help the sick, the homeless, the less fortunate. There are churches on every block -- they're like liquor stores. So why are there homeless on these streets?''

Before joining MCC, Corbett attended an African-American church.

''They had cultural issues that are falsely based on their history. You can't say you don't respect homosexuality when your choir, your deacon, about two-thirds of your members are [homosexual]. Those are the things that continue a stigma that continues to affect and erode black culture.''

Moving from the spiritual to the political, Corbett says he wishes the city's leadership -- particularly during this post-election, transitional period -- would lead on HIV by example, lining up to get tested publicly, and encouraging their constituents to do the same.

From his post at the front desk of the George Washington University Hospital's radiology department, however, Corbett says he is constantly reminded to keep things in proportion -- despite the scope of the HIV pandemic, regardless of his good health, no matter the misplaced stigma.

''Life is such a short thing. You have to decide whether to value it or not. Each day, I value it.''

Enjoying each day as if it were the last helps Corbett ''walk in faith and not fear.''

''We will live, and this epidemic will pass, whether I'm on earth or not. We're all on a journey. The question is, in the time that you have, have you made the best choices? Have you done something?''

Read the Complete Article at the Metro Weekly Website

Condom Week Part 5: Say it with a Condom

The condom graphics I made this week were all generated using a very cool and completely free graphic design tool from Advocates for Youth. The organization is sponsoring their 'Respect Yourself. Protect Yourself. Condom Campaign'. Students can quickly download the free software and come up with their own unique condom designs to enter in the competition. Need some inspiration? Check out these condom postcards that have already been submitted.

Condom Week Part 4: Be a Condom Safe Site!

From the Great American Condom Campaign: We have heard just about every excuse in the book as to why people will not get condoms. Some steeped in genuine logistical barriers such as stores that are closed - or too far away - for when ‘the moment comes,' and others that are influenced by highly stigmatized social perceptions. Let's face it, buying condoms isn't as easy as buying a candy bar. Interestingly, although it should not come as much of a surprise, condoms are often the most stolen items in retail - forcing many stores to simply keep them locked up or behind the sales counter; adding another complex perceived barrier for individuals to deal with should they want to buy condoms.

SafeSites is a new method of condom distribution relying on peer-to-peer networking technology and direct social-access points.

Here's how Safesites works:

1. Individuals and/or Organizations register to become a Safesite.

2. Once officially registered, 100 ONE brand condoms in our special packaging are delivered to the individual on a monthly basis.

3. Upon receipt of condoms, the SafeSite decal is put on their door, in plain public view. It is then up to the individual to determine what is the best distribution strategy for their unique community.

That's it. That's all you have to do.

Register to be a safe site now!.

Condom Week Part 3: AHPP Distributes Condoms Online

The Administration for HIV Policy & Programs (AHPP) is moving closer to it's goal of distributing a million condoms in the District of Columbia. AHPP has launched an online condom distribution program. Their website states:This program is intended to promote, facilitate and simplify the way that condoms are distributed.Any organization can request condoms through this program. Once the online form is completed, arrangements will be made for a representative from your organization to pick up the condoms for distribution.

It's a good start, but it's not really what I expected when AHPP announced the plan back in October. For starters, they are not really distributing the condoms, but rather they are making them available for organizations to pick up. Also, since this effort relies on local organizations to do the distribution, it's quite possible there are some parts of town that will have condoms available, and other parts of town that won't. Finally, the website says 'any organization' but doesn't make it clear whether or not businesses like restaurants, clubs, and bars can also request condoms to make available to their patrons. We'll see how this program develops.

In the meantime, if you work for a local organization, make sure to Order condoms at the AHPP website today.

Condom Week Part 2: CVS Revises Condom Policy

Trey Watkins is modest. The second-year, gay grad student at George Washington University's School of Public Health is quick to point out that he's not solely responsible for pushing CVS/pharmacy to modify its policy of locking condoms in cabinets or behind the counter in almost half of its stores in Washington's lower-income neighborhoods to avoid theft.

"We looked at this and said it's obviously an issue," Watkins says. "Condoms are continuously being locked up and are not ... readily available, and people have to ask for them. Rather than ask [for them because] of embarrassment, they are going home and having unprotected sex."

continue reading this article at Metroweekly

Condom Week Part 1: The BHT Condom Collective

The Brother Help Thyself Condom Cooperative has the ability to make bulk purchases of condoms and other at volume discount rates which individual non-profits and businesses usually cannot negotiate.

Current members of the Cooperative include HIV/AIDS Education and Service Providers, bars, and adult-oriented businesses in the metro Baltimore / Washington DC area. The BHT Condom Cooperative offers condoms, lube, and HIV educational materials. The goal of the program is to make it economically viable for all businesses to express their care for their customers by distributing condoms free of cost. Behavioral studies definitely conclude that people are more likely to engage in safe sex behavior when condoms and lubricate are easily available at businesses where people meet their sexual partners.

For more information, visit http://www.brotherhelpthyself.com/content/view/32/39/.

Washington Post Living HIV Quilt

This World AIDS Day, the Washington Post launched The Living Quilt, which features the pictures and stories of individuals living with HIV in the District of Columbia. If you would like to be added to the quilt, or you know someone who does, please e-mail Jose Vargas.

FYI, Jose is doing a series of articles for the Washington Post on HIV/AIDS. Two more articles will run before the end of the year, so keep a look out for them.

Blade Article on Ryan White Care Act Authorization

Today's Washington Blade has a story entitled: Ryan White approval spares D.C. $4 million cut in AIDS budget.

What the story got right: This version is better for DC because it phases in named based reporting, and doesn't penalize places like DC that haven't yet gotten named base reporting up and running.

What the story got wrong: When Lou writes "The district’s total AIDS budget for fiscal year 2007 comes to $82 million" he doesn't tell you that a hefty chunk of that money goes right back out to other states. The money we get from Ryan White Title I is for our EMA, or Eligible Metropolitan Area, which includes parts of Maryland, Virginia, and even West Virginia. So this may be AHPP's budget, but the amount that actually get's spent in the district is far less.

What the story didn't tell you: It's nice that we will be able to avoid a $4 million dollar cut, but let's be honest. There have been many years when we haven't been able to spend all the money we receive for HIV/AIDS in the District. I don't think anybody would be suprised if AHPP had a couple million dollars left over at the end of this year. Ours is not a problem of money, ours is a problem of accountability. Four million dollars does not amount to a hill of beans if we don't spend it wisely.

ACTION Lunch Forum on HIV, Hep C, & African Americans

Today we had the 5th ACTION (AIDS Clinical Trials Information & Orientation) Lunch event. These free, informational lunch events are held the second Thursday of each month at the DC CARE Consortium.

Monica Lattimore-Mcleod PA-C (pictured left) gave a presentation on HIV, Heptatis C, and African Americans.

The hepatitis C virus is transmitted through infected blood. Hepatitis C spreads easily when drug users share equipment. It can also be spread through sexual activity. A small percentage of people clear the Hep C virus with no problems. Most folks will develop a chronic infection, which left untreated can cause serious liver damage and even liver failure and death. While there is a vaccine to prevent the spread of Hep A, and Hep B, there is no vaccine to prevent the spread of Hepatitis C.

About 30% of folks in the United States folks living with HIV are also infected with Hep C. We don't know the exact percentage in DC, but I personally believe it's a lot higher than 30%. If you'd like to learn more about this topic, I encourage you to start right here at www.thebody.com.

Be sure to join us for the ACTION lunch next month, details are right here.

Oh, and pictures from todays event are available on the Flickr Fight HIV in DC Photo Stream.

HIV/AIDS: Between Promises & Performance

The following commentary was written by Raymond Blank and was submitted to the Adrian Fenty Transition Blog. Be sure to share your thoughts on HIV/AIDS with Mayor Elect Fenty. Post your comments here.

Promises of action made by Mayor Williams more than a year ago to bolster the battle against HIV have not been realized. The fact remains that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the District remains both disturbing and depressing. The rate of infection in Washington remains ten times the national rate. African American women are 90% of all infected female residents and many thousands of residents do not know their status. Blacks are 60% of the District’s population but represent more than 80% of AIDS cases and nearly 20,000 residents are living with HIV. Recent tests indicate that among the 16,700 persons tested, 580 tested positive, a new increase of nearly 4%. Dr. John Hogan of Unity Health Care recently observed that this deadly virus strikes where “lives of quiet desperation” are experienced.

The size of this epidemic, however, requires adequate scope of services to meet current and increasing demands. Despite the mayor’s promises, real progress still eludes the Administration for HIV Policies and Programs. This deadly health crisis is still growing while the city’s ability to combat this disease with effective prevention and treatment services have not increased accordingly.

The City Council last year appropriated a half-million dollars to establish HIV services in Ward 7 where no services are provided although it has the second highest rate of infection in the city. Today, there are still no services in that ward although a local consulting firm was hired to assist in developing new services. More distressing, nearly 25% of the Council’s award was spent illegally in other sectors of the city and for other purposes. Regretfully, adequate prevention and treatment services have not been expanded to residents most in need and who engaged in high-risk behaviors such as unprotected sex or shared needles.

A year ago, the Office of the Inspector General audited AHPP and found substantial deficits in its management practices especially related to grant awards to community service providers. This year, the IG’s Office conducted a similar audit and found no evidence of progress in the effective management of public resources. One organization secured a grant of a quarter of a million but the audit found no evidence of services provided to the public. AHPP personnel never once monitored the use of public funds awarded to the agency. Epidemiological data is still neither complete or easily available and the agency’s surveillance remains below standards of competence.

A major campaign, “Know Your Status,” was kicked off in June with the goal of testing 400,000 residents between 14 and 84 by December. HIV testing is an effective prevention practice endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control. More than $1.2 million dollars was budgeted to support this massive testing initiative that has achieved less than 5% of its campaign target. Two highly publicized testing events were held on Freedom Plaza at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars. But less than 200 people submitted to the test in either event. No special testing events were organized east of the river area during where the majority of people infected live. Fortunately, nearly a third of all residents recently tested are inmates at the DC Jail. However, 6% or nearly 250 more people tested positive but community providers lack the capacity to absorb this increased cohort needing follow-up health services in the community once released from jail.

Perhaps the most important failure in the last year of the Williams Administration is the consistent absence of any adequate effort to really engage community residents regarding this health crisis that effects one of every 20 residents. A health challenge of this magnitude requires the involvement of citizens to also help to reverse alarming trends. Walter Smith, the president of the DC Appleseed, emphasized recently the necessity for a community dialogue to better alert and engage residents, to promote practices of prevention, distribute materials that foster harm reduction and circulate information on treatment services and locations. The absence of residents from such a dialogue prohibits collaborations by the city with its citizens, depresses a necessary synergy and diminishes the community’s capacity to contribute in combating HIV.

Last year, the DC Appleseed Report on HIV and AIDS in the District asserted that the city was 15 years behind the scope and quality of services and management necessary to meet this growing health challenge. No appreciable improvements have been attained lately while this disease continues to grow where people are most vulnerable and lack adequate and competent services. It’s time for the District to truly deliver on its promises.

Raymond S. Blanks is a member of the District’s Community HIV Planning Group.

Us Helping Us Noir Reflections Retreat '06

Tim'm West Reflects on the 2006 Noir Reflections Retreat: we came to hills where cometh our strength, riding the wave of whatever change was awaiting permission to be sparked. we brought our burdens there: full hearts and blues boxes with songs from the key of life and salt. we came committed to be the change we dream: living in our fullness where others filled their emptiness with next cocktails, cocks or tails. sober, we understood the necessity of feeling with the clarity of vultures sighting sustinence. holding one another close, we understood that expressions of intimacy don't require nakedness, risk, or self-sacrifice. we held one another so closely that it hurt to let go. in the after... we will have to call on the memory of such protectedness.

Continue reading this article on the Brave Souls Collective Website

Howard University Receives $25,000 HIV/AIDS Grant

The Tom Joyner Foundation, founded by the nationally syndicated radio personality and philanthropist, announced on World AIDS Day that they have distributed $25,000 each to eight historically black colleges and universities to promote awareness on HIV/AIDS.

The Foundation received the grant from McFarland and Associates and the Program Coordinating Center (PCC) for the Substance Abuse Mental health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Prevention's (SAMHSA/CSAP) Minority Education Institution (MEI) Initiative. The institution will be responsible for conducting the HIV projects.

Read the article at: http://www.blacknews.com/pr/tomjoynerfoundation101.html

Rapper Ludacris urges wider HIV testing

Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges urged students at George Washington University to "save some lives" by getting tested for HIV on World AIDS Day, Friday Dec. 1.
The 29-year-old Grammy-winning rapper said the topic is of particular importance in the nation's capital, where the rate of AIDS is the highest of any U.S. city. About 3 percent of D.C. residents have tested positive for the virus, according to the District's HIV campaign.

Ludacris described his recent trip to South Africa and said that children with AIDS there touched his heart. He said the experience made him want to alert the public of the pandemic, which is commonly spread through sexual intercourse.

continue reading this article

MW Profiles Chris Rothermel

CHRIS ROTHERMEL started off 2005 with a goal of helping in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In January of last year, he was being trained in his hometown, New Orleans, to offer counseling and HIV testing.

But when he decided to get tested himself as he went through training, he didn't expect to be on the other side of the equation. He remembers the day he got his results: Jan. 25, 2005.

''It was a huge surprise. I always used condoms -- that I knew of. But I also had a history of drug and alcohol abuse.'' Only 21 at the time, Rothermel wasn't starting just the year as HIV-positive, but his adult life.

''Luckily, I was working at a really supportive [HIV-related] organization, so I kind of had the gist of what was going on with my body. There was a wonderful network of support. And I was living with someone, a roommate, who had HIV and he knew the ins and outs of living with the virus.''

His coworkers in New Orleans walked him through the process of what he needed to do to stay healthy. Rothermel says it took him about six months to come to terms with his HIV status, to get to a point where he was comfortable discussing it -- just in time for his world to be turned upside down again. Hurricane Katrina barreled into New Orleans in August 2005. He headed to Houston, the only city outside of his hometown where he had friends.

''Before Katrina hit, I was organizing a caravan for the Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA) that was traveling up to D.C. for Four Days of Action -- rallies, civil disobedience, things like that. Once Katrina hit, I started organizing from Houston. I didn't have anything else to do, and I didn't want to sit in front of the TV all day watching horrible stories.''

Arriving in D.C. after the month-long caravan from Texas, he found a far more welcoming community than the one he'd left in Houston, which was inundated with Katrina evacuees. Whereas his welcome was worn in Texas, he found Washingtonians to be wonderfully friendly by comparison. So much so that he ended up relocating, and today works at Whitman-Walker Clinic providing outreach to young men who have sex with men. He's also a client.

He hasn't begun a drug regimen yet, though he says his comfort level with his doctor is such that, ''I would be comfortable taking meds if she told me to.'' With his T-cells going up and his health being monitored, ''There's no real reason I should be on meds, unless my T-cell count goes down.''

While his health today is good, Rothermel follows the history of his mental health -- and the seeds that grew into the drug and alcohol abuse that he says likely led to a lapse in his safer-sex practices -- back to his school days.

''I went to an all-boys Catholic school. That sort of relates to my HIV status. We took a whole semester in eighth grade to learn that if you jerk-off, you're going to hell; [that] condoms are not effective in preventing HIV or STDs; [that] gay people are going to hell. All that good stuff. I'm sure it had a negative effect on me.''

Having experienced that sort of indoctrination, followed by substance abuse and his subsequent sero-conversion, Rothermel points to comprehensive sexual education as the most important tool in the fight against HIV.

''One person says a gay person is bad, then gay people cause AIDS. That's the thinking in some people's minds. It doesn't matter if you're gay or straight. It matters if you're having unprotected sex, regardless of how you identify.''

In addition to fighting stigma, he says sexual education needs to include communication skills.

''I don't think young people know how to properly negotiate condoms with their partners. It's really important that we teach them the skills to communicate throughout sex.''

Though Rothermel says he's generally optimistic about the fight, he adds that getting to that point where everyone is educated about sex is still a long way off.

''We know what can prevent HIV. All we have to do is make it happen.''

Read the Complete Article at the Metro Weekly Website

UMC Quality of Life Retreats for People with HIV/AIDS

The next retreat takes places February 5th-8th at the Washington DC Retreat House

The Quality of Life Retreat program began in 1988. Since then over sixty-two retreats have been conducted.

The retreats are a connecting and coping experience for persons living with HIV/AIDS. It is a chance to get away, to get together, to interact and to learn the techniques and attitudes that are effective in dealing with the issues of long-term survival.

The program includes workshops that focus on self-acceptance, spiritual empowerment, stigmas, mental health, and maintaining quality of life. There will be workshops, entertainment, singing, prayer, and a healing services. Participants support each other through a Prayer-Buddy System. The group may also design a Talent Show. The retreat is limited to 40 participants and is offered to persons living with HIV/AIDS. The program is ecumenical and opent to individuals of all faiths, religions, and beliefs.

The retreats have four objects:

• To provide a safe, loving environment in which participants can be fully themselves, free of fears and inhibitions, and can deal openly with their deeest concerns.
• To offer spiritual, practical, educational and health resources to those whose lives have been, are and will be affected personally by HIV infection.
• To listen to what HIV infected persons have to say about their journeys.
• To offer and develop a viable model of how the religious community can make a compassionate and effective response to this crisis.

The ultimate goal is to provide retreats that will be a connecting and coping experience for persons living with HIV/AIDS.

The next retreat will take place February 5th-8th at the Washington DC Retreat House, which is operated by the Sisters of the Franciscan Order.

For more information visit www.qualityofliferetreatshiv.org

MW Profiles: Mark Fischer

IT WAS 1980 in New York City and Mark Fischer was walking into the legendary nightclub, The Saint, on opening night. Having moved to D.C. from North Carolina two years earlier, when STDs were the scariest health concern in the gay community, life was good for this young man.

''I went to visit some friends and they took me as a surprise. I thought I'd died and went to heaven. It was overwhelming, all encompassing. It was a place you went with friends, and just sort of lost yourself in the music and danced.''

Trips to The Saint were the ''carrot at the end of the stick'' that got Fischer through whatever toil he faced during the workweek.

''It was like going to church. In some ways, it was this spiritual communion.''

The Saint remained a constant bright spot in Fischer's life, from the day it opened until its closing in 1988. In those years, Fischer transformed from a young gay man celebrating an unprecedented era of liberation, to someone living with HIV in the opening years of a global pandemic. In a sense, the party was over. But Fischer managed to hold onto a pragmatic sense of calm.

''I was diagnosed in '86. I assume that I was infected probably before that. I limited my activities severely, because I wasn't sure. It was a very stifling kind of thing.''

Fischer says there initially wasn't much reason to get tested for HIV, as there wasn't any treatment on offer. But by the time he and his partner, whom he'd met in 1984, were tested, it was just a matter of confirming what they'd already assumed. The security of his relationship and the dawning of HIV medications, he says, made the test results quite a bit easier to swallow.

Fischer can't say the same for some of those medicines he's ingested over the years, a root-beer-flavored syrup in particular.

''The worst part was that it would repeat. It would keep coming back. And it tasted like, I don't know, rancid fish. Then I got capsules, but they still had a tendency to do a little bit of that.''

That may have contributed to Fischer's admitted problem with taking his medications regularly -- until recently he had been ''sloppy compliant'' with his regimens, taking frequent ''drug holidays.''

The primary reasons, he explains, were complicated schedules for dosing his myriad medications, and side effects, such as ongoing nausea, bloating and severe gastrointestinal discomfort. But when an HIV-positive friend went blind and deaf, he found the motivation to stick to the medications that would keep cytomegalovirus, which can attack a compromised immune system, at bay.

Still, Fischer's difficulties with his medications -- and other contributing factors -- led to his being hospitalized with pneumocystis pneumonia in November 2002. It was one of many hardships Fischer has faced in recent years, including losing a job and the death of his partner.

Today Fischer, 57, is regaining solid footing.

''I'm getting over the feeling that I'd really fucked my life up for good because so many negative things hit. I kept thinking, 'If only....' But I had this realization that doing the best I could, this is where I wound up. The void in my life -- the job, the partner -- is an opportunity to rebuild parts of my life that very few people get to rebuild. I can be selective of what I put in there. Now I'm looking at life differently. It's the same thing with the HIV. It all goes together. Now I see challenges as opportunities.''

Fischer is also on a new drug regimen that has him taking four medications, but all at the same time every morning, with few side effects. He's supplementing the pharmaceuticals by seeing a nutritionist, an acupuncturist and a massage therapist.

''The feedback I've gotten has reinforced to me that I'm healthy, all things considered.''

Professionally, he's managing an organization he founded, Values in Action (VIA), with the aim of strengthening ties between the business and non-profit communities. He also expects to be partnered again, at some point.

He says HIV and other hardships have taught him not to defer life.

''I find myself sharing experiences with my parents, having far more in common with them than I would ever expect to. It's the experience of having your friends, peers, die away in large numbers. It's looking for things in your environment, your community, that you once had that you can't find.

''Dealing with the disease has caused me to approach life differently. For the most part, I'd say I've been able to find a positive outcome. I've been reminded of what is important, how I should spend my time, not to think so much about the future.... You need to withdraw some of your savings, literally and figuratively. You need to withdraw and spend now, because there's no guarantee.''

Read the Complete Article at the Metro Weekly Website

D.C. falls short of goal in testing for HIV

From the Washington Blade: The city will fall far short of meeting its ambitious goal of screening all residents for HIV between the ages of 14 and 84 — about 400,000 people — between June 27 and Dec. 31, District health officials said. Gregg Pane, director of the D.C. Department of Health, said the city’s widely publicized HIV testing initiative resulted in about 20,000 people being tested during a five-month period as of Dec. 1. The figure represents more than twice the number of tests normally administered in the District in a full year, according to Pane. “We certainly set a stretched goal, which was really to make the test available to anyone who wanted it between the ages of 14 and 84,” Pane said. “It was pretty ambitious.” Marsha Martin, director of the Administration for HIV Policy & Planning, an arm of the health department, set the 400,000-test goal. Martin has said her aim was to reverse the city’s status of having the nation’s highest rate of new HIV infections each year. Martin said the city purchased 80,000 rapid HIV test kits and initiated an aggressive public education campaign to promote the testing initiative. She said an undetermined but significant amount of HIV tests have been administered in private doctors’ offices and clinics in addition to the 20,000 known tests conducted through city public health programs. She said she was confident the city would make “good progress” toward reaching the testing goal in the coming months. AIDS administration spokesperson Michael Kharfen said the HIV testing initiative has a budget of $1.3 million, with $800,000 going to the purchase of “rapid” HIV test kits and $500,000 going to a public outreach campaign to encourage people to get tested.

Hepatitis C, HIV, & African Americans

Reminder: Please RSVP by Tuesday!!! Join us December 14th at 1:00 PM for the monthly ACTION lunch presentation at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street, Suite 500, Washington DC. DC CARE is located at the corner of 15th and M Streets, and is closest to the McPherson Metro Stop.

Monica Lattimore-McLeod will help us better understand how the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) impacts African Americans. We will look at prevalence rates of Hepatitis C in the African American Community and learn more about why there are racial and ethnic disparities in treatment of HCV. We'll also look at unique issues for those who are HIV positive and also have HCV. Register for this event online by clicking here, or by calling 202 223-9550 ext 15.

MW Profiles Danielle Pleasant

AT FIRST GLANCE, Danielle Pleasant seems like a million other mothers. A 40-year-old D.C. native who lives in Southwest with four of her five children -- the eldest, 19, has already moved out -- she seems like a proud mom with common concerns. Pleasant jokes that one of the most important things she's had to learn about parenting is how to be strict. It's an expected challenge from a woman who does a good job living up to her last name.

Look a little closer, however, and it's obvious Pleasant and her family carry some uncommon burdens. And supportive as she's been of her kids, they've been as supportive of her through some difficult times.

''They've been with me through my addiction. They've been taken away from me, and we've been reunited. We're pretty close,'' she says. ''They know all about me being HIV-positive. They get concerned if I'm not feeling well, if I'm sick. But children are just really resilient. They've kept me going.... My kids are my rock. They're the reason why I do what I do.''

Addicted to crack and six months pregnant with her fourth child, Pleasant learned of her HIV status while seeking prenatal care at Walter Reed Hospital in 1993. Her addiction was controlling her life. Though still married to her estranged husband, the father of her eldest child, Pleasant says she doesn't know who is the father of the child she carried in 1993.

And things were just getting worse.

''When I first found out, [HIV] was just another thing on the pile. I wasn't focused on that, because I was pregnant. I just automatically knew, 'My baby's going to be positive.' And he was.''

The difficulty of progressing to AIDS wasn't the only thing facing her newborn son -- encephalopathy, hypothyroidism and high blood pressure were also present. He later lost his ability to walk.

Her baby's medical problems compounded Pleasant's own. Feelings of guilt about her drug addiction and her child's resulting HIV-positive status evolved into a panic that she might be losing her mind: ''If I'd push the stroller and he wasn't in it, I would say to myself, 'I've lost my mind and my son has died, and I'm pushing the stroller as if he's still in it.'''

That pregnancy was followed two years later by another, forcing Pleasant to make hard choices about her addiction, her life and the life of the fetus she was carrying.

''I had to figure out whether I was going to have her or not. I was afraid of having her for fear that she'd be positive. I decided to leave it in God's hands, and I went into treatment. It wasn't to get clean, but to show Child Protective Services that I was doing something.''

Whatever her intentions, that last pregnancy became a crossroads for Pleasant. She got treatment for her addiction. She found a supportive, albeit temporary, home at the House of Ruth shelter. And she was offered a spot in a clinical AZT trial to prevent in utero transmission of the virus. Her youngest child was born, and remains, HIV-negative.

Today, as a mother, as a bisexual woman, as a recovering addict, and as an HIV-positive person, Pleasant is a surprising picture of strength, an affirmation for the force of will. But whether it's her work as an advocate for women and children, or as the dutiful mother of five who collects so many prescriptions for her family that the local pharmacist asked her if she was running a group home, beneath the strength there is vulnerability.

''As open as I am about it, I still go through the fear of being rejected,'' says Pleasant, offering that, romantically, reactions from men and women are dependent upon the individual, not the gender.

''If someone tries to approach me or date me, I go through a couple different stages: Do I tell them now? Do I wait?''

Pleasant says she initially didn't tell everyone due to fear of rejection. Then, when she began disclosing, she found herself not understanding why ''they liked me anyway.'' Then came the fear of dating someone positive who could ''die on me,'' and the fear of dating someone negative and wondering if they would ''contract the virus from me.''

''It's a really fine line for me.''

And considering that one of Pleasant's closest friends is a lesbian who believes she contracted HIV from another woman, Pleasant emphasizes that this stigma she's wrestled with is pointless, in that everyone is at risk for contracting HIV.

''If I hadn't worked on building my self-esteem, I wouldn't feel comfortable telling you I'm HIV-positive, because I don't know how you're going to look at me.''

Because transmission is often via social taboos – sex, drugs -- Pleasant says people have trouble talking openly about their own risks.

''It's usually something people don't want to deal with: drug abuse or sexual behavior. But everybody is at risk, and not everybody wants to believe that.''

Read the Complete Article at the Metro Weekly Website

DC World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil

''There is a killer on the loose.''

That was the message from Rev. Dyan Abena McCray at the World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil at Freedom Plaza on Friday, Dec 1.

''[No] police force, no criminal justice system, no squad control, [and] no special task force has been able to stop the killing,'' said McCray, pointing to the disregard AIDS has for education or location or money or fame. ''It simply wants your life. The only one who is able to stop this killer is you.''

McCray was the final speaker at the annual vigil, sponsored by Whitman-Walker Clinic. Other speakers included Whitman-Walker chief executive officer Donald Blanchon; Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D); Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1); Matthew Kavanagh, executive director of Global Justice and the national coordinator for the Student Global AIDS Campaign; Rabbi Binyamin Biber of Machar, the Washington Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism; and Anthony Johnson, a client of the Whitman-Walker Clinic who has been living with HIV for the past four years

continue reading this article at Metro Weekly

World AIDS Day White House Protest

Hundreds of protesters marked World AIDS Day in Washington DC on Friday by staging a demonstration in front of The White House, where several were eventually arrested.

Activists from a number of grassroots organisations, including the Student Global AIDS campaign, ACT-UP, and University Coalitions for Global Health, gathered for a rally at Layfayette Park, located across the street from The White House.

They're calling on President George W Bush and the US Congress to secure universal access to AIDS treatments by the year 2010.

Bush's AIDS initiative, which he announced in 2003, is the largest international health initiative dedicated to a single disease.

It targets 15 countries that are home to about half of the world's 39 million people who are HIV-positive.

But Amy Rinner, a medical student at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, said the United States should do more.

"If you talk about how much money we commit to third world countries in terms of per capita, we give well below what the United Nations wishes us to give and I think that as a country that has the ability to do more and has a lot of the leading pharmaceutical agencies, we could give a lot more than we do," she said.

A few demonstrators broke away from the main crowd and sat down on the sidewalk just outside The White House gate.

After issuing a verbal warning, police moved in and made several arrests. (AP)

See more pictures from this event right here

The First Four Months: The Next Four Months

As www.fighthivindc.org hits the four-month mark today, I would like to give you a quick update on where we are, and where we're going.

First off, in this short period of time, this website has become the definitive source for online information about HIV in DC. As you can see from our web statistics, the blog continues to grow, with numbers steadily increasing each month. I'd like to add that this has been accomplished without a single dollar changing hands.

We owe our success to many folks in the DC blog community. Our posts appear daily on DC Blogs Live. Other blogs that have linked to this site include: Stop, Blog and Roll (Ward 5), OC Girl, In Shaw, Sour and Sweet, and many others. Of course, the most traffic has been sent our way from Wonkette. Thank You!

The Next Four Months

Of course it goes without saying that I expect our web traffic to keep steadily increasing as we reach more and more folks in DC. Here are a few other things I'm hoping to accomplish in the next four months.

1. Add new Bloggers: We've had some great blog posts from Julie Davids and Wayne Turner. I'd like to build on that success and recruit more folks to become contributors to the blog. If you'd like to become a blogger on this site, just post a comment below and let me know!

2. Move the site from blogger to a hosted server. This means the entire site will be at www.fighthivindc.org, and you won't see the .blogspot.com stuff anymore. It also means I can get rid of that grey blogger box above, and customize the site a little bit more with non-blog content.

3. Add a download center. I hope to create a download center where you can download current fliers, newsletters, and materials from local AIDS Service organizations to print out. The downside of being web-based is that not everyone has access. This will allow folks who visit the site to quickly print out fliers and announcements to share with the offline world.

4. Translate Awareness into Action. We have an HIV/AIDS crisis in DC, and we need more people to be actively engaged. That could mean everything from volunteering with SERVE to submitting comments on Mayor Elect Fenty's HIV/AIDS Plan. I'm particularly interested, however, in seeing local advocacy efforts grow. As you may see, our humble Campaign to End AIDS Y!Group (C2EA-MetroDC) has just 15 members. In the next four months, we should get that up to at least 100. And I hope I can use this site to help all of us involved in C2EA-MetroDC to work towards our goal of "engaging ourselves and our communities in every aspect of HIV advocacy to ensure the best possible treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS; and the best possible science-based HIV prevention.”

5. Incorporate Google Ads. So how am I going to pay for this? Well, right now I'm leaning towards incorporating Google Advertisements on the website. I use google ads quite succesfully with a number of other websites I operate including www.temenos.net. If you strongly object to seeing advertisements on this site, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Beyond the next four months

Okay, I have a few other things I'd like to work on. Including a user survey exploring the tech needs of local DC ASO's (many of whom haven't updated their websites in months. I'd also like to explore if the Critpath Model would work in DC.

Let me know what you think

Interested? Have a suggestion? Want to help? Drop me a line and let's talk soon.

We're #1 (again)

Kaiser Family Foundation has updated their www.statehealthfacts.org website with the most current data available. Here's the news:

DC has the highest AIDS rate. We come in at 128.4 AIDS cases per 100,000 people. Please note that these are only the folks that have been diagnosed with AIDS. This does not include people who are HIV positive or do not know their status. New York State comes in second at 32.7 cases per 100,000 people. here's the chart.

Fenty HIV/AIDS "Plan"

I had hoped Mayor-elect Fenty would inject some much-needed new life into the District's failed HIV prevention efforts. However, after reviewing the Fenty pre-transition team's HIV/AIDS paper, those hopes are quickly fading. What is Fenty's bold new approach to combat the epidemic that is devastating our community? Another meeting. Yes, Team Fenty is proposing a 'summit' of AIDS 'leaders' in his first 90 days in office. Note to Fenty - Tony Williams did the same thing six years ago as his big response to AIDS. Just to remind you of the stunning turn around that resulted from that meeting, uh, well, there was none. Tragically, the Fenty "plan" seems to be repeating the same do-nothing approach that has resulted in DC's continued status as the US AIDS Capital. I scanned the pre-transition document several times looking for one particular word. Condoms. There was no mention of condoms or water-based lubricants and their lack of availability in DC. I realize that having jars of free condoms and lube in DC's bars, nightclubs, clinics, and social service agencies is a radical notion. Whoever thought that condoms could help prevent HIV transmission? Given the current estimates of rising HIV infection rates in the District, the radical notion of condom distribution is long overdue.

The Last SOUND Meeting of the Year

SOUND will have it's final meeting of the year Wednesday, December 6th at 12:00 PM at Us Helping Us, 3636 Georgia Avenue, NW.

SOUND (Strategies for Outreatch, Unification, Networking, and Development) is a network of HIV/AIDS Outreach workers and other HIV/AIDS service providers from HIV/AIDS service organizations all across the Metro DC Area. If you work for an HIV/AIDS organization, it's a great opportunity to meet and network with folks from other organizations, and to discuss common concerns.

The meeting will feature a mini-workshop by Stephen McDonnell on handling stress on the job.

For more information contact Terry Handy at (202) 223-9550 extension 18 or by email. Please RSVP by COB today if at all possible.

Do Something for World AIDS Day Today.

Over past few weeks, I've listed dozens of World AIDS Day Events going on in the District. In addition to the events listed here, there are several other events listed in posts including Ludacris Speaking at GW Today.

Do something for World AIDS Day today. Obviously I can't go to all the events, but you may see me at a few of them. This afternoon I'll be speaking at a World AIDS Day event for the folks at City Year DC. I'll also be at the Candlelight Vigil at Freedom Plaza and immediately afterword, the Reception Honoring HIV/AIDS Trial Participants at the nearby Wilson Building.

However you mark World AIDS Day today, I encourage you to take a few pictures and send them my way so we can post them on the FightHIVinDC Flickr Page. If you'd like to write about your experience today and share it on your blog, please submit your blog entries to: davidmariner@fighthiv.blogger.com, and they will be posted ASAP.