DC Fights Back Meeting

The next DC Fights Back meeting will be on August 28th at 6pm at Our Place DC, 801 Penn. Ave SE. Washington, DC 20003 Suite 460. Our Place, DC is convenient to the Eastern Market Metro Stop. Please join us!

District Sample Sale Benefits Miriams House

This year, the annual District Sample Sale will raise money to benefit Miriam's House. Miriam's House is a caring residential community for homeless women living with HIV disease that empowers recovery from homelessness, disease, and addictions in an environment of compassion, integrity, and accountability.

The District Sample Sale features Washington's best fashion boutiques selling their end-of-season wares at deep discounts, plus offering exclusive pricing and previews on their lines and looks of the current season. It all takes place Wednesday, September 12th from 7:00-9:00pm (VIP hour from 6:00-7:00pm) at 3307 M Street, NW. For more information, visit www.districtsamplesale.com.

HIV/AIDS Awareness Low Among DC Teenagers

Unlike most District teenagers, 15-year-old Kanesha Overton considers herself well informed about the rising epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the Greater Washington area. But her knowledge about the disease, she says, came from her babysitter, not HIV/AIDS information campaigns or sex education programs.

"I learned about the disease from my babysitter, by her talking to me about it at a young age, starting at about age six," said Overton, a student at Banneker Academic High School. "When I became older, it made me more aware about the truth."

Overton also learned about sex the hard way. Her mother got pregnant with Overton's older brother at age 19 and the father was 22. Before her father could wed her mother, he died of a gunshot to his head. Kanesha was three years old at the time.

But Overton's mother made sure that her daughter did not repeat her mistakes. She began talking to her and explaining what sex was at the age of 13, speaking mostly of its consequences, such as diseases. "My mother always told me, when she had sex and how it affected her life," she said. "It makes me want to wait until I get married."

continue reading this article at the District Chronicles (you may need to register)

Michelle Rhee at Gertrude Stein Democrats Meeting

There is an article about the new chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), Michelle Rhee appearing at a recent Gertrude Stein Democrats meeting in Metroweekly. I was there, and I asked Michelle Rhee two questions about the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

In responding, Rhee first had to seek clarification from her aide on whether or not the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was under her jurisdiction. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed she was unfamiliar with the YRBS, which is crucial to understanding the health and well being of DC school students (including but not limited to HIV/AIDS).

Can Rhee have a measurable impact on the number of students who take weapons in our schools? Can Rhee have a measurable impact on the number of students who report being harrassed or threatened in our schools? Can Rhee in any way impact the number of students who smoke cigarattes or who have been offerred or sold illegal drugs on school grounds? All these questions are part of the Youth Risk Behavior, and two years from now, we will be comparing the 2007 YRBS data with the 2009 YRBS data to understand Rhee's impact in her first two school years.

There are other tools to measure whether or not Rhee can improve the academic performance of school students, but the YRBS is the most important tool to understand whether or not Rhee can impact the health & safety of our students. If she is unfamiliar with the baseline data we are going to be using to evaluate her progress, I find that a little concerning.

Still, as Adam Tenner stated in the article, "For youth in D.C., it's incumbent on us to extend the chancellor as much trust as we can, until she gives us reason not to."

I look forward to working with Michelle Rhee, and hope we can achieve measurable improvements in the health and safety of our students in the District.

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If you want to read more about the meeting and other issues raised, click here to read the Metro Weekly article. If you would like to learn more about the YRBS, please come to the ACTION lunch next month where Dr. Clark will be speaking on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Metro TeenAIDS Seeks Community Partners

Is your organization serving youth in Wards 5, 6, 7, or 8? Are they between the ages of 13-24?

MetroTeenAIDS (MTA), an organization dedicated to preventing HIV infection among young people in the Washington, DC metro area is looking for Coalition Partners in Wards 5, 6, 7 & 8 , and interested youth they serve, to help us design our new HIV testing campaign!

What are the benefits to your organization becoming a Coalition Partner?

• A $5,000 stipend to invited org’s, to ensure that youth and staff maintain participation in all required phases of the project
• Youth and staff will be trained in social marketing techniques designed to engage youth in HIV testing services and safer sex practices
• Youth will gain leadership and peer to peer relationship building skills – and get paid for it!
• Youth will get to be creative and use their input to design campaign messages and materials –and get paid for it!
• Youth will have the opportunity to receive safer sex & STD information as well as HIV counseling and testing through co-sponsored events – and get paid for it!

What opportunities exist for my young people?

• You may have youth who want to apply for the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) - They will be paid $100/mo. for 8 months to attend monthly meetings, share ideas about your needs, participate in media & peer outreach trainings, help design campaign materials and participate in related events. We are looking for (2) youth from Wards 5, 6, 7, & 8, that have demonstrated leadership experience, high level of commitment and creativity (10 hours a month). A completed application must be submitted for consideration and all YAB Members must attend trainings with program staff. Recruiting NOW!
• Some of your youth may want to be Project Interns– They will be paid $50/mo. for 5 months to participate in focus groups, media & peer education training, and related peer outreach events (5 hours a month) We are currently developing a list of youth interested in this phase of the project. (30) youth will be chosen to participate. Recruiting NOW!
• A number of your youth may want to participate in one of our (4)Focus Groups – They will be paid $20 just to come to a 1 hour focus group during the last week of August. Recruiting NOW!

What other ways can my organization to be involved?

• Provide space for a focus group of youth from your organization
• Be a distribution site for campaign materials, including youth resource guides
• Host a co-sponsored event to highlight the campaign
• Invite MTA staff to host a youth HIV testing Day at your organization
• Tell other organizations about these opportunities

If you are interested in becoming a Coalition Partner, have questions, or other collaborative ideas, please contact:

M’Bwende Anderson, at manderson@metroteenaids.org / 202.543.9355 x 12

10 Simple Things You Can Do Right Now!

We had a great DC Fights Back Meeting last night. We're working on four great events: 1. The Bird Dogging Training which will take place on August 30th; 2. The AIDS Walk on October 6th - we have a great DCFB AIDS Walk Team you can join; 3. An HIV/AIDS Resource Fair which will take place on October 16th; and finally 4. We'll be working with the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association to conduct a Speak Out and Neighborhood March on November 3rd and will also be part of the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. You can click here to download a cool flyer which describes all four events.

DC Fights Back is doing a great job I want to stress, however, that we can't do it without your help. Here are TEN quick and easy things you can do to make a difference right now.

10 Things You Can Do to Fight HIV in DC

1. Please download this flyer and put it up somewhere in your community like your local coffee shop, place of worship, bar, or school, or wherever we can reach new people.

2. If you haven't already please join the DC Fights Back Announcement list at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dcfightsback so that you can stay in the loop.

3. Take just one minute today and send a welcome message to Dr Hader, the new Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration. Dr. Hader needs to hear the concerns of our community, and she needs to know that we are engaged, that we are organized, and that we expect measurable progress.

4. If you can help organize the October 16th HIV/AIDS Resource Fair, click here to contact Cherie Lindsay and volunteer.

5. Join the DC Fights Back AIDS Walk Team and walk with us on October 6th.

6. Take just 30 seconds today and help raise the visibility of HIV in DC by adding Fight HIV in DC to your list of friends on: Myspace, Friendster, or YouTube.

7. If you can help organize the November 3rd Speak Out and Neighborhood March, click here to contact Karen Pomerantz and volunteer.

8. Be a YouTube Star - Record a video documenting your experience with HIV in DC and we'll add it to our youtube page. If you don't have a camera, let me know, and we'll put you in touch with someone who does.

9. Add the DC city-wide HIV/AIDS Calendar to your website or myspace page. The folks at Metro Teen AIDS just added the calendar to their Metro TeenAIDS MySpace Page, which I'm excited about. To learn more, click here or just ask me.

10. Come to the next DC Fights Back Meeting on August 28th at Our Place DC at 6pm at Our Place DC, 801 Penn. Ave SE. Washington, DC 20003 Suite 460.

BBSSU Bike Ride & Picnic This Saturday

Brother to Brother Sister to Sister United (BBSSU) will hold their fifth annual 100K bike ride to benefit WWC's Max Robinson Center this Saturday, Aug. 18. The roundtrip ride from College Park to Baltimore will start at 8:00 am and will be followed by a picnic.

Registration will be open on Saturday. For more information or to register, click here, or check out the BBSSU website at www.bbsu.org.

Bird-Dogging Training on Thursday, August 30th

DC Fights Back will be hosting a bird-dogging training by Paul Davis of Health GAP as part of the O8 Stop AIDS project (www.08stopaids.org). The training will happen on Thursday August 30th, from 1:30 to 5:30 PM at the Center for Non-profit Advancement. AIDS Vote has this to say about bird-dogging:

"Bird-dogging is the name given to the activist tactic of attending public appearances in order to win new policies from politicians. With this direct interaction between activists and decision makers, it’s easy to have a big impact through the simple act of bringing a few people to an event, working together to raise your hands and asking questions that provoke an answer from the target politician."

Often, we work very hard to reach decision makers through intermediaries like their staff or the media. We make phone calls or write letters that are (hopefully) answered by policy maker's secretary or legislative assistant or special advisor. Calls, letters and lobby visits to staff are very important and necessary work. However, we should take every opportunity we have to directly reach policy makers, especially at public appearances like campaign events or town meetings when the people we need to say "yes" are outside of the protective bubbles they surround themselves with. Public events are especially valuable since activists can often gain direct access and get an answer in front of members of the public and media, so we can hold politicians accountable for their promises.

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement is located at 1666 K Street, NW, Suite 440 Washington, DC 20006. They are in the same building as McCormick and Schmidt, conveniently located near two Metro Stations; Farragut West – 17th Street exit and Farragut North K Street exit.

Howard University Hospital CAB Meeting August 24th

The HIV/AIDS Community Advisory Board for the Howard University Hospital Pediatric Clinic will meet on Friday, August 24th, at 10:30 AM. Howard University Hospital is located at 2041 Georgia Avenue, convenient to the Shaw-Howard Metro stop.

The Howard University Hospital Pediatric Clinic is part of the IMPAACT, the International Maternal, Pediatric, and Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group, and has participated in numerous studies conducted through that network.

If you're curious about Community Advisory Board (CAB) meetings, I encourage you to come and check out this one. CAB Members play an important role in the planning and development of research trials, representing the unique perspective of our community.

To find out more about serving on a CAB, read this article about DC resident Willis Courtney and his experience getting involved in a CAB.

To find out more about this meeting, contact Patty Yu at phouston@howard.edu.

Welcome Messages to Dr. Hader

Newly appointed Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration won't actually start work till October, but folks are already posting some great welcome messages right here on our welcome page.

Alex Lawson (pictured bottom left) writes: "I think that the challenges that you will face as the new director of the HIV/AIDS Administration are tough ones, but by working together with the community these challenges can be overcome." read Alex's welcome message.

Ruby Corado (pictured bottom right) writes: "As you lead our nation’s capital in the fight against this disease, I want to beg and plead that you give those infected and affected by this plague, the power to lead right along with you in this battle." read Ruby's welcome message.

Alexis Landa (pictured botom right) writes: "As part of the Network of this City fighting against HIV/AIDS, and a truly untiring defender of the rights of minorities, I as a voice for Andromeda Transcultural Health and its employees, would like to welcome you as our new Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration." read Alexis's message.

Karyn Pomerantz (pictured top left) writes: "We need to include but go way beyond condoms, sex education, and testing as responses to HIV. MWPHA demands that all DC residents have access to truly affordable housing and meaningful jobs to create the stability that creates health." read Karyn's welcome message.

Great work, but we're just getting started. Please take a moment and send your own welcome message to Dr. Hader. It's simple, just send a message to welcome@fighthivindc.org.

Treatment Works! September 30th

Regional Addiction Prevention (RAP Inc) will be holding their 38th Treatment Works! festival on Sunday, September 30th. From noon till 7:00 PM there will be live entertainment, children's activities, and a health fair. It all takes place at Langdon Park, Franklin and 20th Street NW. The park is close to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station on the Red Line.

download the flyer for this event here

Learning about the Word Up Study

Yesterday we had an ACTION lunch presentation on the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) Study.

Dr. Manyas Magna, Anthony Rawls, and Dr. Irene Kuo (pictured left), from the George Washington School of Public Health, gave an overview of the study, known locally as the Word Up. See more pictures from the day here on our flickr page.

The NHBS system conducts surveys in cities with high levels of HIV to determine risk behavior, testing behavior, and use of prevention services. In this cycle, the NHBS is looking specifically at heterosexuals at high risk for HIV. In other cycles, the NHBS looks at men who have sex with men (MSM) and injection drug users (IDUS).

In the past the HIV/AID Administration (HAA) has tried to run the NHBS themselves, with quite poor outcomes. In this cycle, HAA contracted with George Washington University to conduct the survey, which seems to have been a good move. Dr. Magnus reported their study is exceeding their goals on recruitment, retention, and clean data (accuracy and consistency of data collected). Which means rather than bungling the survey as HAA has done in the past, we will actually have useful information about what's happening in DC to guide our efforts.

We got a look at the preliminary data at the lunch, which is subject to change and can't really be disseminated yet. But when the final report comes out, you can be sure I'll do my best to get this information out to the community.

The next cycle of the study will look at gay and bisexual men, and all men who have sex with men (MSM). The main survey is dicated by the CDC, but we can add local questions to the survey to get information of interest to our local community. Now is a GREAT time to start thinking about what questions we'd like to see included on this survey. I was really happy to see some members of the local Crystal Meth Task Force at the meeting, because I suspect there are some questions they might like to see included on the MSM survey.

If you'd like to join the NHBS Community Advisory Board, call the Word Up team at 1-877-9WORDUP and let them know.

Fenty Officially Introduces Dr. Shannon Lee Hader

Send your welcome message to Dr. Shannon Hader, the new Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration, at www.fighthivindc.org/welcome.

The Washington Post Reports that Mayor Adrian Fenty will officially introduce Dr. Shannon Lee Hader as the Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration today.

Yesterday, a frequent reader of this blog pointed out to me that Mayor Fenty and Dr. Shannon Lee Hader have something in common: they are both supporters of Barack Obama for President. Fenty endorsed Obama in July. Dr. Hader made a $1,000 contribution to the Obama Campaign in June.

Send your welcome message to Dr. Shannon Hader, the new Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration, at www.fighthivindc.org/welcome.

Welcome Dr. Shannon Hader

Send your welcome message to Dr. Shannon Hader, the new Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration, at www.fighthivindc.org/welcome.

The Washington Blade reports that Dr. Shannon Hader has been selected to be the new Director of the DC HIV/AIDS Administration. The position has been vacant since January when Mayor Adrian Fenty took office and chose not to keep Dr. Marsha Martin in the position. Since January, Director of the Department of Health Gregg Pane has served as Interim Director, juggling this role with his other responsibilities.

Here's what google tells us about Dr. Hader ...... Dr. Shannon Hader earned an M.D. at Columbia University and trained in internal medicine and pediatrics at Duke University Medical School and in infectious diseases at Emory University Hospitals.

According to this biography of Dr. Hader, In 2001 she took a job as an epidemic intelligence service officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hader went on to serve as the Director of the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) office in Zimbabwe. Dr. Hader has served as an adjunct clinical faculty member at Emory University School of Medicine. An accomplished researcher, she has worked on numerous HIV/AIDS research studies.(If you want to search for articles she's published search "Hader, SL").

She was licensed to practice medicine in Atlanta Georgia, but more recently was licensed in Dulles, Virginia.

That's all I found for now, I'm sure we'll learn more about Dr. Hader in the weeks and months ahead. Check out the Washington Blade article for more.

Fight HIV in DC has a new mini-site where you can send your own welcome message to Dr. Hader. Check out www.fighthivindc.org/welcome. You can post your own welcome message to Dr. Hader on the site by sending an e-mail to welcome@fighthivindc.org. All welcome messages will be posted live to the site and will be delivered to Dr. Hader.

Send your welcome message to Dr. Shannon Hader, the new Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration, at www.fighthivindc.org/welcome.

DC Fights Back Meeting on August 14th

The next DC Fights Back meeting will be August 14th at 6pm at Our Place DC, 801 Penn. Ave SE. Washington, DC 20003 Suite 460. Our Place, DC is convenient to the Eastern Market Metro Stop.

Minutes from from the meeting our now available on the DC Fights Back website. click here to download the minutes.

What are we working on? Plans include, a bird-dogging (reaching out to candidates on the campaign trail) training that will take place the end of this month, an HIV/AIDS Resource Day in October, and a the MWPHA/DC Fights Back Speakout in November.

Young Poz Socials Rafting Trip August 31-Sep 3

Join the DCYngPozSocials as they venture once again, to West Virginia's Class VI rapids. You've heard the rave reviews, now is the time to join the group as space is limited! Depart from D.C. on Friday afternoon and return Monday evening.

The cost of the trip includes three nights in a fully-stocked cabin, and a full day of navigating the rapids, swimming, and enjoying the outdoors.

DC Young Poz Socials is an informal social group geared for Washington, D.C. area HIV-positive guys in their 20s and 30s.

For more information, visit www.dcyngpozsocials.com.

The Men of MACS

Last April marked the twenty-fourth year of the Multi-AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), a prospective study of gay and bisexual men that has been going on almost as long as the epidemic itself. From 1984 through 1985, 4954 men were enrolled in the study. MACS has added participants over the years for a total of 6,973 men. This includes HIV positive men and a comparison group of HIV negative men.

The MACS study takes place in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, and Baltimore.

About 180 active participants are right here in DC at the Whitman-Walker Clinic site, a sub-site of Baltimore.

Joe Izzo, a staff-member of Whitman-Walker, is one of the participants. Joe participates in the study as a way to help others: “being HIV negative for all of these years I feel grateful and I felt I needed to give back to the community in some way.”

There are other benefits, however, “It’s also a wonderful way to get a complete physical every six months; it’s a great way to monitor your health whether you’re positive or negative.”

These men come in faithfully every six months for a follow up visit where they have a medical examination and provide information about their medical history. Dr. Michael Plankey commented on the remarkable dedication of these participants: “We have about 50 MACS volunteers in DC that have never missed a single appointment in 24 years.”

The data collected from these men has contributed to many areas of HIV research. MACS researchers have written over 1,000 scientific manuscripts on topics including virology, sexual behavior, substance use, hpv, hepatitis, and quality of life to name a few.

The MACS study is funded through the National Institutes of Health. MACS Researchers expect to re-apply for funding to continue the study in the next year.

Dr. Plankey points to three areas where MACS data could be particularly useful in the future if the study is continued: HIV and Aging, HIV and Cardiovascular Disease, and HIV and Neural and Cognitive Function.

A community advisory board, made up of trial participants from both Baltimore and Washington, meets about once a month and provides input on the MACS research agenda.

To find out more about the MACS Study in DC contact Max Menna.

To find out more about the MACS Study in General, visit: www.statepi.jhsph.edu/macs

Your Chance to Kick the Habit

DC Tobacco Free Families has launched a 10 million dollar campaign to help DC residents quit smoking. The campaign is sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the Department of Health, and the American Lung Association of DC.

All DC residents can receive FREE nicotine patches and lozenges to help them quit smoking, along with 24/7 counseling.




According to the Tobacco Free Families: “DC has some of the highest rates of cancer and heart disease and mortality in the United States, and tobacco use continues to be the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the District.”

Smoking has additional risks for people living with HIV. Smoking weakens the immune system. It can make it harder to fight off HIV-related infections. HIV associated malignancies, such as anal and cervical cancer, are observed more frequently among HIV/AIDS patients who smoke. Other cancers commonly associated with smoking such as lung, head, and neck, are observed more frequently among HIV-positive smokers compared with other smokers. Additionally, AIDS Dementia Complex is more common among HIV positive smokers than non-smokers.

For more information, call 1 800 QUIT-NOW or visit www.dctff.org.

Thank Congress for Supporting DC Needle Exchange

A number of organizations in DC are signing on to two letters to congress in support of needle exchange to fight HIV in DC. The letters thank those elected officials who came through for us on this issue. DC Fights Back, as has the Washington AIDS Partnership. But it's not just HIV/AIDS organizations that are getting involved. Any civil rights, religious, health, social justice, criminal justice organizations should also consider signing on. That is, as long as you make the deadline, which is 3:00 PM, Tuesday August 7th.

Click here to find out more at the Washington Grantmakers Daily Blog. And if you haven't checked out this blog yet, you really should. It's updated daily, and full of information about the DC non-profit world.

December Quality of Life Retreat for People Living with HIV/AIDS

The next retreat takes places December 3rd through the 6th 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 December 3rd through the 6th at the Washington DC Retreat House, which is operated by the Sisters of the Franciscan Order.

For more information visit www.qualityofliferetreatshiv.org