Training: Improving Access & Outcomes for Transgender Persons

On July 2nd there will be an all-day training in Baltimore entitled "Transgender: Transitioning the Service Environment to Improve Access & Outcomes for Transgender Persons." Continuing Education Credits are available in Nursing and Social Work.

This event will be held at the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland (4 East University Parkway, Baltimore) from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. There is a $35 for fee for the event, which is sponsored by the Universxity of MD, Institute of Human Virology, AIDS Education & Training Center, and the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, AIDS Administration.

For more information, click here to download the flyer and registration form.

Thinking about Needle Exchange in DC

A recent article in the New York Times profiling DC's lone needle-exchange program has once again got the city talking about needle exchange. The article clearly states the problem in the first paragraph: "The nation’s capital is the only city in the country barred by federal law from using local tax money to finance needle exchange programs. It is also the city with the fastest-growing number of new AIDS cases."

This article was picked up by DCist.com. They write: "Daniels relies on $385,000 in private donations to deal with a huge and pressing health problem, reaching only one-third of the District's estimated 9,700 intravenous drug users."

A number of local organizations signed on to a letter on needle exchange that was sent to Congress last month. There efforts may be paying off. POZ Magazine reports "Representative Jose E. Serrano (D-NY) plans to push for the removal of legislation that prevents Washington D.C. from using local tax money to fund needle exchange programs."

The image used in this post is from a fashion show created by Oleksiy Zalevskiy to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in the Ukraine. To find out more click here

Speakout Reports: Stigma Breakout Group

Several organizations co-sponsored a DC HIV/AIDS Speakout on May 17th, 2007. I will be posting the reports from each of the breakout groups throughout the next week. The final outcome document from the Speakout will be published on the DC Fights Back Website. If you'd like to get involved, please be sure to join this yahoo group.

One of our smaller breakout groups at the Speakout was Stigma, which is quite a challenging topic to take on. We all know that stigma impacts HIV in DC. It's one of the reasons some people are reluctant to get tested for HIV in the first place, or to be open about their HIV status.

As our breakout group stated, stigma causes "shunning, hurt, hopelessness, denial of dignity, denial of opportunities, low self esteem, and marginalization.

But how do we fix stigma? Again, our breakout group said: "We fix stigma through education, advocacy, by being real and truthful, through grass roots organizing, by utilizing resources, being involved, and getting others invoved."

One of the concrete suggestions that came out of this group was creating a speakers bureau of HIV positive individuals in DC. I think this is a great idea.

Personally, I think the best way to overcome stigma is for people living with HIV to be out, open, honest, and live their lives with integrity. We are lucky to have several such folks in DC including: Wallace Corbett, David von Storch, Danielle Pleasant, Larry Bryant, Monte Wolfe, and countless others.

As we continue to look at this topic, there are two great resources I want to share with you. The first is NMAC's HIV/AIDS Stigma Resource Center. You'll find lots of great information and resources on that site. Second, the Academy for Educational Development has an "Understanding and Challenging HIV Stigma: Toolkit for Action." It's a rather lengthy PDF file, click here to download the toolkit.

And be sure to share your thoughts on fighting stigma by posting a comment below or e-mailing me privately. Thanks to DC Fights Back member Geno Dunington for facilitating this breakout group and providing opening comments at the Speakout.

click here to download the notes from the stigma breakout group.

June ACTION Newsletter Now online

Just a quick note to let you know the ACTION June Newsletter is now online. See the June Newsletter as a PDF file right here.

And please be sure to join us for the June ACTION Lunch. We will have a panel of experts discussing Transgender Community Participation in HIV/AIDS Research. The lunch takes place on June 14th and begins at 1:00 PM at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 500.

click here to download the flyer for this event.

Lunch Provided. RSVP Required. To RSVP, click here.

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

The next retreat takes places August 31st to September 3rd in Frederick, MD

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 August 31st to September 3rd at the Mar-Lu Conference Center, on Catoctin Ridge in Frederick County, MD.

For more information visit www.qualityofliferetreatshiv.org

Speakout Reports: Women's Breakout Session

Several organizations co-sponsored a DC HIV/AIDS Speakout on May 17th, 2007. I will be posting the reports from each of the breakout groups throughout the next week. The final outcome document from the Speakout will be published on the DC Fights Back Website. If you'd like to get involved, please be sure to join this yahoo group.

Our Women's breakout group was moderated by the amazing Cherie Lindsay from Our Place DC. Other individuals on the panel included Marie Sansone from the DC Department of Health, and DC Fights Back member Dorithia Akins.

One of the topics the group tackled was HIV/AIDS research. The group would like to see more trial study opportunities for women, and would like to see studies that take their needs into account (i.e. childcare, etc ...). The group also discussed the importance of women-focused research like Microbicide Research, and specifically, the need to have more money for Microbicide Research (Barack Obama has introduced the Microbicide Development Act of 2007 in the Senate which if it succeeds, will address this).

The group also talked about the need for a clinic specifically for women, a 'one stop center' for women in the district.

Other issues that were brought up included: job placement, skills building, life skills/time management, respite, and support groups.

I hope that the folks in this working group continue working on these issues. If I missed something or you have additional things to add, please do so by posting a comment below.

Click here to download the flip chart notes from the Women's Breakout Group.

National HIV Testing Day: June 27th

National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) is an annual campaign produced by the National Association of People with AIDS to encourage at-risk individuals to receive voluntary HIV counseling and testing. HIV counseling and testing enables people with HIV to take steps to protect their own health and that of their partners, and helps people who test negative get the information they need to stay uninfected. For more information about National HIV Testing Day, visit www.napwa.org.

DC Events

For a list of events in DC, click here.

Alexandria Event

Alexandria Health Department along with the Alexandria Gay and Lesbian Community Association (AGLCA) will host a National HIV Testing Day event on Wednesday, June 27th. We are offering FREE HIV "20 minute" testing along with FREE Syphilis testing. As a SPECIAL incentive, the first 50 participants will receive a FREE movie pass good for any AMC Movie Theater!!!! along with other prizes and giveaways!!! Testing
will be available from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. at Alexandria Health Dept. 4480 King Street, Alexandria, VA. For more info please contact Nechelle Terrell, 703-838-4400 ext. 305 or by e-mail at Nechelle.Terrell@vdh.virginia.gov.

Speakout Reports: Housing Breakout Session

Several organizations co-sponsored a DC HIV/AIDS Speakout on May 17th, 2007. I will be posting the reports from each of the breakout groups throughout the next week. The final outcome document from the Speakout will be published on the DC Fights Back Website. If you'd like to get involved, please be sure to join this yahoo group.

The Housing Breakout Group had an intense discussion. Participants included our amazing moderator Kristine Campbell, Carter Hewgley, the Health and Human Services Program Analyst for the Office of the City Administrator, and longtime activist Everett Foy who volunteered to head up the new DC Fights Back Housing Working Group.

Many of the concerns raised were things I heard back at the November 2006 DC Housing Symposium. Problems the group include the HOPWA waiting list, a lack of TBRA (tenant based rental assistance) providers, an unruly and difficult process for accessing various housing programs, unsuccessful transitional housing, and a lack of trained monitors.

The Housing Breakout Session came up with several concrete recommendations, which I hope the Housing Working Group will work on in the future. Recommendations included better training for monitors, conducting a needs assesment, and dveloping a strategy for community involvement. Perhaps the most ambitious goal set by this group is to take matters into their own hands and identify and develop unused buildings for for people living with HIV/AIDS.

I look forward to seeing how the work of this group progresses. And I also signed up for the working group, so I help to lend a hand.

Click here to download the full flip-chart notes from the Housing Breakout Group

Larry Bryant "We are the people we’ve been waiting for."

Larry Bryant is featured on the cover of POZ magazine this month. Larry is the co-chair of DC Fights Back, the local affiliate of the Campaign to End AIDS.

To find out more about Larry and his experiences, click here to read the cover story online

Speakout Reports: Youth Breakout Session

Several organizations co-sponsored a DC HIV/AIDS Speakout on May 17th, 2007. I will be posting the reports from each of the breakout groups throughout the next week. The final outcome document from the Speakout will be published on the DC Fights Back Website. If you'd like to get involved, please be sure to join this yahoo group.

The Youth Breakout group covered a lot of topics including health care and comprehensive sex education. Members of the youth breakout group included Jeremy Ogusky, Policy Manager for Metro Teen AIDS, LGBT and Latino Activist Jose Guttierez, and Rita Sinha, Miss District of Columbia International.

To very concrete recommendations came out of the Youth Breakout Group. The first is to create reality based sex and drug education for DC Youth. The good news is that a broad coalition of groups in DC are already pushing for comprehensive sex education, so we're on our way to that goal. The consensus of the group was that abstinence is very important, but it needs to be part of a comprehensive message that includes information on safer sex. The second recommendation is to create a speakers bureau of people living with HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia to talk to young people in the District. I think this is also a great idea.

Click here to see the flip-chart notes from the Youth Breakout Group. If there was anything missed, or anything you'd like to add, please post your comments below.

Thursday Night: The State of Black Gay Men's Health

The National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition is organizing a town hall on The State of Black Gay Men's Health. The event takes place on Thursday, May 24th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (reception to follow) at the Renaissance M Street Hotel (City Center I, Lower Level).

The Renaissance is at 1143 New Hampshire Ave, NW, closest to the Dupont Circle or Foggy Bottom Metro Stop. To download the flyer for this event, click here.

Sponsors for this event include Us Helping Us, DC Black Pride, National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition, and the DC Department of Health.

Fasionably Aware June 7th

You are cordially invited to join the 2006-2007 National AIDS Fund/Washington AIDS Partnership AmeriCorps team on Thursday June 7th for the 3rd Annual Benefit Fashion Show "Fashionably Aware".

The Washington AIDS Partnership AmeriCorps team is organizing this event to raise funds and awareness for key organizations that aid in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Washington, D.C. area. Clothing will be modeled by executive directors and staff members of the following organizations:

Metro Teen AIDS, Food And Friends, Children's Hospital, Miriam's House, Joseph's House, Prevention Works!, Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive (HIPS), Mary's Center, La Clinica del Pueblo, Our Place DC, The Women's Collective, and the The Washington AIDS Partnership.

When: Thursday, June 7, 2007- Social hour starts at 6pm & fashion show starts at 7pm

Where: The historical True Reformer Building located at 1200 U street NW

To purchase tickets visit: http://fashionablyaware.googlepages.com & click on the "Buy tickets!" icon. VIP ticket includes: front row seating, gift bag, and first look at the silent auction.

Details of the event:

If you would like to donate a ticket so that a client or staff of one the twelve organizations hosting an NAF/WAP AmeriCorps member may attend Fashionably Aware 2007 please:

1) Purchase your ticket from ticketalternative.com or call (877)-725-8849
2) Select the WILL CALL option
3) Once your order is processed, send an email to fashionablyaware@gmail.com with your full name and state the number of tickets that you have purchased that you would like to donate
4) You will then receive a confirmation email from Fashionably Aware

This is going to be a MEMORABLE EVENT! How could you miss the chance to mingle with other influential leaders that help aid in combating HIV/AIDS in the district? You will be filled with laughter and joy throughout this whole experience!...And it's all for a positive cause!

There will also be a performance by the D.C. Cowboys! Get your tickets!

Please feel free to e-mail fashionablyaware@gmail.com for further questions about this exciting event!

"Fashionably Aware" is an affiliated event of Capital Pride 2007 in Washington, D.C.

Education Town Halls Scheduled In Ward 7 and 8

Mayor Adrian Fenty wants to hear your ideas for improving the District's Public School System. The Mayor will hold town halls in every ward with to capture input from parents, teachers, and students.

The first two of these forums are in Ward 7 and Ward 8. The Ward 8 Town Hall will be Tuesday May 29th at 6:30 PM at Johnson Junior High, 1400 Bruce Place, SE. The Ward 7 Town Hall will be Tuesday June 5th at 6:30 PM at Smothers Elementary, 4400 Brooks St, NE. click here to download the flyer with details on these two events.

Mayor Fenty needs to hear that every young person has the right to honest and accurate information about how to be protected from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy, and that comprehensive sex education in our public schools must become a top priority.

If you attend these events I encourage you to tell Mayor Fenty you support comprehensive sex education in our public schools.

I also encourage you to ask the following important question. Is the Mayor ready to reject the abstinence-only-until marriage federal funding that the District currently accepts?

As you may know, a broad coalition of youth-serving organizations have written a letter asking Mayor Fenty to reject the abstinence-only-until-marriage federal funding.

The broad coalition of organizations that signed on to the letter include: DC Fights Back, City Year Washington DC, DC Primary Care Association, Girls Incorporated of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, The Latin American Youth Center, Metro TeenAIDS, Sasha Bruce Youth Work, Young Womens Project, and Youth Action Research Group. To see the complete list read the letter.

The American Medical Association has rejected abstinence-only-until-marriage education. They support teaching abstinence as well as honest and accurate information about HIV and pregnancy prevention.

The Mayor however, has yet to commit to rejecting the abstinence-only-until-marriage federal funding. (This funding also requires a local match, meaning your local tax dollars go towards an HIV prevention program that medical experts agree doesn't work).

Outcome Document from Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS

Those of us who attended the Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS received the outcome documents in the mail last week. If you didn't have a chance to participate, click here to download the outcome documents and see what we talked about.

DC Appleseed Seeks Senior Program Associate

DC Appleseed is looking to hire a Senior Program Associate. The DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice solves problems affecting the daily lives of those who live and work in the District of Columbia area -- from health care to voting representation to education reform to environmental concerns to jobs and housing.

As most of you know DC Appleseed is very active in HIV/AIDS. In August 2005 they released a report on HIV/AIDS in the nation's capitol, and since then have released two report cards on progress made. click here to read the latest report card.

If you're interested in applying for this job click here to download a word doc with all the details.

Washington Post Article on HIV Testing in DC

From Kaiser Daily: Conducting routine HIV tests in hospital emergency departments was shown to be cost effective and "welcomed" by many patients, according to a study conducted by researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, HealthDay News/Washington Post reports. For the study, Jeremy Brown, research director at GWU's emergency medicine department, and colleagues offered rapid HIV tests to 4,000 ED patients, 2,500 of whom agreed to be tested. The study found that 1% of the patients who agreed to be tested, or 26 people, had preliminary positive results for HIV.

According to HealthDay News/Post, the Washington, D.C., Department of Health provided the rapid screening kits at no cost, and the researchers administered the tests and analyzed the data. Brown said that the approach would not be feasible in the long term but added that the study's findings suggest some models for ongoing HIV testing programs in EDs. The cost per preliminary positive result was about $1,700, and the cost per confirmed HIV case was about $4,900 -- lower than other early detection methods -- such as the nucleic acid amplification testing method, which costs $17,000 per case -- Brown said. "Washington, D.C., has one of the highest AIDS case prevalence rates in the United States, and our results suggest that ED HIV screening in this high prevalence area is well accepted by patients," Brown added. The study was scheduled to be released Thursday in Chicago at the annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, HealthDay News/Post reports (HealthDay News/Washington Post, 5/16).

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Reception

A good time was had by all last night at the annual HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Reception. This was a great opportunity to say thank you to all our HIV Vaccine Awareness day volunteers and our honorees. Former CAVE chair Scott Simpson was honored as was the 19th Street Baptist Church. CAVE member and 19th Street Baptist Church member Evelyn Sellers accepted the award on behalf of the church.

click here to see the pictures from this event.

I encourage you to consider joining me by volunteering for an HIV Vaccine Trial in DC. Let's Be the Generation to end AIDS.

Today's HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Luncheon

Today's HIV Vaccine Awarness Day Lunch held at the Academy for Educational Development was a big success thanks to the efforts of the many people who contributed, including volunteers from City Year DC's project Hope Team.

The lunch featured presentations by Brenda Larkin from the Vaccine Research Center, and Sterling Washington from Us Helping Us.

To see pictures from this event, click here.

Today is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day

Today as most of you know is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, an important opportunity to focus on the search for an HIV Vaccine and the trial participants and researchers who are making it happen.

I don't know how the HIV/AIDS epidemic will end. And to be honest, sometimes I'm so wrapped up in the day-to-day struggle that even imagining the day when we can say there are no new HIV infections worldwide is virtually impossible. But today is the day we do dare to imagine exactly that.

When that day comes we will have many people to thank including over 1,000 HIV negative volunteers our community who have stepped up to the plate and volunteered in studies to find a preventive HIV Vaccine. To our volunteers, let me say right now: THANK YOU.

At the DC HIV/AIDS Reception tonight we will be honoring one organization and one individual who have contributed greatly to this effort. The organization is the amazing 19th Street Baptist Church, who have been partners in this effort for many, many years. Thge individual we are honoring is former CAVE chair Scott Simpson. To our honorees, let me say right now: THANK YOU.

I hope you can join us at the wine & cheese reception tonight and find out how you can get involved in this effort.

Here are some of the other things going on today:

* Staff and volunteers from Us Helping Us are distributing information on HIV Vaccine Research to their partnering barbershops and beauty shops along Georgia Ave., N.W.; the Georgia Ave.-Petworth Metro station; and clubs patronized by Black gay men.

* Our DC HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Lunch is taking place at 1:00 at the Academy for Educational Development. (sorry, no more RSVPs can be accepted).

* Our HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Reception is going on tonight at the Academy for Educational devleopment: RSVP Here

* Folks from IAVI just finished up a briefing on the Hill. click here to read the release. (I couldn't go, but I was just told Mitchell Warren kicked ass at this event)

* Finally, the Bill and Melinda gates foundation just announced they will be contributing 9.7 million dollars for pediatric HIV Vaccine Research.

I hope to report back on today's events tonight or over the weekend.

The May 17th Speakout on HIV/AIDS

Thanks to everyone who made yesterday's Speakout a success. You can see pictures from the event by clicking here.

After great presentations by Geno Dunington and Alex Lawson, Larry Bryant helped us form breakout groups for more intense discussion. Our breakout groups were Housing, Jobs, Youth, Stigma, Substance Use, and Women. All of the facilitators for the breakout groups were experts in their field and did an amazing job leading the group discussions.

Give us all a few days to process all the great information we got tonight, and nex week I hope to blog each day about a different breakout group and the issues they raised at the speakout.

Also, we got a lot of requests from folks to have Alex Lawson's powerpoint presentation from tonight. Alex will be putting it on the DC Fights Back website soon.

Today I have my hands full with HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Events, so be patient and I'll make sure we get the details from the Speakout online as soon as Danielle can type up all of those flip charts!

Today is the Day

Yes I know, you might not have been invited to the Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS. But no worries, because today is your day to tell us exactly what you think needs to be done to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the District of Columbia. I for one, can't wait to hear what you have to say, because nobody knows the District of Columbia better than our residents.

This event would not be possible without the many sponsors including DC Fights Back, The Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association, The Max Robinson Center, Food & Friends, Us Helping Us, RAP Inc, Metro Teen AIDS, and the Save Lives: Free the Condoms Coalition.

The event starts at 7:00 PM at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 401 I Street, SW. Be there.

For media inquiries or additional information please contact: George Kerr at 202 263-1102 or e-mail gkerr85@yahoo.com.

Tell me your X-pres X-periences.

Oh X-pres, the bane of my existence. This post is going out to the folks who work at local AIDS service organizations. If that's not you, please feel free to ignore.

If you are having problems working with X-pres, I want to hear from you! This includes: not having received training on X-pres for an extended period of time, not having a current X-pres password, not having accurate and current grant numbers listed when you enter X-pres data, and of course not having your requests for X-pres technical assistance answered.

Send your experiences with X-press to xpresyourself@fighthivindc.org. We won't be able to fix the problems until they are properly documented.

Joseph's House Compassion & Justice Award

This June Joseph’s House will celebrate its 17th anniversary with a reception and ceremony to honor the recipients of the first Joseph’s House Compassion and Justice Award. The award will honor a local institution that is a model for living out its mission with vision and passion for the values and practice of compassion and justice. As well as honoring an institution, the Joseph’s House Compassion and Justice Award will honor an individual who embodies the practice of compassion and justice in his or her life and work.

The reception takes place Saturday, June 2, 2007 from 2:30 to 7:00 pm at the the Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Road, NW. For more information, click here.

Mayor Adrian Fenty on Comprehensive Sex Education

Mayor Fenty spoke last night at a meeting of the Gertrude Stein Democrats. I had six questions for Mayor Fenty, but only time to ask one. I decided on comprehensive sex education with a two part question.

First: Is the Mayor ready to reject the abstinence-only-until marriage federal funding that the District currently accepts? Second: What will the Mayor do to make sure that DC schools are providing comprehensive sex education?

As you may know, a broad coalition of youth-serving organizations have written a letter asking Mayor Fenty to reject the abstinence-only-until-marriage federal funding. There are many reasons to reject this money, probably the most significant one being that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs simply don't work. Further, the federal funds require a local match, requiring us to spend our own local money on a program that we know doesn't make sense.

The broad coalition of organizations that worked on this include: the letter include DC Fights Back, City Year Washington DC, DC Primary Care Association, Girls Incorporated of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, The Latin American Youth Center, Metro TeenAIDS, Sasha Bruce Youth Work, Young Womens Project, and Youth Action Research Group. To see the complete list read the letter.

Unfortunately, Adrian Fenty did not say he would follow the recommendation of these organizations and reject abstinence-only-until-marriage money. He did commit, however to looking into the issue.

On the second part of the question, Mayor Fenty said (and I quote) "The District of Columbia should have the leading comprehensive sex education program in the country".

This quote is encouraging. The state of comprehensive sex education in the District is not. Don't get me wrong. There are some great programs out there like the City Year Project Hope Team, which plans to double their size next year. City Year is not welcome in every school, however. We know many schools in DC shut the door to Project Hope and to other medically accurate comprehensive sex education programs. This has got to change.

The good news though, is that Adrian Fenty agreed to have a sit-down meeting to discuss these issues, which is a start. I hope that several of the organizations listed above will be able to participate.

If your organization has not reached out to the Mayor's office on this issue, I encourage you to do so now.

A Slightly Improved HIV Resource Guide.

On April 30th I wrote a blog post about the many flaws in the DC HIV/AIDS Resource Guide put together by the Consumer Advocacy Project. HAA has responded quickly putting their own HIV/AIDS Resource Guide Online. It is marginally better.

First, I noted that the first guide had outdated information, including the contact information for the DC CARE Consortium. The new guide managed to get the correct address for DC CARE but still listed an incorrect phone number! So I suppose an improvement, but only marginally.

Second I noted the first guide doesn't state what services organizations offer or what population they serve. The new guide does include this information, a definite improvement. Although I don't know how happy National Association of People with AIDS will be when they see the guide describes them as serving the "HIV infected". There's gotta be a better way of saying that.

Third, I noted the first guide had no reference to the Ryan White Planning Council, or how people living with HIV/AIDS in the district can have input into how services are provided locally. This hasn't changed, so no improvement on this front.

Fourth, I noted the first guide didn't include website addresses. The new guide includes website addresses: a definite improvement.

So those are my comments. This guide is better, but still with plenty of room for improvement.

You can download your copy here. Let me warn you though, it's 60+ pages so it may take a little while.

Fight HIV in DC on MySpace News

Content from Fight HIV in DC can now be found on the MySpace.com Beta News Service. If you're a MySpace.com fan, be sure to bookmark this page: click here to visit the MySpace.com HIV/AIDS News Page.

Miriam’s House Fundraising Concert May 26th

Miriam's House will celebrate their 11th Anniversary on May 26th by holding a Fundraising Concert on Saturday.

The concert takes place on May 26 from 2-4 PM at St. Thomas Episcopal Church (1772 Church St NW). Join Miriam's House for a time of vocal and instrumental music, and celebration of 11 years, followed by reception with snacks. Donations (check, cash, major credit cards) will be collected during program. RSVP to (202) 667-1758 x105.

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. For more information visit www.miriamshouse.org.

CAVE Meeting Minutes Now Online

Please join us for the next meeting of the The meeting from the May 8th Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE) meeting are now online on the CAVE website. You can click here to download the minutes.

The next CAVE event will of course be HIV Vaccine Awareness Day coming up on May 18th. We are near-capacity for the Lunch Presentation, but there is still plenty of room available at the Wine & Cheese Reception, so be sure to RSVP and join us if you haven't already.

DC HIV Prevention Community Planning Group 5/10/2007 Meeting Update

The recent visit of Janice Norwood, CDC Project officer to HAA and the DC CPG, proved to be productive. During this visit the CDC reviewed HAA’s Interim Progress Report and questioned items such as why the Community Based Organization (CBO) reports were undone as well as what specific staffing costs were on the budget. HAA is currently working on a response to the suggestions and questions presented to them by Ms. Norwood and expect to complete this task within the next two weeks.

The CPG has questioned why the HAA budget includes funding for the STD Division and its staff. HAA explained that once funding was allocated to the STD Division it could not be returned to HAA. Furthermore, as part of the CDC’s review of HAA, they recommended that the STD Division and HAA form a more collaborative relationship to foster a more “official” PCRS program, of which DC is currently lacking. Ideally, CBOs would identify new HIV infection cases and provide this information to HAA, who would in turn submit the name to the STD Division who would then inform partners and recommend support services. Currently, the responsibility of PCRS rests on the shoulders of the CBO. Janice Norwood and her STD Division counterpart at the CDC are working on suggestions for how HAA and the STD Division can develop this partnership. A representative from STD informed the committee that the data they collect can be shared with HAA and the CPG. The executive committee will determine which data sets are important to the work of the CPG and make a formal request to STD for specific types of information.

A representative from NASTAD came to discuss the specifics of the $45million being released by the CDC to jurisdictions with a high incidence of infections amongst the African-American community as well as NASTAD recommendations for CDC funding going forward in FY2008. Further information on this can be found at http://nastad.org/Docs/highlight/200759_CDC%20HIV%20Funding%20Needs.pdf.

The letter to Congresswoman Norton has been finalized and will go out on CPG letterhead sans a signature from Leo Rennie, who as a government employee cannot sign the document.

Last month HAA provided the CPG with the budget they requested in August. HAA is requesting CPG member comments/questions/concerns regarding the budget to ensure it provides us with the data we need to develop a CSA and prioritize at-risk populations.

Upcoming meetings:
Program Initiatives Committee: 5/17 at 6PM.
Epi Data/Needs Assessment (EDNA): 5/29 6PM
Membership and Bylaws Committee: 5/31 at 6PM.
Evaluation Committee: 6/12 at 6PM


The next meeting of the DC HPCPG will be Thursday, June 14 at 6:00 PM. All meetings are held at 64 New York Ave, NE (Full CPG meetings on the 5th floor, committee meetings on the 1st).

DC Fights Back / C2EA Minutes Now Online

The minutes from the May 8th DC Fights Back meeting are now available online. Click here to download the minutes as a pdf file.

Our next meeting will of course be the City Wide Speakout on HIV/AIDS whic takes place starting at 7:00 PM at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 401 I Street, SW (Waterfront-SEU Metro Stop).

The speakout is co-sponsored by several organizations including RAP, Inc, Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association, Us Helping Us, Max Robinson Center, Capital Area Vaccine Effort, and Save Lives, Free the Condoms Coalition. My apologies to anyone I left off the list.

The members of DC Fights Back have put a lot of time and energy planning this event. Kudos to everyone, but especially DC Fights Back Operations Director George Kerr who is the lead organizer of the Speakout.

See you at the Speakout!

Community Connections Launches the Isis Project

Community Connections has announced the launch of The Isis Project, a five-year services project to improve the mental and physical health of African women in the District of Columbia who are HIV positive.

The Isis Project will both increase the accessibility of needed services and provide an array of culturally competent, gender-specific, HIV-informed mental health services.

The Isis Project will serve three groups:

* HIV-positive women who have severe mental disorders
* HIV-positive women whose mental health status has not been evaluated or who do not have a mental health diagnosis
* The natural networks of these women, such as partners, family members, and children

Community Outreach

The Isis Project will provide Community Outreach and Education to providers and African American HIV positive women to:

* increase identification of mental health concerns
* increase family's understanding of mental health and HIV-related concerns.
* increase HIV rapid testing of local mental health consumers

Mental Health Services

The Isis project will provide Integrated Mental Health Services which includes:

* close coordination of mental health and other medical care
* a full range of community supports through a wellness Intensive Case Management team
* Interpersonal Psychotherapy
* Trauma Recovery and Empowerment (TREM) groups
* Motivational Interviewing-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
* Structured Ecosystems Therapy
* Family Psycho-education

To Become an Isis Project Participant

Call the intake department to schedule an initial assesment. Please speak with Roshni Chatterjee, MSW, Intake Director, at (202) 608-4743 or Victoria Sherk, SPC, Isis Intake Specialist, at (202) 281-2954.

Contact Information

Community Connections
801 Pennsylvania Ave, SE #201
Washington, DC 20003
www.ccdc1.org
next to Eastern Market Metro Station

Rebecca Wolfson Berley, MSW
Isis Project Director
Phone: 202 608-4735
Fax: 202 608-4286

Join us for the ACTION Lunch Today

Hi all. There are still seats available, so it's not too late to join us TODAY (May 10th) 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.

When is it smart to start HIV Treatment? Dr. Fred Gordin will explore this issue looking at what we know, and what we don’t yet know, about when the best time is for newly diagnosed individuals to start HIV treatment.

Dr. Gordin will be sharing some very interesting results from the international SMART Study, and discussing a future INSIGHT Network study.

Howard University: Preventing HIV/AIDS among Men Who Have Sex with Men

Howard University Hospital will be on of several sites nationwide hosting a CDC Satellite Broadcast on May 17th entitled: "Preventing HIV/AIDS among Men Who Have Sex with Men."

The goal of this forum is to (1) raise awareness about the on-going crisis of HIV/AIDS among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), (2) promote greater understanding of the current issues that affect HIV/AIDS risk among MSM, and (3) encourage providers of HIV prevention services to implement effective interventions and strategies to reduce HIV transmission among MSM. Research and programs across the country will be highlighted, and a panel of experts will address
questions from viewers.

This broadcast is designed for organizations that plan and implement HIV prevention activities including health departments, community-based programs, the faith community, colleges and universities, and HIV prevention researchers as well as policy makers and news media

The broadcast will take place from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. If you are interested in attending this event at Howard University, contact Kevin McMullan: click here for details.

If you would rather watch the web-cast of this event, find out more at www.cdcnpin-broadcast.org.

DC HIV Prevention Community Planning Group Meeting This Thursday

Please join us for the next HIV Prevention Community Planning Group (CPG) Full Committee Meeting is Thursday, May 10th, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The meeting will be held at at 64 New York Avenue, NE - 5th Floor Conference Room.

Parking is available at this location after 5:30pm. To gain access through the security gate push 3# on the call box and mentioned that you are attending the CPG Meeting. It is also assessable by rail (red line NY Ave. Station) and by bus (90, 92, and 80 route).

Even if you are not a member of the DC HIV Prevention Community Planning Group, you are welcome to come to this meeting. The CPG is comprised of people living with HIV/AIDS, those at high risk for HIV, and representatives of affected populations from the community, as well as epidemiologists, behavioral and social scientists, HIV/AIDS service providers, health department staff, and other representatives of organizations that serve persons with, or at risk for, HIV infection. All members work as a team to analyze the course of the HIV epidemic in the District of Columbia, assess and prioritize HIV prevention needs, identify HIV prevention interventions to meet those needs, and develop a comprehensive HIV prevention plan the District of Columbia. All members are provided opportunities for orientation and skills building, and have meaningful involvement in the process and an equal voice in voting and other decision-making activities.

Synthetic Division Fundraiser for Whitman-Walker

The synthpop duo Synthetic Division will be performing on May, 24 2007 at The Rock and Roll Hotel in a benefit performance for the Whitman-Walker Clinic.

That red-haired member of Synthetic Division pictured on the left is none other than Shawn Decker, who many of you may also know as a contributing writer to Poz Magazine, and frequent Poz Blogger.

Doors open at 8:00 PM. The Rock and Roll Hotel is located at 1353 H Street, NE. For more information, click here.

Howard University Hospital CAB Meeting May 25th

The HIV/AIDS Community Advisory Board for the Howard University Hospital Pediatric Clinic will meet on Friday, May 25th starting at 10:30 AM.

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.

Six Questions for Mayor Adrian Fenty

Mayor Adrian Fenty will be making an appearance at the Gertrude Stein Democrats meeting Monday May 14th. Mayor Fenty will be discussing several issues of relevance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, which is likely to include HIV/AIDS. I will be looking specifically for an update on progress made on the HIV/AIDS front since the Mayor’s HIV/AIDS Summit last month.

While many of the issues raised at the summit are long-standing problems that will require long-term solutions, there are also several short-term issues that require immediate action. The most pressing questions are:

1. When can we expect the appointment of a full-time director of the HIV/AIDS Administration?

2. What will the Mayor’s Task Force on HIV/AIDS look like under the Fenty administration and when can we expect this task force to be operational?

3. What is the status of the outcome document from the Mayor’s Summit on HIV/AIDS, and when will this document be made available? What are the next steps to ensure that the recommendations from the summit are implemented.

4. During the summit, Mayor Fenty made a pledge to Raymond Blanks to come up with a plan for better communication between the Mayor’s Task Force on HIV/AIDS, the HIV Community Planning Group, the Ryan White Planning Council, the HIV/AIDS Admministration, and the Mayor’s office. Mayor Fenty said we could expect to see a plan in the next 60-90 days. What progress has been made in this area?

5. Given the overwhelming evidence that federally funded abstinence-only-until-heterosexual-marriage programs have no benefit and are damaging to LGBT youth , is the Mayor committed to join with the states who have rejected this federal funding? Given the Mayor’s new authority in DC Public Schools, how can we work together to assure that every student in DC receives comprehensive sex education?

6. How is the Department of Health responding to the new data on circumcision as an HIV prevention measure? How can we guarantee that men who want this procedure receive it regardless of whether or not it is covered by their health insurance or they can afford it.

I hope to be at the meeting on May 14th, but it depends on how much work remains planning for the Speakout on the 17th, and HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on the 18th.

I encourage you to attend this meeting and to print out these questions and take them with you. Let's make sure they all get asked and answered.

HIPS Volunter Training on Saturday, May 12th

HIPS is seeking energetic, committed individuals interested in public health, HIV prevention, LBGT and sex work issues to fill Outreach, Hotline, and other program volunteer and internship positions.

HIPS' mission is to assist female, male, and transgendered individuals engaging in sex work in Washington, DC in leading healthy lives. Utilizing a harm reduction model, HIPS' programs strive to address the impact that HIV/AIDS, STIs, discrimination, poverty, violence and drug use have on the lives of individuals engaging in sex work.

HIPS volunteer orientation is a fun, interactive day that helps incoming HIPS volunteers understand and be able to effectively articulate HIPS philosophy, organizational structure, and programs, and ultimately prepare them to provide assistance to HIPS clients. Following the orientation, volunteers are prepared to enter day time programmatic volunteering or internships, or more extensive Outreach or Hotline training. Attendance at the volunteer orientation is mandatory for all volunteers. HIPS holds three volunteer orientations per year, generally in September, January and May.

For more information, visit the HIPS website

Washington Blade Article on Circumcision as an HIV Prevention Strategy

Dr. Stephen Fallon has an article in today's Washington Blade discussing circumcision as HIV prevention strategy. Fallon writes "No, this isn’t a plot synopsis for “Nip & Tuck.” Circumcising adult men reduces their susceptibility to HIV infection by a large enough margin that New York City’s Department of Health is considering promoting, and possibly even paying for the procedure. The United Nations has even developed a kit to teach doctors in developing nations how to perform a circumcision safely on adults."

Fallon goes on to discuss how circumcision applies to HIV prevention in detail. It's a good article, but I was disappointed to see that he didn't reference the one study that has looked at circumcision specifically in gay men. This study was not designed to look specifically at circumcision (not randomized, controlled, like the Kenya and Uganda Studies). Still, it is the best data we have.

This longitudinal study which enrolled 3257 gay men in six US cities from 1995 to 1997, also found a difference between circumcised and uncircumcised men. This study followed men at high risk for HIV over a period of 18 months. The study showed "lack of circumcision was independently associated with a two fold risk of prevalent infection." [Buchbinder SP et al. Sexual risk, nitrite inhalant use, and lack of circumcision associated with HIV seroconversion in men who have sex with men in the United States. JAIDS 39(1):82-9. 2005.]

Read the entire article here

New City Council Member Yvette Alexander Includes HIV/AIDS as Top Priority

Yvette Alexander has been elected to fill the remainder of Vincent Gray's term on the city council representing Ward 7. Vincent Gray is now Chairman of the Council. Yvette told told 9 News Now that health care and education are her top priorities:

"The most urgent problem facing Ward 7 is twofold," says Alexander. "Education and health care. Our schools need overall improvements in pre-K through 12th grade. In particular, I will champion the increases of vocational, career and technical training in our schools, as well as support building and curriculum expansion at UDC. With heath care, I will champion increased primary care options, medical emergency room care, and HIV-AIDS education, screening and testing. Improvements in both of these areas are a catalyst to an enhanced quality of life for all Ward 7 residents."

Clearly Yvette will be an important advocate on the city council when it comes to HIV/AIDS. I haven't met her yet, but I look forward to doing so.

Muriel Bowser was also elected to the city council to fill the remainder of Adrian Fenty's term as the councilperson from Ward 4.

May ACTION Lunch: When is it Smart to Start HIV Treatment?

Join us May 10th 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.

When is it smart to start HIV Treatment? Dr. Fred Gordin will explore this issue looking at what we know, and what we don’t yet know, about when the best time is for newly diagnosed individuals to start HIV treatment.

To RSVP for this event, click here.

Condom Art Day at George Washington University

Join the Save Lives: Free the Condoms Coalition for Condom Art Day!

How creative can you get with condoms?
Come find out on May 11, 2007 from 3pm-6pm
at the Foggy Bottom Metro

We look forward to seeing you there!!!

Please email sshunmugavelu@gmail.com with any questions

CondomArtDayFlier.doc

May 17th City Wide Speak-Out on HIV/AIDS

Several organizations will be sponsoring a city wide speak out on HIV/AIDS on May 17th. This is your opportunity to share your ideas about what's working - and what's not working - in the city's fight against HIV/AIDS. The event starts at 7:00 PM at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 401 I Street, SW.

All interested organizations are invited to co-sponsor this event, and to be part of planning it. For more information please contact George Kerr at 202 263-1102 or e-mail gkerr85@yahoo.com.

And please help spread the word: click here to download the flyer for this event.

I REALLY wish I had heard about this earlier...

I really think that we should have been contacted about this. We are in contact with Congresswoman Norton's office, we are the HIV/AIDS advocacy group in DC. We do have 170 members, I think we should of heard about this from the congresswoman's office not passed on by chance the day before it happens.

Alex

DISTRICT BRIEFING

The Washington Post

May 2, 2007

Norton Holds Community Discussion for Men

As part of her series of community meetings on the city's HIV and AIDS crisis, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) will host a forum tomorrow for a critical group.

Billed as "a frank discussion for men -- about men -- between men -- on sex, STDs, responsibility and community," the meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Suite 412 at the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Radio talk-show host Russ Parr will be the moderator.

DC Fights Back / C2EA Meeting Notes Online

As many of you know, at our last meeting Campaign to End AIDS DC and DC Fights Back decided to operate as one organization going forward. Minutes from the last meeting are available on the DC Fights Back website. click here to download the minutes.

We are working hard to put together the May 17th Speak Out on HIV/AIDS, so now is a great time to get involved. If you haven't already, please Join the Yahoo Group.

Meet Dr. Fred Gordin

DC is home to many talented and committed Doctors working on HIV/AIDS in DC. I will be introducing you to several of them here on the blog in the next couple months. I decided to start with Dr. Gordin since he is the featured speaker at the May ACTION lunch. If you have a local HIV/AIDS doctor you'd like to see featured on the blog, let me know.

Dr Fred Gordin is chief of the Infectious Diseases section at the Washington VA Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at George Washington University.

Since 1994, he has been the elected group leader of the CPCRA and overseen its expansion into an international consortium. In this capacity, he has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of the CPCRA’s multi-site, multi-study network, i.e., its financial management, regulatory compliance, site performance, protocol implementation, and scientific productivity. Dr Gordin has been the overall director of the SMART Study since its inception. Since the CPCRA’s beginning in 1986, Dr Gordin has also been the Principal Investigator for its clinical unit in Washington DC. Over the years, Dr. Gordin has been instrumental in leading the CPCRA in a diverse portfolio of HIV-related research.

Dr Gordin has served on the FDA Antiviral Drug Advisory Committee for a 4-year term, as well as on the NIAID National Advisory Council for 9 years and the NIH Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council for 2 years. He currently serves on the U.S. Public Health Service treatment guidelines panel, which sets standards for antiretroviral treatment of HIV-infected persons in the United States.

Best. Month. Ever.

Our website is continuing to grow. Thanks to everyone's work, more people visited this website in April than ever before.

A big thank you goes to all the folks that link to this site. In April we got a lot of traffic from the ballroom website Walk For Me Wednesdays as they discussed male circumcision as an HIV prevention tool.

We also continue to get traffic sent our way from DCist, DC Blogs, Stop, Blog, and Roll (Ward 5), OC Girl, Sour & Sweet, and of course Wonkette. Thank you for your help!

Content from this site appears directly on: Capital Area Vaccine Effort, and DC Fights Back. If you have a website, consider adding our RSS Feed to your site for daily news about HIV/AIDS in DC.

You can also add our RSS Feed to your My Yahoo Page, your Google Homepage, or your My AOL Page. It's a great way to stay up to date.

So thanks to everyone who is getting the word out about this site! And thanks to all of the folks who are blogging on this site including Alex, Kenya, Samantha, and Zenovia.