New Weekly Bar Night for POZ Guys & Allies

Motley Bar is launching a brand new bar night for HIV positive guys and guys who don't have hang-ups about dating HIV positive guys. The party starts at 9:00 PM on November 24th and every Tuesday at Motley Bar, which is located directly above EFN Lounge at 1318 19th Street NW.

Tuesday night will feature HIV positive bartenders and DJ's. The event is being organized by HIV positive party promoter Jacob Pring. Of course, everyone is welcome, whether you are HIV positive or not!

You may recall that we normally do Packing Parties at 7:00 PM on Tuesdays at Motley. Due to Thanksgiving week, there will be no packing party this Tuesday. But going forward, we'll have packing parties on Tuesdays at 7:00, followed by the weekly POZ bar night. And Motley will still have great drink specials including $8 pitchers.

For more information, Join the POZ DC Facebook Fan Page.

Next HIV Working Group Meeting August 26th

The next meeting of The DC Center's HIV Working Group takes place Wednesday August 26th at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St NW Suite 350.

The HIV Working Group focuses on HIV prevention for gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) men in the District of Columbia.

Montgomery County Residents Needed

The Montgomery County School Board is looking for folks with an HIV background to serve on their Family Life and Human Development Committee for the next two years.
If interested, folks should contact:

Diane S. Watts
Office of the Deputy Superintendent of Schools
Montgomery County Public Schools
850 Hungerford Drive, Room 129
Rockville, MD 20850
301-279-3126

HIV Working Group Meeting May 27th

The next meeting of The DC Center's HIV Working Group takes place Wednesday May 27th at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St NW Suite 350. The HIV Working Group focuses on HIV prevention for gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) men in the District of Columbia.

Currently the HIV Working Group has two committees. The Safer Sex Packet committee,and The New Media and Technology committee. The next meeting will include updates from these committees and a discussion about coordinating van-outreach in the District.

To find out more about these meetings or the HIV Working Group in general, contact Dan O'Neil.

DC Condom Rationing ALERT!

I've been a volunteer with Brother Help Thyself for over 13 years and our organization has had a condom distribution/safe sex education program since before I got involved with the organization. For the last several years, I've been actively involved in the ordering and distribution of condoms for Brother Help Thyself. That involved me ordering 30 cases every 2-4 months. We bought them in bulk and distributed them at cost to the bars and clubs in the city where men go to meet men for sex. Once the District announced that they would provide them free of cost, none of the businesses wanted to pay for them, so I am trying to get them from the district.

Today, I was told that they are not prepared to deal with the volume of 6,000-8,000 condoms a week. I find this hard to believe. My organization, with an annual budget of maybe $150,000 and no paid staff managed for years to fulfill the community needs and never say "we have no condoms." And yet the the DC government with paid staff and much greater resources advertises free condom distribution and can't fulfill its commitment. Is rationing condoms any way to prevent HIV?

FREE RETREAT February 7th-9th

During the retreat you will get a chance to talk to other individuals about issues that you face everyday and discuss ways to help overcome issues by listening to others that have overcome similar issues, all while being away in a relaxing retreat.

Healthy Relationships is a program for small groups off people living with HIV/AIDS. Knowing that the lives of persons living with HIV/AIDS are stressful, this retreat aims to build coping skills to reduce stress. Some of the skills involve:

• Solving problems
• Making decisions
• Negotiating choices

These skills can be used in situations such as:

• Disclosing HIV status to family and friends
• Disclosing to sex partners
• Building healthy and safer relationships

Healthy Relationships does not tell people they should disclose. Participants use the skills to make informed decisions about disclosure and sexual behavior.

For more information:

call 202-446-1100
or
Email

Ken Pettigrew
Kpettigrew@uhupil.org

Kenya Hutton
Khutton@uhupil.org

40 AIDS activists draped in red tape risk arrest at White House

Following a successful protest last year, over 40 AIDS activists draped in red tape risk arrest at White House

George Kerr, Co-chair of DC Fights Back will join the protesters.

Action on the eve of World AIDS Day, November 30


When: Friday 11/30 at 2:30pm

Where: White House sidewalk - Lafayette Square

Who: Over 40 HIV positive activists, health advocates, students and others

What: Civil disobedience on the White House sidewalk

RAIN OR SHINE

EVENT DETAILS:

Over 40 HIV-positive activists, health advocates, students and others will risk arrest on Friday at approximately 2:30 by performing a symbolic sit-down protest in front of the White House, at the sidewalk near Lafayette Square. The demonstrators will be draped in hundreds of yards of red tape to demand that various government entities remove the political "red tape" that is interfering with an effective response to HIV, locally, nationally, and globally. Demonstrators will be dressed as educators and doctors; others will wear shirts identifying them as people living with or at risk for HIV.

The demonstration expands upon a civil disobedience during last year's World AIDS Day, in which 20 protesters were arrested outside the White House.

The protesters, including members of local HIV/AIDS advocacy organization DC Fights Back, will be demanding that local DC public school students receive medically accurate, unbiased, comprehensive sexuality education that includes lessons on HIV and AIDS. The protest occurs following recent reports that confirm that 1 in 20 DC residents are infected with HIV and identifying DC's HIV/AIDS crisis as a modern epidemic.

Demonstrators will be echoing the call, by almost all HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations nationwide, for the US to implement a strategic US national strategy.

The assembled also say that the reauthorization of the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in 2008 is the time to reform the plan. This includes the removal of the 1/3 earmark for abstinence-until-marriage funding and the implementation of evidence-based HIV prevention policies, plus increased U.S. support for HIV treatment worldwide.

Thanks for Supporting HIV/AIDS Education in DC Public Schools

Thanks to everyone who came out to support the DC Public School Health Learning Standards. While there were a couple folks who came out to oppose the standars, the vast majority of people in attendance came out to support the standards, and to support HIV/AIDS education for DC Public School students. Supporters included a great mix of parents, students, teachers, ministers, medical professionals, HIV/AIDS organizations, and LGBT Groups.

You can click here to see pictures from the event on our flickr page, or click here to see an amateur video montage on youtube (also below)

National Black AIDS Awareness Day: Febuary 7th, 2008

February 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness and Information Day (NBHAAD). This annual observance day was created to raise awareness among African Americans about HIV/AIDS and its devastating impact on African American communities. The day is part of a national mobilization effort to get African Americans to learn more about the threat posed by the disease, get tested, get treated and make a commitment to fight HIV/AIDS.

Here in Washington, DC there is no question that African Americans are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. According to our recent surveillance report, African Americans make up about 55% of the DC population, but constitute 80% of District residents living with HIV. Further, of the 842 cases of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men from 2001 to 2006, 63% were among black men.

National Black AIDS Awareness Day is a great opportunity to raise awareness of how HIV/AIDS impacts Black gay and bisexual men. If you're interested in helping organize a National Black AIDS Awareness Day event in Washington DC, please let me know.

To learn more about the National Black AIDS Awareness Day, visit www.blackaidsday.org.