National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2009

National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day takes place on September 27th, 2009. This event was started by the National Association of People with AIDS.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than half a million gay men have died of HIV/AIDS in the United States. Fifty-three percent of new HIV infections occurred among men who have sex with men (MSM) in 2006. From 2001 to 2006, men who have sex with men (MSM) across all racial and ethnic groups were the only transmission category with significant increases in HIV diagnoses.

Here in Washington DC in 2006, there were 190 newly reported AIDS cases attributed to men who have sex with men accounting for 40% of males and 27% of all adults and adolescents who received a diagnosis of AIDS in the year. The District has seen recent increases in HIV infections amoung younger men who have sex with men. Among young people 13 to 24, newly reported HIV cases among men who have sex with men increaased by 32% between 2001 and 2006 (from 15 cases to 22 cases).

To learn more visit this squidoo page: HIV/AIDS and Gay Men in DC.

Help us raise awareness of this event: click here to RSVP on facebook

HIV Working Group to Meet April 22nd

The next meeting of The DC Center's HIV Working Group takes place Wednesday April 22nd 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, which meets on March 30th, is working on marketing and packaging for a new safer sex packet distribution program. The New Media and Technology committee, which meets next on April 1st, is exploring new media approaches to HIV prevention and outreach.

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

HIV Working Group to Meet February 25th

The DC Center HIV Working Group had it's first meeting on January 28th. There was a great energy in the room and a renewed commitment to addressing HIV/AIDS among gay, bisexual, and transgender men.

A e-mail list has been set up for folks to communicate between meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday February 25th at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th Street NW Suite 350. Please join us.

And please join us for the first HIV Working group fundraiser taking place on February 8th at Be Bar. For details click here.

Recovery from Crystal Meth: One Man's Story

The DC Crystal Meth Working Group has released it's first video featuring Jimmy Garza talking about his recovery from crystal meth addiction.

This is a first in a series of videos the group will do with local gay, bisexual, and transgender men talking about health and wellness issues that impact our lives and our community.

If you are interested in telling your story, or assisting with the video project, please e-mail videoproject@thedccenter.org.

Watch our first video below or at www.letstalkaboutmeth.org.

Listen: This Thursday!

Join us December 4th for Listen: Gay Men in Their Twenties Talk About Their Lives, Their Futures, and The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in DC

HIV and AIDS cases among young men who have sex with men ages 13-24 from 2002 to 2007 were double that of all previous cases since tracking began in 1983 up to 200. Despite these increases, only half of all young adults under 25 are aware of their HIV status or have actively sought an HIV Test.

How can we best support young gay, bisexual, and transgender men who are HIV positive? How do we fight the secrecy and the stigma? How do we prevent new infections? Join us for a frank conversation with a panel of gay, bi, and trans men in their twenties as we tackle these important questions.

Thursday, December 4th
7:00 PM
HRC Equality Center
1640 Rhode Island Ave NW

Moderated by Zack Rosen, The New Gay
Opening Remarks: Tyrone Hanely, SMYAL
Closing Remarks: Brian Watson, Ryan White Planning Council

> download the flyer for this event
> RSVP on Facebook
> RSVP on MySpace

Sponsored by the DC Crystal Meth Working Group, The DC Center, and SMYAL. This program is funded in whole or in part, by the Government of the District of Columbia, Department of Health.

Spotlight: HIV/AIDS and Gay and Bisexual Men in the District of Columbia

In the District of Columbia, HIV/AIDS has had a significant impact on adult and adolescent men who have sex with men (MSM), with little progress in new infections. The number of newly reported MSM attributed HIV cases has remained relatively stable from 2001-2006 (146 to 113 cases). The number of newly reported AIDS cases attributed to MSM was also relatively stable from 2001 to 2006 (197 to 190 cases).

Find out more. Read the Squidoo page on HIV/AIDS and Gay Men in the District of Columbia.

LISTEN:

Join us December 4th for Listen: Gay Men in Their Twenties Talk About Their Lives, Their Futures, and The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in DC

The Department of Health estimates that since 2001, young men who have sex with men ages 13-24 in the District of Columbia experienced a 900% increase of reported HIV infection compared to the previous five year period. Despite these increases, only half of all young adults under 25 are aware of their HIV status or have actively sought an HIV Test.

How can we best support young gay, bisexual, and transgender men who are HIV positive? How do we fight the secrecy and the stigma? How do we prevent new infections? Join us for a frank conversation with a panel of gay, bi, and trans men in their twenties as we tackle these important questions.

Thursday, December 4th
7:00 PM
HRC Equality Center
1640 Rhode Island Ave NW

Moderated by Zack Rosen, The New Gay
Opening Remarks: Tyrone Hanely, SMYAL
Closing Remarks: Brian Watson, Ryan White Planning Council

Sponsored by the DC Crystal Meth Working Group, The DC Center, and SMYAL. This program is funded in whole or in part, by the Government of the District of Columbia, Department of Health.

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

An HIV/AIDS Research Agenda for Black Gay Men

The statistics on HIV and black gay men are sobering. A 2005 CDC study, conducted in 5 large US cities, found that HIV prevalence among black MSM (46%) was more than twice that among white MSM (21%). (citation). It's hard to imagine that in these cities almost half of all black gay men are living with HIV.

When it comes to HIV prevention, what works for white gay men does not necessarily work for black gay men. There's still a lot we need to understand about what is fueling these high HIV rates and what we should be doing about it.

Fortunately, the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition (NBGMAC), which formed shortly after this data was released, has been working hard to improve the health and well-being of black gay men through advocacy that is focused on research, policy, education and training. NBGMAC is housed in Washington, DC at the offices of Us Helping Us.

NBGMAC will continue to their work at the October 24th meeting of the NIH Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council (OAR). The OAR meeting will focus on challenges of HIV infection in racial and ethnic communities in the United States.

Dr. Leo Wilton will present a summary of the Black Gay Research Agenda for the NBGMAC and the Black Gay Research Group. The meeting will be held at 5635 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852 in the Terrace Level Conference Center.

It's an important step forward in advocating for the HIV research needs of black gay men, and you can be there. The meeting is open to the public. Time will be allowed for public comment at the end of the meeting. If you can attend and would like to attend, please contact Christina Brackna at (301) 402-8655 for additional information .

November 30th: DC Meth Awareness Day

Save the Date, November 30th is Crystal Meth Awareness Day. Crystal meth is a very addictive drug that continues to be used in the District, particularly among gay men. And unfortunately crystal meth use and HIV often go hand in hand.

Our local Crystal Meth Working Group has done some great work raising awareness of this issue, including the February 2007 Community Forum on Crystal Meth.

Unfortunately, the event planned for Crystal Meth Awareness Day was criticized for not being relevant to our DC meth epidemic and inappropriate for the LGBT Community.

Check back here for plans for Crystal Meth Awareness Day this year, or visit www.crystalmethsucks.org.

Us Helping Us: Support Counselor for HIV Positive Black Gay Men

Are you a black HIV positive gay man that needs somoene to talk to? Then call Us Helping Us. Us Helping has a support counselor available for you to talk to, and incentives are offerred for every visit. For more information contact Rukie Wilson at 202 446-1100 ext 1124.

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.

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.

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

Gay Men's Health & Wellness in the District

Did you know that in London and other cities, gay men are already asking doctors for the HPV Vaccine? The HPV Vaccine has been tested in women, and current studies are testing the vaccine for gay men. But some gay men, who believe it will benefit them, are already asking for it, and their doctors are giving it to them.

Now I'm not saying to go out and demand the HPV vaccine from your doctor. After all, there area reasons why we do clinical trials, and as far as I'm concerned, I can wait until this study is finished.

I do mention this, however, because it blows me away that these gay men are so well informed, and so proactive in asking for what they need to stay healthy.

Chris Rothermel, Jared Shenk, and I have been talking lately about gay men's health and wellness in the District of Columbia. We've talked about the HPV Vaccine Study, but we also talked about the fact that many gay men haven't received HEP vaccinations, which are currently available.

And of course we've talked about HIV. Including prevention strategies like post-exposure prophylaxis, circumcision, and research on potential new strategies like pre-exposure prophylaxis, vaccines, and microbicides.

And we've talked about why gay men sometimes make bad decisions about risky behavior or substance use. Things like self-esteem, depression, and isolation.

Gay men's health and wellness covers a broad, broad spectrum, and there are so many things we have yet to really fully explore in Washington DC.

We'd like to begin that discussion. We're planning to pull together a small group of folks to put together a survey for gay men in the District so we can better understand what issues are most important to you. We've also talked about doing a resource inventory so we better understand what services are currently available in the district.

We're definitely NOT looking to start a new group or a new organization.

But we are looking for a few kindred spirits who may be interested in being part of this effort.

If you're interested - please shoot me an e-mail (or post a comment below) and let's get started.