DC and other Jurisdictions Receive Additional CDC Funds to Support HIV Testing and Increase Early Diagnosis of HIV among African Americans

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded $35 million in funding to state and local health departments to increase HIV testing opportunities among populations disproportionately affected by HIV, primarily African Americans. Twenty-three states and major metropolitan areas, including Washington DC, will receive awards ranging from $690,000 to $5.4 million.

“This program seeks to test more than 1 million people with the primary goal of increasing early HIV diagnosis among African Americans,” said Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of CDC′s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. “HIV testing provides a critical pathway to prevention and treatment services to prolong the lives of those infected and help stop the spread of HIV in the hardest hit communities across the United States.”

The $35 million is part of a new $45 million program to expand access to HIV testing. The remaining $10 million will support a range of CDC programs to provide needed training to health care providers, mobilize communities to encourage HIV testing among African Americans, and reach both providers and those at risk with information on the importance of testing.

For more information on HIV prevention, visit www.cdc.gov/hiv

Shake it! at Fab Lounge TONIGHT!

Shake it up for Sex Worker Rights tonight at the Fab Lounge. All funds raised are for sex worker leadership institute.

A $5-$10 dollar donation gets you in the door. The party goes from 7:00 PM till 1:00 AM tonight (Thursday Sep 27th) and features:

• DJ Bent (reggaeton, funky, Bmore, Miami bass)
• DJ Mothersheister (girl garage bands, motown, African classics)
• Zon the Diabolical (funk, soul, old school hits)

There will be Middle Eastern Floor Shows at 8:00 and 9:00 PM. There will also be a "Bound 'n Gagged Silent Auction." I don't know what that is exactly, but I may have to stop by just to find out.

To learn more about this event, click here.

Squidoo: Michelle Rhee and HIV/AIDS in DC

Check out the latest Squidoo page which looks at Michelle Rhee and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in DC. As the head of DC Public Schools (DCPS), Michelle Rhee plays an important role in the fight against HIV/AIDS in DC. Rhee oversees the DCPS HIV/AIDS Program. Be sure to check out the new page at www.squidoo.com/michellerhee/.

Volunteer Opportunities: HIPS, Whitman Walker, Cherry Fund

Here are some great volunteer opportunities ahead.

HIPS Volunteer Opportunities
HIPS is seeking dedicated individuals to provide programmatic and administrative support to our Outreach, Hotline and In-House programs. Volunteers are needed both for daytime (M-F 10 – 6pm) and evening (10pm – 5 am) positions! Volunteers gain real-life experience in HIV prevention services, crisis counseling, health counseling and more. Volunteers are asked to make a minimum 8 hour a month, 4 month commitment to one of HIPS programs. Internships are also available. Interested applicants should email HIPS volunteer coordinator Keisha (volunteercoordinator.hips at gmail.com) for more information and volunteer application! The Fall Volunteer Orientation starts Sunday September 30th. Details at www.hips.org

WWC Legal Services: Become a Public Benefits Volunteer
Looking for a volunteer opportunity to help people living with HIV/AIDS in our community. Become a Public Benefits Volunteer and help people living with HIV/AIDS and other clients of Whitman-Walker Clinic with their initial Social Security disability applications. Join the Whitman-Walker Clinic Legal Services Program for the Public Benefits Clinic Volunteer Training on Saturday October 20th from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Whitman-Walker Clinic, 1407 S Street NW. For details, click here.

Cherry Fund Seeks Volunteers for Harlequin
On Saturday, February 23, 2008. The Cherry Fund will continue our tradition of giving back by hosting Harlequin, our masquerade ball at the Latham Hotel. The proceeds of this event will go to the HIV/AIDS Youth Service Community. There are many opportunities to volunteer and help make this event a success. For more information, click here.

Plans Shaping Up for Latino HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in DC

Plans are shaping up for National Latino HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which takes place on October 15th.

Today at 10:00 AM on the Hill, Congresswoman Hilda Solis, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, and numerous advocates will gather to discuss the impact of HIV/AIDS in Latino/Hispanic communities and to declare an HIV/AIDS state of emergency. (at the U.S. Capitol Building, Room HC-6, Washington, D.C.. Entrance is on the House side of the Capitol on Independence Avenue).

Communities all across the country will be encouraged to plan events for National Latino HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Here in DC, we've already got two events in the works for October 15th.

First off, there will be a Community Forum on HIV/AIDS in the Latino Community at the All Souls Unitarian Church organized by La Clinica Del Pueblo and a coalition of local groups. The event is tentatively scheduled to begin around 10:00 AM. I will give you more details as they come in.

Second, at 2:30 PM there will be a Spanish-language presentation on HIV Vaccine Research. There is an amazing international lineup for this event. Our speakers are

• Pedro Goicochea, Impacta Peru
• Dr. Barney Graham, Vaccine Research Center, NIH, NIAID
• Jeff Stanton, Academy for Educational Development.

Pedro and Jeff will give their presentations directly in Spanish, and Barney will give his presentation in Spanish with the assistance of a translater. So this is an amazing opportunity for Spanish-speaking folks to get any questions they might have about HIV vaccine research answered in Spanish. I hope to have a flyer soon to share with you for this event. This event takes place at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street NW, and light refreshments will be provided. Sponsors include the Vineeta Foundation, Capital Area Vaccine Effort, and the Vaccine Research Center.

I will post updates as they come in for both events on this page

Job Opportunities: HIPS, Prevention Works, and La Clinica Del Pueblo

Here are some recent job postings of interest. Please contact the agencies directly.

HIPS Program Administration Assistant: HIPS Program Administration Assistant provides administrative and logistical support to the Executive Director and Program Directors. The Program Administration Assistant provides general bookkeeping to the organization and ensures HIPS programs are well prepared to meet the needs of HIPS clients and stakeholders. Find out more at www.hips.org.

Pevention Works Clinical Supervisor: The Clinical Supervisor is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the FOCUS drug treatment adherence program for low-income residents of the District of Columbia who are current or former drug users, living with HIV infection, and struggling with their HIV care and/or treatment regimen. Find out more here.

La Clinica HIV Prevention Conselor (Bilingual): This position will conduct HIV prevention counseling, testing, and referrals in the District of Columbia. Find out more information here.

Squidoo: Gay Men and HIV/AIDS in DC

Check out the latest Squidoo.com page which looks at Gay Men and HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia.

I've included a bunch of stuff on the page including flickr photos, relevant youtube pics, recommended books, and much more. If you have something you'd like to see on the new page, just let me know. And be sure to bookmark it at www.squidoo.com/gaymenandhiv.

Johhn Edwards Plan to Fight HIV AIDS

I don't normally blog about national HIV/AIDS issues on this site, but today I'm making an exception.

As some of you may remember, back in April, I shared with you that I'm supporting John Edwards for President. I am proud to serve on Edwards LGBT Steering Committee and to be one one of 25 National LGBT Community Leaders to Endorse Edwards that month. Since April, I've had the pleasure of meeting several folks working hard on the campaign including Elizabeth Edwards.

Today, John Edwards released his plan to fight HIV/AIDS here at home as well as globally. I have never been more proud to support to be supporting John Edwards for President. I think after you read John Edward's HIV/AIDS Plan, you will agree with the many HIV/AIDS advocates from around the country who praised Edwards today.

Dr. Paul Zeitz, Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance FUND, said today: "This is plan is both bold and achievable, and we are thrilled to see Senator Edwards' tremendous leadership on this issue. It's exciting to see such a realistic, science-based approach to the epidemic in the US and globally."

Rebecca Haag, Executive Director of AIDS Action, said today: “We welcome Senator Edwards call for a national strategy. He is definitely listening to the hundreds of organizations, groups and individuals that understand the need for a committed public health approach to HIV."

Don't take their words for it though. I encourage you to read the plan for yourself. And once you do, I encourage you to support John Edwards for President.

Art for Life Thursday November 15th

Art for Life, the 14th Annual Art Auction to benefit Whitman Walker Clinic’s services for the Latino community, will take place on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007 at the Organization of American States, 17th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. The reception begins at 6:30 PM, the VIP Reception begins at 6:00 pm.

For more information, click here.

Squidoo: David Catania & the HIV/AIDS Administration in DC

Check out the latest Squidoo.com page which looks at David Catania and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in DC. City Council Member Catania shoulders a lot responsibility in the fight against HIV/AIDS in DC. Catania is the chairperson of the Committee on Health, which oversees the Department of Health (DOH), and consequently the HIV/AIDS Administration which resides within the DOH.

Check out out David's Squidoo page at: http://www.squidoo.com/davidcatania.

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.

Squidoo: Adrian Fenty and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in DC

Check out the latest Squidoo.com page which looks at Adrian Fenty and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in DC. Mayor Fenty is the person who ultimately oversees both the HIV AIDS Administration within the DC Department of Health and the HIV/AIDS Program within the DC Public Schools.

Bookmark the new Squidoo.com: www.squidoo.com/adrianfenty.

Prosper! Women Living with HIV

The Women's Collective is bringing back their popular Prosper! Group for women living with HIV. HIV positive women are invited for food, pampering, peer support, and "plenty of love and fun as we let down our hair and open our minds."

The next group starts on October 11th, 2007, but individual sessions are ongoing. An incentive is provided for every other individual session and at the end of the 10 group session. To see if you are eligible, or for more information call (202) 483-7003 and ask for Abby or Roshah.

When will Gregg Pane Get His Grade?

The Appleseed Reports on HIV/AIDS in the District have always carried a lot of weight. Former HIV/AIDS Administration Director Lydia Watts was fired by Gregg Pane just one week after the first Appleseed Report. When Marsha Martin became Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration, she received regular 'report cards' from DC Appleseed measuring the progress of the HIV/AIDS Administration.

The first report card covered August 2005 to March 2006. The second report card covered March 2006 to December 2006.

Then on January 1st Marcia Martin left the HIV/AIDS Administration when Mayor Fenty took office and chose not to keep her on board, at which time Gregg Pane took the reigns as Interim Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration.

We have yet to see a report card that measures progress made during Gregg Pane's time as Interim Deputy Director.

It remains to be seen whether the Appleseed Project will weigh in on Pane's work at the HIV/AIDS Administration. One has to wonder whether his 'grades' would be better or worse than the two Directors he fired.

New York Rejects 'Financing Ignorance': Will DC Follow?

Today New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines announced that New York is joining the growing number of states that are rejecting the Bush Administration's Abstinence Only Program.

Daines stated "The Bush administration's Abstinence Only Program is an example of a failed national healthcare policy directive, based on ideology rather than on sound scientific- based evidence that must be the cornerstone of good public healthcare policy."

While the policy has been in effect for some time, Daines comments coincided with the release of the report Financing Ignorance: A Report on Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding in New York.

Daines continued: "In keeping with the Governor Spitzer's progressive healthcare agenda for New York, on July 2rd the department cancelled all existing abstinence only contracts under the federal Title V program that began under the previous administration. Earlier this year, the department made a conscious decision not to reapply for funds under this program due to the increasingly rigid federal standards imposed on New York and other states that were contrary to our commitment to fully educate adolescents about the risks associated with sexual behavior."

On numerous occasions, concerned DC residents have asked Adrian Fenty to unequivocally reject Abstinence-Only-Until Marriage Funding. I asked Mayor Fenty if he would reject this money at a Gertrude Stein Democrats Meeting in May 2007. A coalition of local youth serving organizations also asked Mayor Fenty to reject this money in May.

The organizations that signed on to this request include: 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.

New York is one of eleven states that has rejected abstinence-only-until-marriage funding. The other states are California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Let's hope the District of Columbia is next.

HIV/AIDS Administration Surveillance Report Delayed

The HIV/AIDS Administration 2001-2006 Surveillance Report that was scheduled to be released this month has been delayed once again. This can only be described as yet another setback for the HIV/AIDS Administration, whose performance has been questioned on a variety of fronts including condom distribution, HIV testing, and program oversight.

The Surveillance report provides an overview of the HIV epidemic in the city and helps us better understand where new HIV cases are occurring in the city, which populations are most affected, and what modes of transmission are most prevalent. I was looking forward to having the report this month, before AIDS Walk Washington, one of the most visible HIV/AIDS events in the city, so that we could accurately give information about HIV rates in DC. That's not going to happen.

The HIV/AIDS Administration now says we can look for the report before the end of October. This will give Dr. Shannon Hader, the new Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration, and opportunity to review the report before it is released (Hader does not actually start work until mid-October).

In light of this development, The October ACTION Lunch with Tiffany West-Ojo from the HIV/AIDS Administration to present the Surveillance Data has been rescheduled for November 15th. click here for more information about this event.

Charity Date Auction for Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care

20 of DC's finest bachelors and bachelorettes were auctioned of earlier this month at the new bar 18th and Red. All money raised was donated to Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care, Inc. Check out this fun video montage of the night's festivities. (if the video isn't showing, click here.

Building Momentum for DC Fights Back Resource Day

The excitement is building for the DC Fights Back Resource Day, scheduled for Tuesday, October 16th in partnership with local HIV/AIDS service organizations.

We will have a rockin' resource fair where you can come with questions about HIV/AIDS services in the District and leave with answers. Organizations participating include: AIDSinfo, Community Education Group, Covenant Baptist Church Conversation Center, Damien Ministries, DC Fights Back, Food and Friends, Housing Works, Lincoln Financial Group, Metro Teen AIDS, NOVAM-Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry, Our Place DC, Patients not Patents, Inc., Regional Addiction Prevention (RAP Inc), Vaccine Research Center NIAID NIH, and the Women’s Collective.

Dr. Shannon Hader to Provide Opening Remarks

Starting at 11:00 AM we will have a panel discussion on HIV/AIDS services in the District and the new Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration, Dr. Shannon Hader, will be providing opening remarks.

The DC Fights Back Resource Day is an opportunity for service providers and people living with HIV in DC to learn about resources in the District including housing, employment assistance, substance abuse, and mental health services.

The resource day will take place at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 401 I Street NW from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The Westminster Presbyterian Church is convenient to the Waterfront/SEU metro stop.

It's not too late to get involved: If you are interested in participating or would just like more information, please contact Cherie Lindsay at spkaboutit(at)yahoo(dot)com.

click here to download the flyer for the event

Brave Soul Collective Gathers at Warehouse Theater September 29th

When Alex Lawson posted about the Black Luv Fest, he made the point that while the Black Luv Fest recevied no money from the HIV/AIDS Administration, they were much, much more succesfull in getting folks tested than the well funded effort of the HIV/AIDS Administration at Freedom Plaza.

It's an important distinction to make. Some of the most innovative and successful efforts to fight HIV in DC (including this website you read every day) are not coming from the organizations funded to do the work, they are coming from concerned citizens who are so fed up they are doing the work themselves.

Another example of this is the Brave Soul Collective. Brave Soul Collective is an education, outreach, and support organization for gay / bisexual / transgendered / questioning HIV positive and negative individuals living their lives in truth through the arts. Brave Soul isn't funded by the local HIV/AIDS Administration, there creative and innovative work far surpasses anything I've ever seen from any of the well-funded HIV/AIDS support groups in the city, many of whom have to pay participants with gift cards just to get them to show up (yeah, I said it).

The Brave Soul Collective will be gathering on Saturday September 29th from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Warehouse Theater, 1017 7th Street NW, Washington DC 20001. This event is free as long as you remember to RSVP. Every month Brave Soul explores a different topic, and this month they'll be talking about unprotected sex, so it should be a lively and interesting discussion.

CAVE Meeting October 9th, 2007

Please join us for the next meeting of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE). We will meet on October 9th at the offices of Us Helping Us at 6:30 PM. Us Helping Us is located at 3636 Georgia Avenue NW, very close to the Georgia Ave Petworth Station Metro Stop. If you'd like to check out the minutes from our September meeting, click here.

There's a lot going on with CAVE right now. For one, we're partnering with The Center for their October 1st Presentation on HIV Vaccine Research. We're also going to be participating in AIDS Walk Washington as part of the DC Fights Back AIDS Walk Team. We also need to follow up with the HIV/AIDS Administration on HIV testing issues for HIV vaccine trial participants. We sent a letter to Dr. Pane and got a response, but we haven't yet got a meeting set up to discuss the issue with the appropriate folks at the HIV/AIDS Administration.

Finally, CAVE is looking at expanding our mission statement beyone HIV Vaccine Research to all Prevention research in the district. This would give us the ability to work on other prevention-research topics like Microbicides, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, Circumcision, other prevention research.

This is a great time to get involved in CAVE - please join us for the next meeting.