Next DC Fights Back Meeting September 11th

The next DC Fights Back meeting will be on September 11th at 6pm at Our Place DC, 801 Penn. Ave SE. Washington, DC 20003 Suite 460. Our Place, DC is convenient to the Eastern Market Metro Stop. Please join us!

Cheryl Spector Remembered

The Washington Blade reports, that Cheryl Spector died today after a 10-week battle with leukemia, according to Rainbow History.

Cheryl will be remembered for many things in her life. She was an LGBT activist, a historian, a fierce supporter of our local drag kings, and she was an AIDS activist.

Cheryl was actively involved in ACT UP DC in the early days of the epidemic. She joined after losing her brother to AIDS. She has been a force in Washington ever since I got here (and long before) and she will be greatly missed.

For more about Cheryl, click here to read a tribute to her from an awards ceremony in 2004.

AIDS Walk Washington Essay Contest Deadline Approaches

As part of this year’s AIDS Walk, the Whitman-Walker Clinic is organizing an essay contest for local high school students.
Students are encouraged to write an essay that answers the question “What can you do to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in your community?"

The top ten finalists will be recognized at AIDS Walk Washington, which takes place on October 6th. One grand prize winner will have the opportunity read their essay at the event, and have their work featured on the AIDS Walk Washington website.
All essay submissions must be received by Friday September 14th. Find out more at www.aidwalkwashington.org.

Concert for Life: November 30th

Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry (NOVAM) will mark World AIDS Day this year with 'Concert for Life', featuring performances by Jason & deMarco, the Howard University Gospel Choir, and the Unity Fellowship & Shaman Tigre Drum Ministries.Panels from the AIDS Quilt will be on display, as well as outreach information on HIV services in Northern Virginia.

The concert will take place at 7:30, Friday, November 30 at the Kenmore Auditorium, 200 S. Carlin Springs Drive, Arington, VA 22204.

Tickets range from $30-75 and can be purchased by calling 703-533-5505 x13.

An Evening of Food & Friends at Crate and Barrel: December 5th, 2007

This December, more than 1,000 of Food & Friends' supporters will kick-off their holiday shopping at Crate and Barrel and have 10% of their in-store purchases donated directly to Food & Friends. This evening of shopping is filled with exciting door prizes and tastings from some of our favorite restaurants. Sponsorships and Tickets will be available in the fall.

Established in 1988, Food & Friends was founded to provide home-delivered meals and friendship to people living with HIV/AIDS. These services remain at the core of their mission: caring for people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses by providing home-delivered, freshly-prepared meals, groceries and nutrition counseling.

Squidoo: African Americans and HIV/AIDS in DC

Check out the latest Fight HIV in DC Squidoo Page: HIV/AIDS and African Americans in Washington DC. There's more stuff I'd like to add to the page, but we're off to a great start. I've included information about: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and DC Black Pride, as well as some great pictures (the picture from the Speakout is one of my all-time favorites). Be sure to check out the new Squidoo Page, and if you have any suggestions, send them my way.

ACTION September Newsletter Now Online

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

Please be sure to join us for the September ACTION Lunch where we will learn more about the DC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).

The YRBS helps us better understand young people in the District of Columbia including what behaviors may put them at risk for HIV. Join us for a preliminary look at the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data.

Our presenter will be Marc D. Clark, Ph.D., Director of Health Operations for DC Public Schools.

This event takes place Thursday, September 13th at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street NW

To RSVP online for this event: click here.

This is one lunch in a three-part series entitled 'Understanding the HIV Epidemic in DC'. To download the flyer for this series, click here.

Howard University Hospital CAB Meeting Sept 26th

The HIV/AIDS Community Advisory Board for the Howard University Hospital Pediatric Clinic will meet on Wednesday, September 26th, at 10:30 AM. Howard University Hospital is located at 2041 Georgia Avenue, convenient to the Shaw-Howard Metro stop.

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

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

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

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

September 11th CAVE Meeting at Us Helping Us

Please join us for the next meeting of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE). We will meet on September 11th 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.

CAVE is the community advisory board for both the Vaccine Research Center and the U.S. Military HIV Research Program.

Phenomenal Women Living Longer with the Challenge of HIV

Save the date! October 31st is the second annual conference entitled: "Legends and Young'uns: Phenomenal Women Living Longer with the Challenge of HIV." The conference takes places in Baltimore Maryland at the Pikesville Hilton (1726 Reisterstown Road) from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. For more information contact Dorcas Barker at 443 287-4779.

click here to download the flyer for this event.

Squidoo: Youth and HIV/AIDS in DC

Check out the latest Squidoo page on Youth and HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia. I've included information on the HIV/AIDS advocacy in DC Public Schools, the City Year Project Hope Team, and much more. If there is something you'd like to see up on the Youth Squidoo page, just let me know.

Love, Joy, & Compassion at the End of Life

Joseph's House is sponsoring a workshop entitled "Deepening Relationships: Love, Joy, & Compassion at the End of Life" with with Frank Ostaseski on September 15th and 16th: The intent of this unique program is to “develop self-awareness among participants, building our capacity and skills in deepening relationships with those we serve and with the Mystery of death. Specifically we will explore how the three innate qualities of Love. Joy and Compassion arise as an appropriate and supportive response to conditions surrounding the end of life.” For more information visit www.compassionatedc.org.

Joseph's House provides a home, nursing services, and community for formerly homeless men and women in metropolitan Washington DC who are terminally ill and in the last weeks or months of their illness.

DC Fights Back Resource Day October 16th

DC Fights Back will be holding a resource day on Tuesday, October 16th in partnership with local HIV/AIDS service organizations.

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.

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 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.

Invitations have been sent out to invite local orgnaizations to participate. 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

Squidoo: Women and HIV in DC

Check out the latest Squidoo page I've created on Women and HIV in DC. click here to view the Squidoo page. I've included information on National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day as well as the The Women's Independent Health Study. If there are other things you'd like to see on the page, just let me know.

Spotlight: Whitman-Walker Clinic

Recent Blog Posts

Recent Pictures

AIDS Walk Pictures

Whitman-Walker Clinic
Administrative Offices
1407 S St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
(202) 797-3500

www.wwc.org

Whitman-Walker Clinic is a non-profit community-based health organization serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. Established by and for the gay and lesbian community, the Clinic is comprised of diverse volunteers and staff who provide or facilitate the delivery of high quality, comprehensive, accessible health care and community services. Whitman-Walker Clinic is especially committed to ending the suffering of all those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Spotlight: Miriam's House

Recent Miriam's House Posts

Miriam's House
P.O. Box 73618
Washington, D.C. 20056
(202) 667-1758

www.miriamshouse.org

Miriam's House is a caring residential community for homeless women living with HIV that empowers recovery from homelessness, disease, and addictions in an environment of compassion, integrity, and accountability.

Tell Adam Clampitt to talk about HIV/AIDS in DC

Adam Clampitt has launched a campaign website today. Where he states "I'm exploring a run for DC Council at-Large to break up the gridlock of politics as usual and move our city forward."

Clampitt regularly blogs at www.districtmatters.com. Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS in DC is not an issue emphasized on either District Matters or his new campaign website.

Please take a moment right now and send an e-mail message to Adam Clampitt and encourage him to talk about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in DC during his campaign.

We have to make to make it perfectly clear to Adam and anyone else considering a run for city council that having a higher HIV rate than any state and a higher HIV death rate than any state is unacceptable.

Let Adam know that HIV/AIDS is the top public health priority for our city, and it must be a top priority of his campaign.

Send your e-mail to: adamclampitt@fighthivindc.org. Your message will go directly to Adam, and a copy will also come to me. I'll pick the best e-mail messages and post them on the website next week.

Please, take just one minute right now and Tell Adam to Talk about HIV/AIDS.

Squidoo Page: HIV & the Latino Community in DC

I've been making a set of Squidoo Pages, lately. They are a great way to drive more traffic to the website and reach more people.

Since Latino AIDS Awareness Day is coming up in October, I thought this would be a good one to highlight.

click here to check out the Squidoo Page on HIV and the Latino Community in DC

Some People Living With HIV/AIDS in Maryland Piecing Together Treatment, Services Because of Clinic Closure, Advocates Say

From Kaiser Daily: Some people living with HIV/AIDS in Maryland have been "forced to look elsewhere" for treatment and other support services following the closure of the Washington, D.C.-based Whitman-Walker Clinic's Takoma Park, Md., facility in September 2005, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, some HIV-positive people living in the area are trying to find new resources for prescriptions, case management, emergency food vouchers, and mental health and nutrition counseling (Dickson, Washington Post, 8/23).

The clinic -- which serves about 7,000 HIV-positive individuals in the Washington, D.C., area -- in May 2005 approved $2.5 million in cuts and announced it would end permanently services in the Northern Virginia and Maryland suburbs. Whitman-Walker in September 2005 shut down its Takoma Park facility, but the Virginia Department of Health; Alexandria, Va.; and Fairfax and Arlington counties in Virginia pledged to provide as much as $590,000 to allow Whitman-Walker to keep its Northern Virginia clinic operating until the end of 2006. Whitman-Walker in October 2006 announced that it would maintain its operations and clinic in Northern Virginia beyond 2006 because its financial situation had improved (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/12/06).

Following the closure, some Maryland residents have found treatment and support services at local health departments or through advocacy, outreach and other programs, the Post reports. Others -- including many people from Prince George's and Montgomery counties in Maryland -- turned to the Whitman-Walker clinic in the district, according to the Post. The district facility serves more than 1,900 people from suburban Maryland, most of whom live in Prince George's and Montgomery counties, according to spokesperson Chip Lewis. Before the closure of the Takoma Park facility, the district clinic served 1,200 people from suburban Maryland.

Erin Bradley, a spokesperson for the Prince George's Department of Health, said there are options for HIV-positive people living in suburban Maryland. Bradley added that funds previously allocated to the Takoma Park clinic have been dispersed to other social agencies offering services such as transportation to medical appointments, emergency food vouchers, and mental health, nutrition and substance-abuse counseling. Andrew Spieldenner, director of programs for the National Association of People with AIDS, said he disagreed with Bradley's assessment. He added that people living with the disease in the area are inconvenienced and denied access to care because they are required to go to several locations for what they used to receive at one facility.

According to the Post, HIV testing services also have been affected by the closure. The Suburban Maryland AIDS Reduction Team, which performs confidential HIV screening, had to find a new location to conduct testing after the closure. SMART now offers no-cost testing on Wednesdays at the Holy Redeemer Metropolitan Community Church in College Park, Md. The group also offers tests at the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and SMART members operate a van in Prince George's County on Fridays. "We may not be able to do all the things we used to, but we are still here and we're trying," James Coleman, program director of SMART, said, adding, "The bottom line is that we just want people to get tested" (Washington Post, 8/23).

DC Speakout on HIV/AIDS & Neighborhood March November 3rd, 2007

As part of this year’s American Public Health Association annual meeting in Washington, DC, on November 3, DC Fights Back! and the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association welcome you to join us for a Community Speak Out & Neighborhood March on HIV/AIDS

Customarily, the local APHA affiliate in the city hosting its annual meeting sponsors an activity exhibiting local public health work. Given that our nation’s capital has one of the highest AIDS rates in the country and as many as one in 20 residents are HIV positive, we have organized two events to engage more people in the struggle against HIV/AIDS and to discuss the relationship between ill-health, HIV, and the many social disparities that exist in our nation’s capital.

We expect a broad cross section of participants: from folks attending the APHA annual meeting to community members, activists, and city officials. We will march through the neighborhood to raise awareness and decrease stigma and at the Speak Out, we will describe DC’s HIV epidemic, discuss what is being done to address HIV and what more needs to happen. We will hear testimony from community members, listen to presentations from representatives of other States, and move towards consensus on action items that the District of Columbia can take to help end new HIV infections.

Please join us for both events!

Neighborhood March: 12 noon, November 3
starting from the corner of Malcolm X and MLK, SE

Speak Out: 2pm, November 3
Washington Highlands Library
115 Atlantic St. SW DC

Download the flyer for this event