Packing Parties Every Tuesday at Motley

Help us Keep DC Safer! Join the HIV Working Group every Tuesday Night at Motley Bar for Packing Parties. Volunteers assemble safer sex kits and enjoy great drink specials at Motley from 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM.

Motley is the upstairs bar at EFN Lounge, located at 1318 9th St NW (9th St Between N and O). Have fun, volunteer, and enjoy great drink specials.

The DC Center HIV Working Group focuses on HIV prevention for gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) men in the District of Columbia. For more information, visit the HIV Working Group Page.

CAVE Meeting November 11th

The next CAVE meeting will take place November 11th at 7:00 PM at the DC Center, 1111 14th Street NW Suite 350. Our meetings normally take place the second Wednesday of each month. The meeting will include a mini-presentation and discussion on The Role of Community Advisory Board Members. We will also be finalizing our plans for World AIDS Day. Please join us!

CAVE (www.aidsvaccine.org) is the community advisory board for the Vaccine Research Center. Capital Area Vaccine Effort is a volunteer panel of individuals from the general public and from the diverse communities affected by AIDS. CAVE is organized to assist and advise AIDS vaccine trials in the metropolitan DC area by:

• Assessing the concerns and serving as an advocate for AIDS vaccine participants and the general public.
• Acting as a liaison & ombudsman between AID vaccine researchers and those interested in AIDS vaccine research.
• Reflecting affected populations in its own composition.As appropriate, encouraging participation in AIDS Vaccine Trials, and acting as community educators on AIDS vaccine research
• Assessing ethical and social implications & impact of the AIDS Vaccine Trials

Washington Blade Profiles Activist & Center Board Member Pat Hawkins

Dr. Pat Hawkins is featured in the Washington Blade Queery Column this week. Dr. Hawkins serves on the Board of Directors of The DC Center.

It’s been a year of change and transition for Pat Hawkins, one of the Rainbow History pioneers being honored this month. She was laid off Dec. 31 after nearly 20 years at Whitman-Walker Clinic where she worked as a psychotherapist. She spent most of the year consulting, doing private practice and working on getting the Ryan White act reauthorized. She was approached by Peter Metasatos to start a new venture, the D.C. Community AIDS Network, where she’ll work as a psychotherapist and behavioral health consultant. Hawkins, 69, says there are so many pressing needs facing D.C.’s HIV-positive residents, there’s room for many service organizations. “So many with HIV and AIDS are not receiving care,” she says.

continue reading this article on the Washington Blade website

Packing Party October 13th

Help us Keep DC Safer! Join members of the HIV Working Group on Tuesday, October 13th at Motley Bar for another Packing Party. Volunteers will be assembling safer sex kits and enjoying great drink specials at Motley. 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM.

Motley is the upstairs bar at EFN Lounge, located at 1318 9th St NW (9th St Between N and O). Have fun, volunteer, and enjoy great drink specials.

The DC Center HIV Working Group focuses on HIV prevention for gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) men in the District of Columbia. For more information, visit the HIV Working Group Page.

October Stakeholder Conference Call
State Budget Cuts: Is California Our Future?
Tuesday, Oct 20th @ 1:00 PM (Eastern)/10:00 AM (Pacific)

Our October call will be on “State Budget Cuts: Is California Our Future?” Please join us on Tuesday, Oct. 20th at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern)/10:00 a.m. (Pacific). The call in number is 1-605-475-6333; code: 481162. You may e-mail your questions to info@nmac.org or send them through Twitter: http://twitter.com/NMACCommunity

We will be joined by Anne Donnelly, from Project Inform; Julie Cross, a Health and Disability Policy Consultant; and Julie Scofield or Laura Hanen from the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) who has done a summary of all 50 states and their HIV/AIDS state budgets.

Volunteer Opportunity: HPCPG Seeks New Members

The DC HIV Prevention Community Planning Group is looking for volunteers to help the DC Department of Health stop the HIV epidemic in the District. The group’s goal is to develop a comprehensive HIV Prevention Plan for the District.

The HPCPG is comprised of a diverse group of community members from different racial/ethnic, gender and age groups who represent the perspectives of the groups most affected by the epidemic, including injection drug users, heterosexuals and men who have sex with men,

The group includes individuals with expertise in behavioral science, epidemiology and evaluation, as well as individuals with knowledge of the HIV prevention needs of District residents. Approximately 20 percent of the members are people living with HIV.

The group meets approximately 8 times a year. Members serve 2-year terms.

We are seeking individuals who can represent the perspectives of various risk groups, either because they identify with or can advocate for these groups, including youth (men and women 13-24), PLWH, Black MSM, Black male IDUs, Black heterosexual men and women, and transgender women.

The HPCPG is also seeking behavioral scientists, epidemiologists and evaluators.

Applications may be submitted until October 26, 2009.

To obtain an electronic copy of the application or for additional information please e-mail donald.babb@dc.gov.

Free Training: Everything You Wanted To Know about STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) But Were Afraid To Ask

Free Training: Everything You Wanted To Know about STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) But Were Afraid To Ask
Thursday, October 15th 10am-4pm
Prevention Works!
2501 Benning Rd NE

We are very fortunate to have Melissa Sellevaag (Coordinator of Education, Training and Outreach at the DOH’s Bureau of Bureau of Sexually Transmitted Disease Control) facilitating this meeting! During this training you will learn all about the symptoms (or lack thereof), transmission, testing and treatment of those STIs that are sometimes overlooked because of our focus on HIV.

You will even learn how to perform the urine test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea should you wish to expand your services.

In addition you will learn about:
Common misconceptions about STIs among health care providers
How to talk to your patients/clients about STIs
The relationship between STIs and HIV
What’s going on with STIs in DC
Resources for testing and treatment in DC
What the Bureau is up to and how they can help you
How to become more involved, expand, or improve your current service offerings

If you are interested in participating, please send an email to Mary Beth Levin (mailto:mlevin@preventionworksdc.org)%20to%20reserve a space.

HIV Working Group Meeting: Focus on HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials

The next meeting of The DC Center's HIV Working Group takes place Wednesday October 28th at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St NW Suite 350.

This months meeting will include a presentation on HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials taking place in the District of Columbia. Participants will get an overview of what type of HIV/AIDS trials are happening in our area and how to find out about them. We'll also discuss how to decide whether or not a trial is right for you, and how community members have input into the research process.

The HIV Working Group focuses on HIV prevention for gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) men in the District of Columbia. The group normally meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

Packing Party October 6th

Help us Keep DC Safer! Join members of the HIV Working Group on Tuesday, October 6th at Motley Bar for another Packing Party. Volunteers will be assembling safer sex kits and enjoying great drink specials at Motley. 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM.

Motley is the upstairs bar at EFN Lounge, located at 1318 9th St NW (9th St Between N and O). Have fun, volunteer, and enjoy great drink specials.

The DC Center HIV Working Group focuses on HIV prevention for gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) men in the District of Columbia. For more information, visit the HIV Working Group Page.

Office of National AIDS Policy Washington DC Community Meeting

The White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) is leading the effort to develop a national strategy to achieve the following primary goals: 1. Reducing HIV incidence 2. Increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes 3. Reducing HIV-related health disparities

ONAP is sponsoring a community discussion in Washington, DC on Monday, September 21 from 6 pm to 8 pm to hear recommendations from HIV community stakeholders in the Washington, DC area for how to achieve the three goals outlined above. We encourage you to take the opportunity to share the HIV medical provider perspective.

The meeting will be held at the University of the District of Columbia Auditorium (building #46 on campus map) directions.

Registration:

Individuals interested in attending the Community Discussion may RSVP online at: http://www.cmpinc.net/ONAP. Please feel free to add this link to your website and distribute it widely to others who may be interested.

CAVE Meeting October 14th

The next CAVE meeting will take place October 14th at 7:00 PM at the DC Center, 1111 14th Street NW Suite 350. The meeting will include a mini-presentation and discussion on Research Ethics. We will also be planning upcoming events for World AIDS Day. Please join us!

CAVE (www.aidsvaccine.org) is the community advisory board for the Vaccine Research Center. Capital Area Vaccine Effort is a volunteer panel of individuals from the general public and from the diverse communities affected by AIDS. CAVE is organized to assist and advise AIDS vaccine trials in the metropolitan DC area by:

• Assessing the concerns and serving as an advocate for AIDS vaccine participants and the general public.
• Acting as a liaison & ombudsman between AID vaccine researchers and those interested in AIDS vaccine research.
• Reflecting affected populations in its own composition.As appropriate, encouraging participation in AIDS Vaccine Trials, and acting as community educators on AIDS vaccine research
• Assessing ethical and social implications & impact of the AIDS Vaccine Trials

Free Training: HIV Meds & Street drugs and Outreach to Crack and Methamphetamine Users

Free Training: HIV Meds & Street drugs and Outreach to Crack and Methamphetamine Users
Thursday, September 24th, 10am-4pm
Prevention Works!
2501 Benning Rd NE

This is part of our series of trainings facilitated by technical experts from the Harm Reduction Coalition in New York. The description is as follows:

HIV Meds and Street Drugs
In this current “abstinence only” culture, there has been minimal research conducted on how street drugs and HIV medications interact. This half-day course will take an honest look at how ecstasy, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines can potentially have a negative interaction with HIV/AIDS medications. This course is a must for HIV/AIDS case managers!

Outreach to Crack and Methamphetamine Users
This workshop will demonstrate and discuss the techniques for working with crack and meth users, a community of people traditionally neglected by service agencies. This workshop will focus on specific outreach tools, materials, and harm reduction tactics that have been successful with this “hard to reach” population. Attendees will leave this training with practical ideas and skills that they can apply to their own setting and the people they work with.

Spaces are limited! To reserve a space, please email Mary Beth Levin (mlevin@preventionworksdc.org).

Safer Sex Campaign Recognized in Advocate Magazine

The FUK!T/TOOLK!T safer sex campaign is featured in the current issue of The Advocate.

Dr. Frank Spinelli writes "I was to shocked to read the report out of Washington, D.C., suggesting that the number of AIDS cases there among African-American men is 12 times the national average and the rate of HIV infection is higher than in some parts of Western Africa. So you can imagine my pleasure when I first logged on to DCfukit.org, a community-based prevention program and website developed to stop the spread of HIV among D.C. men who have sex with men."

click here to continue reading this article on the Advocate.com website.

Become A Sponsor of Fight HIV in DC

click here to download sponsor packages.

For over three years, the website www.fighthivindc.org has been the leading online source of information about local efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia.

This year the website came under the umbrella of The DC Center as we launched our new HIV Working Group. The website includes information about the efforts of the HIV Working Group, and continues to provide a broad array of information about HIV prevention, treatment, and research in the District.

Of course, this work is made possible through sponsors like you. I invite you to become a 2010 sponsor of the www.fighthivindc.org website. Sponsors will be announced when we hold our World AIDS Day event this year, and will be featured prominently on the website from December 1st, 2009 to November 30th, 2010.

This is an opportunity for you to support the fight against HIV/AIDS in the District, but also this is a tremendous opportunity to reach a specific and important audience: the HIV/AIDS community in Washington, DC.

Please review the included sponsorship information and consider sponsoring www.fighthivindc.org in 2010. Your support is greatly appreciated.

To download the sponsorship information, click here.

October CODE Party Benefits The DC Center

The October CODE Party will benefit The DC Center. CODE is a NEW monthly party on the first Saturday of every month at EFN Lounge, for guys who wear leather, uniforms, or other gear.

The October CODE Party features DJ Andre Xcellence, Destiny B. Childs, and live acts/demos including Jake the Barber. They'll also be plenty of Safer Sex Kits on hand. For more information, visit www.codedc.com.

October 3rd, 2009
EFN Lounge
1318 9th St NW
10:00 PM to 3:00 AM

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day 2009

October 15th is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, a day to talk about HIV/AIDS in the Latino Community.

Latinos in the United States continue to be affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, accounting for a greater proportion of AIDS cases than their representation in the U.S. population overall, and the second highest AIDS case rate in the nation by race/ethnicity. Studies have shown that Latinos with HIV/AIDS may face additional barriers to accessing care than their white counterparts (read the fact sheet here).

To learn more, visit the National Latino AIDS Awareness Day website at www.nlaad.org.

HIV Working Group Meeting September 23rd

The next meeting of The DC Center's HIV Working Group takes place Wednesday September 23rd 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St NW Suite 350. The group normally meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

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

Drag Queen Jello Wrestling Event Benefits the HIV Working Group

Come Join Mr & Ms Capital Pride Leather 2009 Matt Bamford & Jackie Thompson for a fundraiser with Special Guest Co Host Regina Jozet Adams for a night of Drag Queen Jello Wrestling, $1 Jello Shots, $3 Cover 18+ to party. Sponsored by Gun Oil Lube and The Leather Rack.

This is going to a special and fun night at EFN Lounge. Along with the normal Jello Wrestling that we will be doing we have a special treat for you!!!

Come watch your favorite Queens Ophelia Bottoms, Tatiyanna Voche, Ann Michaels, Veronica Blake, Shelby Stephyns, and a special guest Queen for one night only Sharon Husbands with a few more surprises to come wrestle IN DRAG in our pool of Jello! These girls will be wrestling for the title of Ms EFN Jello 2009 and a Beautiful Crown!!!

Tuesday, September 8th
9:00pm
EFN Lounge
1318 9th St NW
Washington, DC

Come out and join us for this once in a lifetime event to help raise funds for DCFUKIT/Toolkit Safer Sex Campaign and BHT and support these girls as they wrestle for a good cause!!!

Prizes for Regular Wrestling:
$100 Cash Prize (winner)
1 yr supply of Condoms
32oz Pump Action Bottle of Gun Oil Lube
$50 Gift Cert to the Leather Rack
$50 Gift Cert to Flowers on 14th

* This event is open to everyone and anyone! If you want to wrestle make sure you wear something you are comfortable in and ladies if you want to wrestle please do but make sure you have a sports bra or t-shirt to wear!!

click here to RSVP on facebook

Packing Party at Motley September 3rd

Help us Keep DC Safer over Labor Day Weekend. Join members of the HIV Working Group on Thursday, September 3rd at Motley Bar for another Packing Party. Volunteers will be assembling safer sex kits and enjoying great drink specials at Motley. 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM.

Motley is the upstairs bar at EFN Lounge, located at 1318 9th St NW (9th St Between N and O). Have fun, volunteer, and enjoy great drink specials.

RSVP on Facebook

Metropolitan Washington Regional HIV (Ryan White) Health Services Planning Council is Accepting Membership Applications

Metropolitan Washington Regional HIV (Ryan White) Health Services Planning Council, which serves people living with HIV/AIDS in the DC metro area, is looking for members to serve for three-year terms that will begin in March 2010. The Planning Council assesses the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and allocates funds to meet those needs.

Planning Council Members are unpaid and appointed. They must devote 8-12 hours a month to the Planning Council.

If you are interested in becoming a Planning Council Member, please contact Mark Hill at the DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS Administration at mark.hill@dc.gov or

If interested, please apply by 5PM on September 18, 2009.