Youth activists sound the alarm on the impact of proposed budget cuts

Outreach Leader Devin Escobar passing out fliers in the Castro.

SAN FRANSISCO, CA (June 26, 2009) – The Campaign to End AIDS Youth Action Institute in conjunction with the Iris Center, are hosting a public informational demonstration today, June 26th at the Plaza located in Castro District. The purpose of the event is designed to speak out against proposed budget cuts scheduled to eliminate crucial HIV prevention and services for San Francisco and Bay area residents. At this event, young HIV & AIDS activists from across the country and around the world will educate the community and disperse pamphlets outlining the impact of the cuts and ways to contact local key decision makers in the allocation process.

These cuts will impact important services such as case management, housing services, and medication assistance for those living with HIV in the Bay area community. Additionally, these cuts will impact an array of essential programs such as mental health counseling, drug and alcohol recovery, child care and counseling services of those who are HIV negative or positive.

Specifically, the Iris Center (www.iriscenter.org) provides essential resources to women of color who would immensely be afflicted if these proposed cuts would occur. These vital, low costs health care programs would be drastically limited leaving few alternatives for these underserved individuals. The proposed cuts will disproportionately affect women of color and the target population relying on these resources and services.

About IRIS Center

Founded in 1977, the mission of the IRIS Center is to provide high-quality prevention, education, and behavioral health services to uninsured/underinsured women and their families living in underserved communities. The Center reaches more than 7,000 high-risk women each year through its various prevention and treatment programs. The IRIS Center is the only provider of its kind for women of color in San Francisco. For more information about the IRIS Center visit www.iriscenter.org.

About The Campaign To End AIDS

The Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA) is a diverse, exciting coalition of people demanding that our leaders exert the political will to stop the epidemic, in the U.S. and abroad, once and for all. The Youth Action Institute (YAI) is a youth subset whos purpose is to educate and eradicate the pandemic amongst the youth population. For more information about the C2EA, please call 1-877-END-AIDS (363-2437).

California HIV/AIDS Statistics

- In 2006 the reporting system changed from non-name coding to name reporting. Based on this new system, there have been a total of 36,412 reported cases of HIV.*

- In Alameda County there have been a total of 1,062 cases of HIV and 7,587 cases of AIDS.

- In Berkeley alone there have been 46 cases of HIV and 630 reports of AIDS.*

- In San Francisco there have been 5,215 cases of HIV and 28,179 cases of AIDS since reporting began.*

- San Francisco County ranks second in CA for the number of HIV cases with 5,215 and for the number of AIDS cases with 28,179.*

*Source California Office of AIDS April 2009 Monthly HIV/AIDS Statistics Report.

C2EA recommends one-year-only Ryan White extension to speed reform; White House’s Crowley says change is coming

National Secretary Marsha Jones and C2EA say the time for Ryan White reform is now—not three years down the road.

The Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA) released its position paper on a re-authorizing the Ryan White Treatment Modernization Act this week. The national coalition of people living with HIV and AIDS recommended that the legislation only be extended for one year, with specific benchmarks regarding preparations for integrating Ryan White into fast approaching federal health-care reforms and President Obama’s promised National AIDS Strategy.

Read the position paper

The existing Ryan White legislation sunsets on September 30. “Ryan White has always been an imperfect approach to fighting AIDS in the U.S. and now we know that health care reform is coming,” said C2EA National Secretary Marsha Jones. “It is absolutely essential that the AIDS community limit the Ryan White extension to one year with a focus on rewriting the legislation. If we extend it for three to four years, as many advocates would like, we are going to get left behind.”

C2EA leaders worry that based on the current Ryan White legislation and funding system, community-based organizations that depend upon Ryan White funding are not prepared to work with Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurers, all of which are likely to be key players in the impending healthcare reform landscape.

Crowley: Change is coming

Housing Works Vice President of National Advocacy and Organizing Christine Campbell says that Jones’ concerns echo what has been coming out of the White House.

“In my conversations with [Office of National AIDS Policy Director] Jeffrey Crowley, Crowley has made it very clear that the AIDS community needs to be prepared for major changes, especially being ready to work with Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurers,” said Campbell. “Improving the flexibility of Ryan White is important step in making sure that happens.”

C2EA has proposed three benchmarks that would ensure a smooth transition to a new health care era:

- By month one of the extension, the creation of a bipartisan committee tasked with ensuring effective links between Ryan White and health care reform.

- By month six, development of reworked Ryan White language that includes strategies for meeting the needs—such as health care access and substance abuse services—of people living with HIV AIDS, including but not limited to women of color, ethnic minorities who identify as MSM and people living in rural areas.

- By month nine, completed draft legislation reflecting the work of the bipartisan committee.

For more information regarding C2EA’s effort to improve Ryan White and ensure that community-based AIDS organizations are ready for health care reform, contact Campbell at campbell@housingworks.org.

Isaac Henry from C2EA/Dallas

Hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS from around the country meet up in Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress—about legislation that, for the first time in eight years, actually has a chance of being signed into law.

Top priorities this year include lifting the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange and pushing the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA).

Activists and advocates aren’t just going to sit back and wait for politicians to do the right thing. The rally at Freedom Plaza was called “We’re Watching—And Tired Of Waiting!” dozens of activists from throughout the country are holding leaders accountable for ending the epidemic in both Washington, D.C. and throughout the country. The diverse group of speakers addressed the need for the involvement of people living with AIDS in crafting a National AIDS Strategy and a D.C. AIDS strategy. The rally was organized by the Campaign to End AIDS, DC Fights Back, and NAPWA.

“We need our elected officials to hear us loud and clear that we’re going to hold them accountable,” said Housing Works National Field Organizer Larry Bryant.

The rally also promoted NAPWA’s efforts to renew the Denver Principles. The Denver Principles Project is an effort by NAPWA to empower and connect people living with HIV/AIDS. The movement renews the Denver Principles that were created 25 years ago by HIV-positive activists who demanded respect, dignity and a say in their health care. The Denver Principles Project will combine individual voices of PWAs to form a collective and powerful single voice.

C2EAers from all over continue to 'Stand For A Plan' while assessing progress toward its completion.

The Campaign To End AIDS, partnering with organizations and communities across the country are gearing up for the Stand Against AIDS: 50 Day Report Card, marking the 50th Day of the Obama Administration. Marches, rallies, protests, and town halls will take a pulse check - a progress report - on where the Obama Administration is in developing and implementing a comprehensive national HIV & AIDS strategy that will end the epidemic once and for all. Each activity will also take a hard look at their respective local jurisdiction's response to related issues that fuel HIV & AIDS epidemic. With recent news that Jeff Crowley was appointed to head the Office of National AIDS Policy gives evidence that the administration is moving in the right direction.

Rallies are being planned in Portland (OR), Denver (CO), Dallas (TX), Memphis (TN), Jackson (MS), Charlotte (NC), Norfolk & Newport News (VA), Harlem (NYC), and Washington, DC. The DC rally will include actress/activist Sheryl Lee Ralph, joined by hundreds of participants in a march that will begin in the shadow of the nation's Capitol to 'East of the River' in Anacostia Park, an area of town where the HIV & AIDS epidemic has hit the hardest. In DC and many neighborhoods across the country, the urgency and importance that this administration create and implement a national strategy that will combat an epidemic that has taken more than a half million American lives will be the focal point.

Rallies and town halls led by people living with HIV & AIDS will also give a 'grade' to local jurisdictions as to how they are doing with addressing barriers that contribute to the local epidemic. The messages will link local strategies with progress being made on the national HIV & AIDS plan as well as addressing the intersecting factors - homelessness, racism, poverty, homophobia, etc.

For more information and to connect with a rally close to you, please feel free to contact C2EA at 1877-END AIDS (363-2437) or info@campaigntoendaids.org.

2008 YAI Class at UNM.

The applications are ready (see below) now for the 5th Youth Action Institute to be held on the campus of University of California-Berkeley in Oakland, California, June 23 - 27, 2009.

This will be the fifth annual gathering of youth activists and advocates since starting in '05 at Colorado State University's Ft. Collins, Colorado campus. Other locations include Chicago, Raleigh, North Carolina, at the North Carolina State University, and last year at University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The YAI organizers are led by George Montgomery (NC), Lolisa Gibson (DE), Carrie Rheingans (MI), and Johnny Guaylupo (NY) - all of whom began as participants at previous trainings. They will be welcoming this years group and will share their experiences and assist in developing skills in grassroots organizing, public health, advocacy, anti-stigma, and direct action. In all, over 230 youth representing communities from all over North America have shared ideas and succeeded in goals developed at YAI. This year will be no different.

Who Can Come?
Absolutely everyone (between the ages of 16 and 26) is encouraged to apply, regardless of past experience working on HIV and AIDS issues. If you’re passionate about working to end AIDS, then you qualify. C2EA especially encourages people living with HIV and AIDS, women, and people of color to apply.

How To Apply?
The application (below) must be received by 5:00pm on February 5th. It can be faxed, mailed, or emailed to the number and address below:

CAMPAIGN TO END AIDS/YAI '09
727 15th Street NW Suite #210
Washington, DC 20005
1877 END AIDS (363-2437)
info@campaigntoendaids.org

You will be notified of your acceptance by March 21, 2009. Travel arrangements will be made by YAI staff after confirmation of acceptance.

Application: Download file
Essay Questions: Download file
Release: Download file

Shedding light on the unjust treatment of people who are transgender

In an emotional ceremony last Thursday, dozens of participants at the Housing Works East New York Transgender Day of Remembrance lined up to light a candle in honor of transgender people who have died. This event was one of many across the country dedicated to remembering transgender people who are killed each year, as well as those that face brutal discrimination off all kinds on a daily basis.

“We’ve lost so many people because of hatred,” said Bianca Candall, a Housing Works Transgender Health Services client. “We need to be heard.”

In addition to the candle-lighting, the ceremony included prayers by the Rev. Charles King, music from the East New York gospel choir and a reading of “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou.The ceremony was dedicated to Rachel Harden, a member of theHousing Works transgender community who died this month of natural causes.

Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1998 to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28, 1998 kicked off the Remembering Our Dead web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder—like most anti-transgender murder cases—has yet to be solved.

Silicone danger

Transgender women in particular face special risk factors for death. One major killer highlighted at the vigil was silicone poisoning. Often transgender women receive illegal silicone treatments to change the appearance of their hips, breasts and face in order to appear more feminine. These women can die when silicone is injected directly into their arteries. The continuous build-up of silicone also has longterm effects.

Housing Works case manager Tracy Bumpus said that she has known three women in the past year who have died from silicone poisoning.

“All the girls who get it swears it’s safe,” Bumpus said. “They say, ‘I’d rather die looking like a woman than live looking like a man.’"

To join the Campaign To End AIDS Transgender Group, go to C2EA_Transgender-US-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

For more information on the Housing Works Transgender Program and to see the Transgender Awareness PSA, go to http://www.housingworks.org/services/health-care/transgender-health-services/.

In New York, Mississippi, and New England massive AIDS advocacy effort to demand national AIDS strategy underway

Hundreds march across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhatten

"Obama or McCain, will you stand against AIDS?" More than 500 people walked across the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday, one stop on the itinerary of the Northeastern caravan of the Stand Against AIDS. The Northeastern caravan is one of nine caravans converging in Oxford, Mississippi on Sept. 26 at the first presidential debate between Sens. Obama and McCain. Their aim? Obtain commitments to from both presidential hopefuls to take meaningful steps toward the creation of a National AIDS Strategy in the first 100 days of occupying the Oval Office.

Activists from up North weren't the only ones making a ruckus: Last Saturday, a “walking” caravan of folks marching 172 miles from Jackson, Mississippi to Oxford kicked off, with a little help from civil rights hero James Meredith. Check out our reports on both the Northeast caravan and the walking march below, and for all the juicy insider info on the progress of the caravans visit to http://standagainstaids.wordpress.com.

Kristen Goodwin from Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York City talks about deadly budget cuts

Staff and clients from Harlem United, GMHC, Housing Works, NYCAHN, Bailey House and CitiWide Harm Reduction all gathered at a park near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge on an exceptionally beautiful morning. They carried banners and signs, and wore T-shirts demanding not only action on AIDS from the next president but from New York City officials as well. Once the 400-strong crowd hit the westbound lane pedestrian lane of the famous bridge, tourists, bikers and New Yorkers headed east cheered and gave them the thumbs up.

The marchers poured into City Hall Park for an upbeat but no-nonsense rally. "As we stand outside City Hall we have to remember we have some serious battles in our own backyard," said GMHC's Kristin Goodwin. Some of those battles, which many speakers highlighted, include overturning the $6 million cuts to AIDS funding in this year’s City budget and implementing HASA for All, which would provide HIV-positive asymptomatic people with housing and other benefits already provided to people diagnosed with AIDS.

"There's a whole community of people who have HIV but aren't able to access services before they get sick. That ain't right," said Shirlene Cooper, NYCAHN co-executive director and participant on the Northeastern caravan.

"Why is it the Department of Health always takes from us first?" asked Derrick Starr of VOCAL. "Is it because they think we're the weakest link? Well, I've survived 23 years with this virus because I'm strong."

For Carmen Rodridgez, a peer educator with CitiWide Harm Reduction, the latest cuts hit close to home. She was diagnosed with HIV in 1996. She buried her 5-year-old daughter 11 years ago and her husband four years ago. "That's why I'm a peer educator and why I'm still fighting. It's gotten better because of medication, but we're still losing a lot of children and a lot of people."

The East New York Choir from Housing Works lights up Lower Mahatten

Before hitting the Big Apple, the Northeastern caravan had successful events along the way, including its launch in Portland, Maine. Seventy people turned out for a rally outside City Hall, among them nine political candidates. State Representatives Anne Haskell and John Hinck attended, as was the Portland DOH and every media outlet in town. Andrew Bossie of Maine AIDS Alliance and Jeannemarie Celentano of the Frannie Peabody Center were the brains behind the launch. "This was a great opportunity to get HIV and AIDS talked about in the public arena," Bossie said. "This epidemic is the modern most-deadly epidemic of our time. It's 100 percent preventable. To not have a strategy for all of the U.S., rural and urban, is unacceptable. It's time for a plan not just sitting on a shelf, but one the government can implement to end this epidemic."

The caravan also made whirlwind visits to Boston and Albany. For a list of press coverage so far go to http://standagainstaids.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/stand-against-aids-press-coverage/.

Mississippi Pride and Passion on Display as Walkers Take Message of HIV & AIDS Activism to Presidential Debate in Oxford

Charles King, Valencia Robinson, and James Meredith lead the 'Walk Against AIDS'

AIDS Action In Mississippi! (l-r, Valencia Robinson, Pat Smith, Robin Webb, Eric Bailey)

Eric Bailey and Valencia Robinson of AIDS Action In Mississippi carry their message in a bottle

Why a Dallas grandmother is leading AIDS activists across the country

Jonesing to Stand Against AIDS

This article is one of a series of Update profiles of men and women who will be leading activist caravans as part of the Stand Against AIDS, a multi-arm, multi-week advocacy roadtrip aimed at getting presidential hopefuls Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain to commit to taking meaningful steps toward the creation of a National AIDS Plan within 100 days of taking office. The caravans kick off in mid-September and converge in Oxford, Mississippi on September 23 for four days of action. The first debate between Obama and McCain takes place in Oxford on September 26.

When Marsha Jones' eldest daughter was diagnosed with HIV 11 years ago, Jones didn't know where to turn for support. "We were trying to access services for teenage girls but none were available. We didn't have any resources we could put our hands on," Jones said. They didn't find any services until Jones' daughter landed in the hospital with cytomegalovirus (CMV) and PCP. The hospital helped them find the AIDS services they needed; since then Jones has guided her daughter's care. "Everything she learned she learned from me, and everything I learned I taught myself," said Jones, who has one other daughter, one son, and three grandchildren.

Unfortunately, because of the CMV, Jones' daughter is blind but otherwise her health is excellent: She has had an undetectable viral load for the past five years. And although Southwest caravan leader Jones, 47, has always been the chief advocate in the family while her daughter has kept a low profile about her status, that's about to change. Jones' daughter will be joining Jones in the caravan from Dallas to Oxford. "Our family has been her only support system. But when she learned about the Stand, she was so motivated. She was like, 'Mom, I've got to get involved.'"

Jones' daughter is not the only one. The Southwest caravan is bustling. More than 50 people will participate in the caravan, which begins in San Diego, then heads through Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana on its way to Oxford (some activists from Hawaii will fly in to Dallas and be "adopted" there and ride along with Jones, her daughter and 30 other Dallas-area residents). The Dallas contingent has already started mobilizing. On Saturday, August 23 historical black college Paul Quinn College hosted "Raise the Praise," which piqued interest among students in the Stand Against AIDS.

Asking more questions, seeking more answers

Jones left her job as an accounting clerk in 2001 to be a full-time HIV advocate and educator. She has made HIV education such a part of her life that when her then-8-year-old granddaughter saw AIDS ribbons on television, she said, "You're going to be rich! Because they're using your stuff!" Jones' youngest daughter is now in college, and also assists with outreach, bringing home classmates who she thinks need some extracurricular sex education and empowerment to talk to her mother. "When women understand reproductive justice, they can better protect themselves against HIV," Jones said.

Despite Jones' commitment to education and outreach, she said it wasn't until joining the Campaign to End AIDS last year that she became well-versed in the nitty-gritty of federal policies such as the Early Treatment for HIV Act and ADAP as TrOOP.

Jones said, "I thought 'Why am I on the Ryan White Council but I'd never heard these things before?' It made me ask more questions and seek more answers. I'd seen people say they were grassroots organizers, but C2EA was the first time I saw it in application."

Jones believes the Stand will help ignite the sense of urgency around AIDS there was in the '80s and '90s. "I support people being advocates for themselves and demanding what they want. For years we've been asking but the Stand is a demand."

For more information on the Stand, go to c2ea.org or call 877-ENDAIDS (363-2437) or contact Valencia Robinson at (601) 944-1403.

C2EA Virginia founder heads to Oxford with the Stand Against AIDS

Fordham at AIDSWatch 2008

This article is one of a series of Update profiles of men and women who will be leading activist caravans as part of the Stand Against AIDS, a multi-arm, multi-week advocacy road trip aimed at getting presidential hopefuls Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain to commit to taking meaningful steps toward the creation of a National AIDS Strategy within 100 days of taking office. The caravans kick off in mid-September and converge in Oxford, Mississippi on September 23 for four days of action. The first debate between Obama and McCain takes place in Oxford on September 26.

In Virginia, AIDS is often the "pink elephant in the room," said Greg Fordham of Norfolk. "No one wants to talk about it, but sooner or later you're going to step on it." In Gastonia, South Carolina a woman told him that "if you come here talking about HIV, people will walk out."

But attitudes like this make Fordham all the more determined to step on that elephant—and to lead the Stand Against AIDS caravan. Beginning with a town hall summit in Norfolk on September 19, the caravan will travel from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to Oxford starting the next day.

Fordham said a key to fighting for a National AIDS Strategy is for people with AIDS to simply disclose their statuses. "The reason we're discarded most of the time is because people don't realize it's you they're talking about. It's just 'those people, those people.' I became an activist when I realized I was one of 'those people' they were talking about," Fordham told the Update in February. Along with being the founder of C2EA's Virginia chapter, Fordham is a member of the Ryan White Planning Council.

Long-term fighter

Fordham was diagnosed with HIV in 1995, and in 2003 faced another challenge when he lost both of his legs in a car accident. "I fight for a lot more now," he said. "Before it was just about HIV, but now it's about people with disabilities too." He said he faces stigma as someone with disabilities. "Because you're in a wheelchair people feel extra sorry for you, but my brain didn't change," he said.

As the caravan sweeps the southeast, it will blend both local concerns such as how city council officials in Richmond should address HIV, with national issues like calling for a National AIDS Strategy. Fordham is excited for the "message in a bottle" part of the Stand Against AIDS, where participants at each caravan stop will put in a message in a bottle explaining what they want to be addressed by a National AIDS Strategy. "A lot of times people don't know about the national issues," Fordham said. "I gave a speech in August where I spoke about the immigration policy and I'm surprised how many people didn't know about the immigration policy, but I didn't know about it before either."

The chance to educate people makes planning the caravan worth it, even though it's taken more time than Fordham, 48, originally anticipated. "It's hard work!" Fordham said. "I honestly thought I would just have to call a few people. But I can see the pay-off in the end."

For more information on the Stand, go to c2ea.org or call 877-ENDAIDS (363-2437) or contact Valencia Robinson at (601) 944-1403.

Ride the Caravan and Join the Stand Against AIDS! See the schedule, Download file

Wallace will lead Chicago caravan to Mississippi

Wallace (with AIDS Foundation of Chicago's David Munar) of the Stand Against AIDS

This article is one of a series of Update profiles of men and women who will be leading activist caravans as part of the Stand Against AIDS, a multi-arm, multi-week advocacy roadtrip aimed at getting presidential hopefuls Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain to commit to taking meaningful steps toward the creation of a National AIDS Plan within 100 days of taking office. The caravans kick off in mid-September and converge in Oxford, Mississippi on September 23 for four days of action. The first debate between Obama and McCain takes place in Oxford on September 26.

When Richard Wallace, 26, started working as an organizer in Chicago, he noticed how the African-American community was hurt by the AIDS epidemic, other health disparities and a disproportionate number of people in prison. After his godfather was infected with HIV, the struggle became personal.

Wallace is the Mississippi River caravan leader for the Stand Against AIDS, which late next week will tell a fellow former Chicago organizer (and Sen. John McCain) to commit to creating a national AIDS plan in the first 100 days of taking office if elected U.S. president. "I see a million people get testing, but if you don't provide simple services like food, water and shelter, then it's all for nothing," Wallace said.

Wallace's front-line prevention and outreach work allow him to see the big picture when it comes to HIV/AIDS. He works at the Test Positive Aware Network doing counseling and networking for men who have sex with men on the West Side of Chicago, where he struggles to get youth to take prevention seriously. He recounts the story of a kid telling him he wasn't worried about contracting "high five" (HI-V) because if he just took "skittles" (medication) he'd be fine. "The youth at this point just need some clear cut information about HIV," Wallace said. "My goal is to provide that."

Wallace also works at Refuge, providing information to families of newly infected former prisoners. "We educate the families so they know they can sit on the same toilet and provide basic HIV 101," he said.

Despite Wallace's commitment to AIDS advocacy and having graduated from C2EA's Youth Action Institute in 2006, he was initially skeptical when C2EA national organizer Larry Bryant approached him about leading a Stand Against AIDS caravan. "Too often people at the grassroots level are recruited to get locked up or make noise, but in the end, a few people get picked to have their voices heard," Wallace said.

Bryant convinced Wallace this wouldn't be the case, and Wallace is now optimistic. He leads the his "caravan" via Amtrak from Chicago on September 22.

"Day in and day out, I work with people who are at the highest risk for HIV but aren't getting the services they need. People in the heartland and across the country have been devastated by inaction on AIDS over the last eight years, so we're taking the message directly to the candidates that it's well past time to seriously address AIDS in the United States," Wallace said.

East Gulf caravan leader Quintara Lane speaks out

Lane: stigma-fighter extraordinaire

This is the first in a series of Update profiles of men and women who will be leading activist caravans as part of the Stand Against AIDS, a multi-arm, multi-week advocacy roadtrip aimed at getting presidential hopefuls Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain to commit to taking meaningful steps toward the creation of a National AIDS Plan within 100 days of taking office. The caravans kick off in mid-September and converge in Oxford, Mississippi on September 24 for three days of action. The first debate between Obama and McCain takes place in Oxford on September 26.

Although Quintara Lane, 21, has been HIV-positive since birth and taken medications her whole life, only recently has she experienced firsthand the patchwork nature of the U.S. health care system. After she took a job working part-time at University of Miami Hospital, she was cut off of Medicaid. "I'm going through a lot of problems, and I'm able to fight for what I need and what I want. But it shouldn't be a fight," she said. Lane is the East Gulf caravan leader for the Stand Against AIDS.

Lane's Medicaid troubles deepened her commitment to fighting for universal health care and a national plan to end the AIDS epidemic. "That we don't have a plan to end this disease after more than 20 years is uncalled for," Lane said. "We need to bring awareness to the presidential candidates that this is a really serious issue and it needs to be addressed."

Lane was 17 when she first dove into activism. At a 2004 conference in Washington, D.C. for HIV- positive people, Lane went on a lobby visit. At first, other people did the talking. Then something hit her: Her voice mattered as much as anyone else's. Lane told the conference organizers that at the next lobby visit, she wanted to speak. "Before I always thought activism was not my place, or that older people should do it," Lane said. "But I realized I am someone living with AIDS and this is important to me."

Roadtrip!

Lane's caravan will depart from Ft. Lauderdale. Among the dozens of riders will be two other "Cool Kids"—members of a support group of HIV-positive youth in the Miami area who have grown up together and served as a support network. (Another member, Chakena Conway, has since moved to New York and will be caravaning from there).

Lane's mother died in 1995, and she is the only one of her siblings who is HIV-positive. Cool Kids has served as a second family to Lane, and lately, they have also served as a fierce cohort of activists for C2EA, participating in the Youth Action Institute in 2007 and last summer's swim-in against stigma with Caleb Glover in Silver Hill, Alabama. There, Lane gave a rousing speech thanking the Glovers for standing up to stigma. "We all support each other and pump each other up," Lane said.

In addition to her advocacy work—and planning the countless logistical details of the caravan trip—Lane studies sign language at Miami-Dade community college. "That's a whole different world that also needs a voice," she said.

September is fast approaching and the Stand Against AIDS caravans organizing around the country are revving with excitement. Each journey is sure to filled with new experiences, enduring survivors, and ignited passions with about 500 expected to arrive in Oxford, Mississippi, with a demand - END AIDS NOW!

Along the caravan routes and surrounding the first Presidential Debate in Oxford, The 'Stand' encourages people living with HIV/AIDS, advocates, activists, and loved ones to galvanize a national voice. As we demand our next President develop a plan to end the U.S. HIV/AIDS epidemic, affinity groups are being developed to ensure that our voices are heard. Groups representing African-Americans, Gay Men, Harm Reduction Communities, Latinos, Post Incarcerated, Southern States, Transgender Communities, Women, and Youth will all meet September 25 during the 'Stand' activities near the Oxford City Hall.

The Affinity Groups will challenge top-down decision-making and organizing by creating an inclusive environment for discussion and deliberation among various communities affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The conversations among the groups will focus on four primary questions before convening the 'National Town Hall: Our Messages in a Bottle'. The four questions to ponder:

- How would a National Plan to end AIDS be relevant in your community?

- How is your community represented or underrepresented in HIV/AIDS advocacy?

- How has your community been affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic?

- What can be done to support your further HIV/AIDS activism/advocacy as it relates to the development of a National Plan to end AIDS?

These Affinity Groups will develop communication and relationships among people beyond the 'Stand' and are sure to be instrumental in providing input on local, regional, and national discussion and planning. It is important to join a group that is best suited to you and your interests.

If you would like to organize an Affinity Group, want to know more about the Stand Against AIDS activities in Mississippi, or information on a caravan traveling near your city or town, contact The Campaign To End AIDS at info@campaigntoendaids.org or 1877-END AIDS (363-2437).

Activists from across the country gathered at C2EA headquarters in Washington, DC to lay the groundwork for what is shaping up to be a historic Fall.

Eight HIV activists came to brainstorm and develop solid strategies in organizing eight separate caravans originating from all corners of the country and aimed at Oxford, Mississippi - the site of the first Presidential Debate. The main goal is to make sure that our next president - whoever he is - seriously addresses the AIDS epidemic in the US by developing and implementing a national plan to End AIDS in his first 100 days.

The week was used by the organizers - Greg Fordham (Norfolk, VA), George Kerr (DC Fights Back), Richard Wallace (Test Positive Aware Network, Chicago), Shirlene Cooper (NYC AIDS Housing Network), Marsha Jones (the Afiya Center, Dallas), Janet Johnson (Loon Lake, WA), Eric Bartley (Housing Works, NYC), Eric Bailey and Valencia Robinson (AIDS Action In Mississippi), and David Bond (Positive Vegas) - to solidfy the caravan routes, develop and implement outreach strategies, brainstorm on fundraising opportunities, and to polish off effective media packets.

All of these tools will be used to build participation locally, regionally, and connecting nationally through the caravans and to Mississippi where our messages will be delivered at the steps of our soon to President. "Sending this message to our Presidential candidates is important," says Housing Works National Organizer Larry Bryant. "However, it is just as important that this message is carried by people who are living with HIV/AIDS and those who represent this epidemic from across the country".

The caravans and contacts are as follows:
Seattle (WA), Spokane (WA), Butte (MT), Billings (MT), Rapid City (SD), Omaha (NE), Kansas City (MO), Springfield (MO), Jonesboro (AR), Memphis (TN), Oxford (MS)

SF/Oakland (CA), Sacramento (CA), Reno (NV), Salt Lake City (UT), Denver (CO), Witchita (KS), Oklahoma City (OK), Little Rock (AR), Memphis (TN), Oxford (MS)

Honolulu (HI), San Diego (CA), Las Vegas (NV), Phoenix (AZ), Tucson (AZ), Las Cruces (NM), El Paso (TX), Midland (TX), Abilene (TX), Ft. Worth (TX), Dallas (TX), Shreveport (LA), Monroe (LA), Jackson (MS), Oxford (MS)

Brownsville (TX), Corpus Chisti (TX), San Antonio (TX), Houston (TX), Port Arthur (TX), Lafayette (LA), Baton Rouge (LA), New Orleans (LA), Hattiesburg (MS), Jackson (MS), Oxford (MS)

Key West (FL), Homestead (FL), Miami (FL), Ft. Lauderdale (FL), Tampa (FL), Orlando (FL), Jacksonville (FL), Valdosta (GA), Tallahassee (FL), Pensacola (FL), Mobile (AL), Montgomery (AL), Birmingham (AL), Oxford (MS)

Virginia Beach (VA), Norfolk (VA), Hampton (VA), Richmond (VA), Petersburg (VA), Durham (NC), High Point (NC), Charlotte (NC), Columbia (SC), Augusta (GA), Atlanta (GA), Birmingham (AL), Oxford (MS)

Augusta (ME), Concord (NH), Boston (MA), Providence (NH), Hartford (CT), Albany (NY), NYC, Newark (NJ), Philadelphia (PA), Wilmington (DE), Baltimore (MD), Washington (DC), Charleston (WV), Columbus (OH), Indianapolis (IN), Louisville (KY), Nashville (TN), Oxford (MS)

Minneapolis (MN), Madison (WI), Chicago (IL), Springfield (IL), St. Louis (MO), Paducah (KY), Memphis (TN), Oxford (MS)

There is also a walking caravan through Mississippi from Jackson to Oxford being organized by AIDS Action In Mississippi.

For information about the national caravans and the contact nearest you, please contact the Campaign To End AIDS at 1877-END-AIDS or at info@campaigntoendaids.org.

The Campaign to End AIDS is hitting the road again and this time our destination is Oxford MS – September 24-26, 2008 - the site of the first National Presidential Debate for the Stand Against AIDS. AIDS activists from around the country want to make sure that people living with HIV/AIDS voices are heard as part of this election process and are engaging in a year long campaign to ensure that this happens.

(Pictured: Civil Rights legend and Mississippi native James Meredith with C2EA Outreach Co-chair Larry Bryant.)

Nine caravans travel different routes across the country raising awareness on issues like access to care, research based on science – not ideology, increased funding for prevention tools and an end to stigma. Caravans will begin in California, Washington State, Texas, Minnesota, Maine, Virginia and Florida

As those of you who have been following C2EA, we believe that the AIDS epidemic is not just a public health issue, it’s a social justice issue. To that end we are very happy to announce our partnership with Mr. James Meredith, Civil Rights Activists, for this project. “This is really the same issue that Dr. King was dealing with when he got killed: poor people” says Meredith. “ If the Campaign to End AIDS is successful, it will change everything by focusing on the conditions and the circumstances of the poor. This will be a thousand times bigger than the right to an education.”

In 1966, James Meredith embarked alone on the March Against Fear, a 220 mile walk from Memphis Tennessee to Jackson Mississippi. The March was intended to encourage African-Americans to register to vote and make an impact on elections. Now 42 years later, Meredith lives in Jackson, MS and is lending his support to another Mississippi March, The Stand Against AIDS, organized by C2EA. In addition to eight caravans the caravans traveling across the country, in the ninth caravan AIDS Activists in Mississippi will reprise Meredith’s walk going from Jackson to Oxford, MS. Once arriving in Oxford, C2EA will host a town hall meeting on HIV/AIDS, have a Rally to End AIDS and visually depict the importance of addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic both domestically and globally.

One of C2EA’s main priorities is to demand that the United States develop a national strategy to end AIDS. The US requires that countries receiving PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) dollars have a strategy with measurable outcomes to address the epidemic in their country, yet the US does not have such a plan.

To get connected with a Stand Against AIDS caravan, or host an event along a caravan routes with Stand Against AIDS contact: Larry Bryant, 1-877-ENDAIDS, or bryant2@housingworks.org

To sponsor an AIDS activist on one of the caravans, make checks payable to Campaign to End AIDS and mail to Campaign to End AIDS c/o Housing Works, 727 15th St., NW, 2nd Flr, Washington DC 20005

There are young people across the country emerging from the fading cold and of winter and dusting off their fundraising kits. No, not the Girl Scouts... It's the C2EA Youth (scouts?)! The application process is in full swing for the 4th Youth Action Institute to be held on the campus of University of New Mexico in Albuquerque June 25 - 29, 2008.

This will be YAI's first gathering west of the Mississippi since its first in '05 on Colorado State University's Ft. Collins, Colorado campus. The following year was in Chicago and last year's was in Raleigh, North Carolina, at the North Carolina State University.

"New Mexico is a culturally rich and geographically beautiful state," says, New Mexico resident and member of the C2EA Youth Caucus, Kahlo Benevidez. "Native American and Hispanic culture pervade every city in the state in one form or another. Here, you will find a culturally diverse and friendly community willing to share its values, traditions and customs and a stunningly beautiful landscape. The beauty of New Mexico and the openness of its people
do justice to its nickname 'The Land of Enchantment.'"

Kahlo and the rest of the YAI staff and faculty will be welcoming this years group and sharing experiences and developing skills in grassroots organizing, public health, advocacy, anti-stigma, and direct action. In all, over 200 youth representing communities all over North America have shared ideas and succeeded in goals developed at YAI. This year will be no different.

Who Can Come?
Absolutely everyone (between the ages of 16 and 26) is encouraged to apply, regardless of past experience working on HIV and AIDS issues. If you’re passionate about working to end AIDS, then you qualify. C2EA especially encourages people living with HIV and AIDS, women, and people of color to apply.

How To Apply?
The attached application (below, in English and Spanish) must be received by 6:00pm
on March 15th. It can be faxed, mailed, or emailed to the number and address below:

CAMPAIGN TO END AIDS
YOUTH ACTION INSTITUTE 2007
c/o Charles Long
57 Willoughby Street 2nd Floor
Brooklyn, New York 11201
(347)473-7451 oce
(646)942-1934 cell
(347)473-7464 fax
long2@housingworks.org

You will be notified of your acceptance by April 1. Travel arrangements will be made by YAI staff after confirmation of acceptance.

YAI Application eng.

YAI Application esp.

Little Caleb Glover gets to go swimming, as Campaign to End AIDS event boosts awareness of AIDS stigma

Two months ago, Alabama toddler Caleb Glover was barred from the pool at the Alabama RV resort Wales West simply because he is HIV-positive. Yesterday, Caleb, accompanied by dozens of HIV-positive activists from the Campaign to End AIDS (c2ea.org), finally got to take a dip in the Wales West pool. The Labor Day swim was part of C2EA's "family reunion" at the resort, intended to call attention to the stigma that still affects people living with HIV/AIDS.

More than 100 people with HIV traveling from across U.S. to participate; RV park owner at center of controversy says activists welcome

The Campaign to End AIDS (www.C2EA.org) is holding a "family reunion" at the Wales West RV Resort in Silver Hill, Alabama, on Labor Day, Monday, September 3, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The group expects more than 150 people to attend the event, including at least 100 people living with HIV/AIDS arriving in car caravans from Washington, D.C., Nashville, Miami, Houston, Dallas and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Marie and friends in Humboldt Park, Chicago

Marie Garlock is our youth whose experience at the Youth Action Institute she states "has altered her life." She will be stationed at the HIV Clinic twice a week when she is not in the community! Tim Johnson, our member who is a journalist and Bill Moureaux, our genius web guy will create a blog to follow Marie's summer project to inform and encourage all who reads!

Lane, Rajner, Miller and Brett Calka

More than 20 young people gathered in Raleigh, NC, last week for the Campaign to End AIDS' third annual Youth Action Institute (YAI) to learn how to become effective AIDS advocates. Little did they know, that over the course of the five day gathering, they would be faced with a real-life crisis that would teach them how to organize and take action.

Robinson at the women's affinity session.

Last week, some 1,400 people from all over the country gathered in New Orleans for the 2007 HIV Prevention Leadership Summit (HPLS) sponsored by the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC). This year's HPLS, which ran from May 20 to May 23, had a special feel to it because of its location, and, thanks to a little push from NMAC executive director Paul Kawata, because "grassroots organizing" was on the tip of many people's tongues.

CHAMP RI has been meeting with HEALTH, the state Health Department, to demand full information on proposed cuts to AIDS services. On this website, you will find all of our letters to HEALTH before and after these meetings, and their replies to our request for information.

Cedric Murphy (Shreveport) and Joyce Keller (Baton Rouge) compare notes.

The Campaign To End AIDS/Louisiana met January 20 on the campus of Southern University to create a plan to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Louisiana. The group, consisting of advocates, activists, and people living with HIV/AIDS braved the rainy and cold weather to brainstorm and discuss issues such as housing, education, and other topics that affect those living with HIV/AIDS across the state. By the end of the day, C2EA/LA had developed a working action plan that will serve as a road map towards addressing these issues.

To join or for more info please contact one of C2EA/LA's regional represenatives.

(Columbia) December 10, 2006 - AIDS activists are trying to get the governor's attention now that a fourth person on a waiting list to get AIDS medication in our state has died.

Sunday, a group gathered outside the governor's mansion chanting " end the waiting list."

Clearly, the main thing to do on November 7 is vote. Voting is very important but can often be a confusing process. Here is a brief guide designed to answer some common election day questions.