Fight HIV in DC

Women’s Preventive Health Saves Lives and Families

2009-07-10T22:32:00.001Z

By Paul Kawata, Executive Director, National Minority AIDS Council

Yesterday, the Senate HELP Committee approved an amendment to its draft health care reform bill that set the stage to ensure that all women have access to quality preventive health care, screening and the essential community providers that continue to be the lifeline for many.

We at the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) believe this amendment – offered by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) – represents a critical step forward in helping millions of women access preventive services, like HIV screenings, to help improve health outcomes and save lives. It also guarantees that all patients (men, women and children) in any health care gateway have access to providers like HIV/AIDS clinics, public hospitals, and women’s health centers.

Preventative care is particularly important for women of color. Often the primary care takers of their families, they tend to put the needs of their family members and children ahead of their own – to the detriment of their health. Since 1992, HIV rates among women of color have risen nearly 10%, with over 80% of all HIV cases among women in this country occurring among Black and Hispanic women.

These rates are symptomatic of the larger socio-economic and health disparities found in communities of color in the U.S., which have been disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS since the epidemic began nearly three decades ago. Together, high rates of poverty and homelessness, as well as lack of access to education, full employment and health insurance, have created significant barriers to health care in communities of color. These same trends often are found in rural America as well, where health care entities are severely limited, if available at all. Women in communities of color and rural areas often wait until symptoms of HIV disease or other illness are fully manifested, forcing them to use their local hospital emergency rooms for primary care and severely undermining their health outcomes.

Women’s Health Amendment #201 would cover women of color’s access to services from minority faith- and community-based organizations (MF/CBOs), which provide culturally competent and easily accessible health and HIV/AIDS services in communities of color throughout the country. Over 4,000 strong, MF/CBOs have saved countless lives by providing their clients easily accessible health care services. Supporting their ability to provide a diverse range of services will encourage women to take advantage of preventative services currently not included by the Affordable Health Choices Act: cancer screenings, well-women exams, pre-natal care, pap tests, and other prevention care, while accessing care for their children and other family members.

We are alarmed to learn that some of our representatives oppose health care reform. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R, UT) and the Family Research Council, among others, have falsely attacked this amendment as a mandate for abortion coverage. This amendment covers life-saving preventive care; abortion is not preventive care. To use a political red herring to attack preventive services that are desperately needed in this country – particularly by underserved populations, including the 70 million Americans who lack adequate insurance coverage for the routine health care that others take for granted, is offensive and preposterous.

A wide range of groups support protecting patients’ access to essential community providers, including Families USA, SEIU, Campaign for America’s Future, Health Care for America Now, American Nurses Association, American Academy of Nursing, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, National Association of People with AIDS, National Women’s Law Center, and the National Partnership for Women and Families.

We are calling on all people of conscious to unite around a common purpose: improving access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans, not launching inaccurate attacks that reek of old political debates. Call your member of Congress, write a letter to the editor, blog about this — get the word out that we will not stand for false accusations, as attempts to derail desperately needed health care reform.

Real World DC- Meet a Real World Epidemic

2009-07-08T18:58:00.003Z

When an infection reaches 1% of a population it has reached the level of a 'severe and generalized epidemic. So what if an epidemic reaches 3% of the population? Well then, you're talking about the HIV/AIDS epidemic DC.

Real World's presence in the District brings with it an enormous opportunity to bring the nation's attention to the epidemic in its capital. This is a very real crisis facing the citizens of the city hosting the show, and we'd like MTV to use this opportunity to spread the word.

We'd like MTV to stock the Real World House with condoms, and to talk about the epidemic facing the District.

Join the facebook group and help spread the word.

free film about HIV in Africa

2009-07-08T02:32:00.003Z

As part of Science in the Cinema - free film and discussion series, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Science Education (OSE) sponsors the film "Yesterday" about HIV in Africa.

Date: July 8
Time: 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.
Location: AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, Silver Spring, MD
Guest Speaker: Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

NOTE: Filmed in Zulu language -- will be shown with English subtitles

Darrell James Roodt directs this heartfelt drama, the first Zulu-language film to be released internationally. Struggling to raise her daughter in a poor African village, Yesterday (Leleti Khumalo) finds the odds stacked against her when she learns that she's HIV positive. With her husband in denial, Yesterday must somehow find the strength to go on, determined to live just long enough to see her daughter go to school.

Rating: Rate R for pervasive strong violence.

More Information: http://science.education.nih.gov/cinema

Free Hepatitis C Training at Prevention Works Thursday, July 16

2009-07-07T19:00:00.001Z

Free Training: Hepatitis C Prevention
Thursday, July 16th, 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. This training is for service providers who work with current and former drug users. We will describe the mechanics of injection and identify potential transmission points of Hepatitis C. Effective prevention requires new models capable of addressing difficult real world challenges of injection drug users. This training will provide realistic strategies for preventing hepatitis C with injection drug users who continue to share drugs, as well as those who do not have clean equipment, focusing on both short-term and long-term injectors, including those diagnosed with hepatitis C.

Spaces are limited! To reserve a slot, please send me an email: mlevin@preventionworksdc.org

Volunteers needed: Kit Making Night July 14th 6pm

2009-07-06T18:13:00.004Z

Kit Making Night
Tuesday, July 14th, 6-8pm
Prevention Works!
2501 Benning Rd NE
The much-beloved kit making nights are back! We will be putting together safer sex kits and wound care kits. We especially enjoyed the grandmother-grandson team who joined us last month.

Please zap me an email (mlevin@preventionworksdc.org) if you are interested in attending if you have not done so already.

Question: Can I bring a date to this?
Answer: Yes! In fact, you would not be the first one to do this.

Join Us For Conference Call On July 8th at 1:00 PM

2009-07-06T14:04:00.001Z

Join Phil Wilson of Black AIDS Institute on July 8, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. (eastern)/10:00 am (pacific), for a special stakeholder call about a new HIV/AIDS campaign http://www.greaterthan.org created by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Black AIDS Institute.

To participate, call 1-605-475-6333 and enter access code: 481162.

You can submit your questions in advance to info@nmac.org. The call will be recorded for podcast at a later date.

National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day 2009

2009-07-05T07:50:00.001Z

National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, is a national campaign which highlights the complex issues related to HIV prevention, care and treatment for aging populations in the United States. This event takes place on September 18th, 2009.

HIV is a virus that does not discriminate by age. Nearly one in ten District residents aged 55 and older have HIV or AIDS. Nation wide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2006 persons aged 40 and older accounted for approximately 35% of new HIV infections.

To learn more about HIV/AIDS and Seniors, visit this squidoo resource page: HIV/AIDS and the Aging Population in Washington DC..

Jello Wrestling Event Benefits the HIV Working Group

2009-07-04T19:25:00.006Z

Mr. and Ms. Capital Pride Leather and Guest Cohost Regina Jozet Adams invite you to join them for Jello Wrestling at the EFN Lounge Tuesday, July 14th.

Proceeds from the night will support Brother Help Thyself and our HIV Working Group Toolkit! & Fukit! safer sex campaign.

Sign up to wrestle by 9:30 PM. The contest starts at 10:00 PM. $2 cover, $1 jello-shots, and $2 kick the keg drafts. Join us! EFN Lounge is located at 1318 9th St NW.

Are You HIV Positive? Tell Us What You Think!

2009-07-03T23:21:00.002Z

Are you HIV positive? Have opinions about how services for people living with HIV can be improved in the District of Columbia. Then tell us what you think!

Stop by The DC Center (1111 14th St NW Suite 350) between Monday July 6th between 4:30 and 7:00 PM and fill out the Ryan White Planning Council Needs Assesment Survey. This survey is one of the tools that will be used by the District to plan HIV/AIDS services in the next fiscal year.

The mission of the Ryan White Planning Council is to plan for the comprehensive delivery of HIV/AIDS services and allocation of resources for the Eligible Metropolitan Area (EMA), as mandated by the Ryan White Title I legislation. For more information, click here to visit the Ryan White Planning Council Website.

National Minority AIDS Council Hosts Women of Color Leadership Institute

2009-07-01T19:10:00.003Z

The National Minority AIDS Council will be hosting a Women of Color leadership institute July 29-31.

The Women of Color Leadership Institute (WOCLI) Training, designed by the Division of Government Relations and Public Policy (GRPP) at the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) in Washington, D.C., is aimed at achieving greater and more meaningful participation of women of color in decision-making at all levels to ensure programs, policies and funding respond to the unique impact of chronic diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Cancer and others on women.

The training consists of five modules implemented by the division of Government Relations and Public Policy at the National Minority AIDS Council. Training modules will equip and empower a cadre of confident, knowledgeable and skilled women leaders to 1) advocate at all levels for effective women’s health policies and increased funding to address the unique impact of chronic disease such as HIV/AIDS, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Cancer and others on women and girls, and 2) prevent the spread and mitigate the effects of chronic diseases through high quality, gender sensitive, community-based women’s health programs and services. Major activities carried out under each training component include a needs assessment on women’s leadership, management, advocacy and women’s health knowledge and skills.

NMAC seeks to recruit 25 - 30 women of color for each training site, on a “first come first serve” basis. NMAC will be happy to work with the local health departments, other public health entities, community- and faith-based organizations as well as local academic institutions to recruit the participants for training. Although criteria are not static, we intend to recruit a group of women of color from various health care and other backgrounds, committed to leadership in women’s health. As such, NMAC screens applicants and selects participants in a way that creates a balance of experience during the training.

The training is free of charge, however, NMAC does not provide transportation and lodging to and from the training. During the training provided under NMAC funding, NMAC will provide both breakfast and lunch for the three days of training.

Visit www.nmac.org/index/wocli for more information.

HIV Working Group Meeting July 22nd

2009-06-30T20:08:00.002Z

The next meeting of The DC Center HIV Prevention Working Group will take place Wednesday July 22nd at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St. NW Suite 350.

We will continue the discussion on HIV Prevention and HIV Positive Guys.

The HIV Working group safer-sex kit campaign is operating with three distribution points: The DC Center, Town Dance Boutique, and Ziegfelds/Secrets.

The group also finished up working on a coordinated National HIV Testing Day Event.

Free HIV Testing on June 26th and 27th Across City

2009-06-22T22:07:00.003Z

On Friday, June 26, five-to-ten local HIV prevention organizations that provide mobile and remote HIV counseling, testing and referral services (CTRS) will come together to offer free testing at locations throughout the city on Friday and Saturday.

Free tests will be given from12-5 in the Old Convention Center Site (City Center Parking Lot), and at least six vans will be present on Friday to offer HIV testing and counseling services.

The Friday event will be located downtown at the old Convention Center site – along the Art Walk, near the intersection of H and 10th streets, NW. Then on Saturday, June 27, there will be at least one mobile unit offering CTRS located in each of the District’s eight wards. Additionally, each of the participating organizations will provide CTRS at their home locations to maximize the geographic coverage that day.

Organizations participating on Friday, June 26 include: Carl Vogel Center, The DC Center, Community Education Group, PreventionWorks!, Unity HealthCare, Us Helping Us, Women’s Collective, and Whitman-Walker Clinic. Many additional organizations will be participating on Saturday, June 27 (see chart below).

Carl Vogel Center
1012 14th Street NW, 20005
DC Caribbean Festival (Georgia & Kansas Aves. @ TEP Entertainment) 10AM-5PM

La Clinica del Pueblo, Inc.
2815 15th Street NW, 2009
Diversity Park (Columbia Rd & Euclid St.) 10AM - 4PM (near Columbia Heights Metro)

PreventionWorks!
2501 Benning Road NE, 20002
Onsite @ 2501 Benning Road NE 10AM-4PM

Project Orion, Andromeda Transcultural Health
1400 Decatur Street NW, 20011
DC Caribbean Festival (Georgia Ave & Otis St.) 10AM-3PM

SMYAL-Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League
410 7th Street SE, 20003
Metro Teen AIDS @ Greenleaf Rec. Center 11AM-5PM (SW at the Waterfront Metro).

Transgender Health Empowerment (T.H.E.)
1414 North Capitol Street NW, 20002
Onsite @1414 North Capitol Street NW 12-4PM

Us Helping Us, People Into Living
3636 Georgia Avenue NW, 20010
3636 Georgia Avenue NW

Whitman-Walker Clinic
1701 14th Street NW, 20009
Artomatic (55 M Street, SE)  12PM-6PM (Navy Yard Metro) P Street Beach (23rd & P) 12-3PM DuPont Circle (20th & Mass) 3-6PM

Family & Medical Counsel. Service, Inc.
2041 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 20020
Onsite @ 2041 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, All Day

Unity HealthCare
3720 MLK Jr. Avenue SE, 20032
Onsite @ 3720 MLK Jr. Avenue SE, All Day

Community Education Group
3233 Penn. Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20020
With PreventionWorks! 2501 Benning Road NE

Mary's Center
2333 Ontario Road NW, 20009
Diversity Park ( Columbia Rd & Euclid St .) 10AM - 4PM (near Columbia Hgts Metro)

The Women's Collective
1277 Brentwood Rd, NE, 20017
Neighborhood testing (1277 Brentwood Rd, NE ) 10AM-6PM

Prevention Works Neighborhood Block Party and Health Fair for National HIV Testing Day

2009-06-22T20:52:00.002Z

Saturday, June 27th
12pm-5pm
Prevention Works!
2501 Benning Rd NE

Free food, raffle, HIV testing, blood pressure checks, medicine management, and more!

Joining us will be: American Lung Association, Center for Minority Studies, Falcon Edge, CEG, Black Nurse Association, DC Healthy Families, Center for Sickle Cell, and The Condom Project.

This event is co-sponsored with the DC Department of Health with contributions from Safeway and Giant Foods.

For more information, please contact Courtenay Vaughns: cvaughns@preventionworksdc.org

Update On Washington DC HIV/AIDS Epidemic

2009-06-21T13:42:00.003Z

Recently I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Shannon Hader, Washington DC HIV/AIDS Administration Director, discuss the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Washington DC. I read the stories in the Washington Post and Time Magazine, but they contained only a small synopsis of the real problem. To hear the entire presentation and to see all the statistics is a real call to action. All are welcome to join us, space it limited to the first 100 people.

The National Minority AIDS Council, along with the AIDS Institute, National Association of People with AIDS, and National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors invites you to a presentation by Dr. Hader on the state of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Washington DC. All are welcome to join us, please bring your friends and family. It is a very eye opening report that will both shock you and demand your action.

Join us on Tuesday, June 30th at 10:00 AM at the Reeves Center at 14th & U St NW. Please RSVP in advance so we have enough space (RSVP @ info@nmac.org). You will need to bring a government ID to get into the building. We will meet in the Community Room on the 2nd floor.

As folks who live and/or work in the District, it is critical that we understand what is happening in our own backyard. It will be up to all of us to fight back and save the District.

National HIV Testing Day Posters

2009-06-21T05:40:00.003Z

Free National HIV Testing Day Posters are now available at The DC Center.

The posters feature a variety of diverse pictures with simple messages about the importance of HIV Testing. Pick up your posters at the DC Center. You can also visit the CDC National HIV and STD Testing Resources website to download the pictures.

And remember, while you're at The DC Center you can also pick up free condoms, lube, and dental dams. The DC Center is located at 1111 14th St NW Suite 350 and is open Monday through Friday from 2:30 to 6:30 PM and other times by appointment.

Free Testing and HIV Awareness

2009-06-18T21:00:00.003Z

DC City Council Chairman Vincent Gray and Council Member David Catania will host an HIV testing and awareness event for the community and District government employees on Monday, June 29th from 10 AM to 2 PM at the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

The event will feature free HIV testing and counseling, as well as information about prevention and care.

For more information, call 202-724-8170 or email tterry@dccouncil.us.

Prevention Works Enrollment Session for Safety Counts

2009-06-18T18:41:00.001Z

Enrollment Session for Safety Counts
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2:00pm
Prevention Works!
2501 Benning Road, NE
Contact person: Yvonne Green 202-588-5580 x104

Funded by the Department of Health, Safety Counts is a Risk Reduction Group Intervention. Please join us for this enrollment session to determine eligibility and willingness to enroll in Safety Counts. *Refreshments & Incentives provided*

Safety Counts is an HIV prevention intervention for out-of-treatment active injection and non-injection drug users aimed at reducing both high-risk drug use and sexual behaviors. It is a behaviorally focused, seven-session intervention, which includes both structured and unstructured psycho-educational activities in group and individual settings.

4H Club Benefits the HIV Working Group

2009-06-15T21:17:00.001Z

The June Hotel Homo Happy Hour will take place at the Morrison-Clark Inn at 10th and L streets. The Inn was originally built in 1864 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Hotel Homo Happy Hour, or 4H Club, is a GLBT social gathering that takes places the third thursday of every month at various hotel bars across the city.

This month's GLBT partner (and beneficiary) is the DC Center's HIV Working Group. Money raised will help support the working group's new safer-sex kit distribution campaign. Come out for a wonderful evening and show your support for our HIV/AIDS work.

Thursday, June 18 from 5:30pm - 9:30pm at the Morrison-Clark Inn, 1015 L St NW.

Safer Sex Toolkit Assembly Event

2009-06-15T20:55:00.002Z

The next Safer Sex Toolkit Assembly Event is this Thursday, June 18 at 7pm.

@ Artists Inn Residence
1824 R street NW
Washington, DC 20009.

Please join us to assemble kits, mingle, and make friends!

REMINDER: HIV Working Group Meeting June 24th

2009-06-15T20:50:00.003Z

REMINDER: The next meeting of The DC Center HIV Prevention Working Group will take place Wednesday June 24th at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St. NW Suite 350.

The topic for this month's discussion is HIV Prevention and HIV Positive Guys. The HIV Working group is also working on a coordinated National HIV Testing Day Event.

Understanding The HIV/AIDS Epidemic In Washington DC

2009-06-08T19:59:00.005Z

The National Minority AIDS Council, along with the AIDS Institute, National Association of People with AIDS, and National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors invites you to a presentation by Dr. Hader on the state of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Washington DC. We ask that you bring all your agency’s staff and their families. It is a very eye opening report that will both shock you and demand your action.

Join us on Tuesday, June 30th at 10:00 AM at the Reeves Center at 14th & U St NW. Please RSVP in advance so we have enough space (RSVP @ info@nmac.org). You will need to bring a government ID to get into the building. We will meet in the Community Room on the 2nd floor. As folks who live and/or work in the District, it is critical that we understand what is happening in our own backyard. It will be up to all of us to fight back and save the District.

Frank Oldham
NAPWA

Julie Scofield
NASTAD

Carl Schmid
AIDS Institute

Paul Kawata
NMAC

Amid Criticism, D.C. Plans Big Effort to Spread Word on AIDS

2009-06-08T19:06:00.002Z

By Darryl Fears, Washington Post, Tuesday, June 2, 2009

On her drives from one end of the District to the other, Anita Hawkins is struck by the rarity with which she sees billboards or bus stop advertisements telling residents that AIDS is a major health threat in the city.
"I live in D.C., and now I don't see it as visibly as nine years ago," when the virus was killing mostly gay men and the city government mobilized to combat the disease, said Hawkins, an assistant professor at Morgan State University. "We had this big push, and then what happened?"
Hawkins is on to something. Despite evidence showing that advertising increases AIDS awareness, there's almost no marketing to inform District residents of the problem's magnitude.
A report by the city's HIV/AIDS Administration (HAA) says 3 percent of the District's population has HIV and AIDS, the worst prevalence rate in the nation, easily surpassing the 1 percent rate of infection that makes up a severe epidemic.
The problem is probably worse than the report says. Researchers did not count people who are infected but untested. Shannon L. Hader, the HAA's director, estimated that the actual rate is 5 percent.
In the fall, the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice sharply criticized the city's AIDS awareness effort, saying in a report that it lacked the urgency needed to address such a large epidemic. "You should definitely expect more," said Phill Wilson, head of the Black AIDS Institute, which works to reduce infection in black communities.
City officials say a sustained social marketing blitz is coming.
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration -- alarmed by research showing that heterosexuals in highly infected areas engage in unprotected sex under the mistaken belief that straight people are not at risk -- committed $500,000 annually for five years for a marketing campaign, Hader said.
But there's doubt over whether HAA can mount a meaningful campaign in the expensive advertising market with that small amount. To be effective, advertising experts say, Hader needs millions more from Fenty (D) or more free public service announcements from television and radio stations, billboard companies and Metro.
"This should not be simply a public-health effort," Hader said. "This should be a community effort helped by the folks who have the space."
It's unclear how aggressively the city has sought public service ads. A spokesman for one local television station, WRC (Channel 4), said no one in the NBC affiliate's advertising division recalls being approached by HAA.
"We feel this is an area where a great deal more needs to be done," said Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed, a nonprofit group that addresses civic issues. "We believe it's a leadership issue. I mean Fenty, in part, but there's more than one leader in the city."
Another activist, A. Toni Young, defended the city, saying an ad campaign by HAA last year played a strong role in calling attention to an underutilized program that provides free medication to people with HIV and AIDS. Enrollment in the AIDS Drug Assistance Program increased by 50 percent after ads aired on television and radio and were posted on billboards and public transportation, said Young, executive director of the Community Education Group, which engages in AIDS-related social marketing.
"It was very effective," Young said.
Without the support groups and social networks backed by the HAA, advertising would have a short reach, Young said. "To batter HAA has been a fashionable thing to do, but if you took a bus across the river on Pennsylvania Avenue, you would see ads for the Act Against AIDS campaign," Young said.
The Act Against AIDS campaign was started last month -- by the Obama administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, not the city. But a couple of weeks ago, the HAA started experimenting with its marketing approaches.
The agency launched Realtalk, a promotion aimed at youths. A poster tells them to "drop in for some fun at the Freestyle Youth Center," at 651 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, where they can get free tests for HIV and venereal diseases that can facilitate HIV transmission. They also can get information about other test sites and where to pick up free condoms.
The HAA's office on New York Avenue abounds with AIDS-related posters that have faded from view: "Know Your Facts," "Come Together DC -- Get Screened for HIV," "Sex With One Means Sex With All" and "A Million Ways to Stop HIV: One Million Free Condoms for DC," a giveaway campaign two years ago.
Next month, the HAA plans to announce a marketing campaign aimed at heterosexual couples, said the agency's spokesman, Michael Kharfen, who is also in charge of marketing. The promotion will implore sexually active straight couples to get tested and to know their partner's health status. Heterosexual sex is the fastest-rising mode of HIV transmission in the city, particularly among black residents in wards 6, 7 and 8.
Spreading the word about HIV and AIDS is difficult because of its stigma. Infected people say they feel isolated because of the illness, and straight people say they don't want to be caught with a prevention brochure or researching the disease on the Internet because it might suggest homosexuality, a taboo in the black community.
The HAA will buy space on billboards and public transportation, but broader marketing will depend on public service ads. "We could wipe out our entire budget by buying a few ads on television and newspapers," Kharfen said. "We can't afford it."
Tina Hoff, vice president and director of Media Entertainment Partnerships for the Kaiser Family Foundation, said the foundation has gotten around the expense of advertising by working closely with MTV, Black Entertainment Television and Spanish-speaking Univision to urge minorities and young people to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
The marketing challenge faced by the District reflects a nationwide trend, according to a survey released last month by Kaiser. Americans who said they had "heard, seen or read a lot" about HIV and AIDS in the United States fell from 70 percent in 2004 to 45 percent this year. Those who specifically said they've viewed "a lot" of AIDS-related messaging fell from 34 percent to 14 percent.
As she stood at U and 16th streets, District resident Geneen Taylor said she would welcome more information than the few advertisements she has read on buses and heard on radio.
"I'm an African American woman, and we're the fastest-growing group of new HIV infections," Taylor said. "It's always in the back of my mind. It's frightening."

HIV Working Group Meeting June 24th

2009-06-08T03:09:00.006Z

The next meeting of The DC Center HIV Prevention Working Group will take place Wednesday June 24th at 7:00 PM at The DC Center, 1111 14th St. NW Suite 350.

The topic for this month's discussion is HIV Prevention and HIV Positive Guys.

The HIV Working group recently kicked of their new safer-sex kit campaign at Town. (see the pictures here). They are also working on a coordinated National HIV Testing Day Event.

Prevention Works! Training: HIV Meds and Street Drugs & Outreach to Crack and Methamphetamine Thursday, June 25th

2009-06-03T17:02:00.002Z

Training: HIV Meds and Street Drugs & Outreach to Crack and Methamphetamine Users
Thursday, June 25th, 10am-4pm
Prevention Works!
2501 Benning Rd NE

Spaces are limited! To reserve a slot, please an email to Mary Beth Levin, Director of Programs and Services (mlevin@preventionworksdc.org).

This is the fourth in our series of monthly 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 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.

Safer Sex Campaign Launch Party

2009-05-27T19:48:00.003Z

The HIV Working Group is launching its safer sex campaign this weekend at Town Friday and Saturday evenings.

The party will feature video from the new website, condom demonstrations, and FUKITs galore!

Join the HIV Working Group as it launches its new campaign!