DC Fights Back Calls for an End to the HIV/AIDS Housing Waiting List

Calling attention to the hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS on waiting lists for housing in the District of Columbia, DC Fights Back staged a demonstration on World AIDS Day.

People living with HIV/AIDS and advocates picketed at the DC Branch office of the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and erected tents labeled 'AIDS Housing' to call attention to the issue.

See pictures from this event here.

DC Fights Back (DCFB) is an all-volunteer network of people living with HIV/AIDS and their allies working to engage themselves and the community in every aspect of HIV advocacy for District residents and to end stigma to ensure the best possible treatment and care for those living with HIV/AIDS and implement the best possible science-based HIV prevention for everybody. Find out more at www.dcfightsback.org.

Prevention Justice Mobilization: Stopping AIDS Through Unity and Action

“What do we want? EFFECTIVE PREVENTION! When do we want it? NOW!” shouted HIV/AIDS, women rights, and faith-based advocates as they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to join a World AIDS Day rally at the White House. as they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to join a World AIDS Day rally at the White House.

On Friday, November 30, nearly 200 activists—including community members, students, and people living with HIV and AIDS—brought together local, domestic, and global demands for critical changes to U.S. HIV and AIDS policies. Those rallying called upon the government to cut the red tape on HIV and AIDS programs, with particular emphasis afforded to prevention programs at home and abroad.

The rally-goers, armed with posters and giant scissors with messages like “Sex Education Saves” and “Cut the Red Tape on U.S. Global HIV Prevention,” weren’t the only people making demands of the Administration. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington D.C.’s non-voting delegate in Congress, issued powerful words to President Bush as part of her address to the crowd.

Read the rest of Kimberly Whipkey's post on the Prevention Justice Mobilaztion's website

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

Here is a great Al Jazeera English piece on the World AIDS Day protest at the White House.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton tells the President to "get serious." She goes on to say that the Republican led Congress had "knowingly killed men, women, and children," by denying the District the ability to fund syringe exchange.

DC Fights Back Co-chair George Kerr tells the President to "look in his own backyard."

40 AIDS activists draped in red tape risk arrest at White House

Following a successful protest last year, over 40 AIDS activists draped in red tape risk arrest at White House

George Kerr, Co-chair of DC Fights Back will join the protesters.

Action on the eve of World AIDS Day, November 30


When: Friday 11/30 at 2:30pm

Where: White House sidewalk - Lafayette Square

Who: Over 40 HIV positive activists, health advocates, students and others

What: Civil disobedience on the White House sidewalk

RAIN OR SHINE

EVENT DETAILS:

Over 40 HIV-positive activists, health advocates, students and others will risk arrest on Friday at approximately 2:30 by performing a symbolic sit-down protest in front of the White House, at the sidewalk near Lafayette Square. The demonstrators will be draped in hundreds of yards of red tape to demand that various government entities remove the political "red tape" that is interfering with an effective response to HIV, locally, nationally, and globally. Demonstrators will be dressed as educators and doctors; others will wear shirts identifying them as people living with or at risk for HIV.

The demonstration expands upon a civil disobedience during last year's World AIDS Day, in which 20 protesters were arrested outside the White House.

The protesters, including members of local HIV/AIDS advocacy organization DC Fights Back, will be demanding that local DC public school students receive medically accurate, unbiased, comprehensive sexuality education that includes lessons on HIV and AIDS. The protest occurs following recent reports that confirm that 1 in 20 DC residents are infected with HIV and identifying DC's HIV/AIDS crisis as a modern epidemic.

Demonstrators will be echoing the call, by almost all HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations nationwide, for the US to implement a strategic US national strategy.

The assembled also say that the reauthorization of the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in 2008 is the time to reform the plan. This includes the removal of the 1/3 earmark for abstinence-until-marriage funding and the implementation of evidence-based HIV prevention policies, plus increased U.S. support for HIV treatment worldwide.

Community Marches and Speaks Out against HIV/AIDS in SE DC

On Saturday Nov 3rd around 150 people took to the streets in SE Washington, DC to demand changes to the way the HIV/AIDS epidemic is being addressed. The Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association and DC Fights Back were joined by numerous organizations and community members.You can read the Examiner's coverage of the event here



In this photo members of RAP Inc serving as marshals for the March.

Community members were joined by folks from MetroTeen AIDS, Save Lives Free the Condoms, GW Student Global AIDS Campaign, the American Federal Government Employees Union Local 12, and many others.

Recently there have been some positive changes made by the government of the District of Columbia in the way it is responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. DC Fights Back applauds the community oriented approach taken by Dr. Shannon Hader. But clearly there are serious problems remaining, many of which are outside of the scope of Dr. Hader's authority.




In this photo hundreds of participants lined the streets in SE.

This March in South East was undertaken to highlight the institutional and social determinants of HIV and AIDS. Many of the principles put forward by both DCFB and MWPHA members are captured by the Prevention Justice Mobilization Campaign. The most succinct of these is AIDS DOESN'T DISCRIMINATE… BUT SOCIETY DOES.




In this photo Larry Bryant and George Kerr help to facilitate the Speak Out portion of the day.

The Speak Out was meant to continue the dialogue about why HIV/AIDS is so catastrophic in DC, to understand why certain communities bear such a disproportionate burden of HIV while others, even though they have the same levels of “individual risk activity,” do not. We wanted to further an understanding of how two individuals from different communities can engage in the same activities but be at much different levels of risk for HIV.

At the last Speak Out community members identified four critical areas where disparities exist which fuel the local epidemic. At this Speak Out we concentrated on determining concrete and obtainable solutions in these areas,



In this photo participants eat and get ready for the break out groups.

1)JOBS
2)HOUSING
3)YOUTH
4)SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Each group discussed the problems and came up with concrete solutions which will be posted on www.dcfightsback.org when we have arranged them.

A highlight of the Speak Out portion was when we were joined by Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry who sat in on each of the groups, listened, promised his support to our efforts, and encouraged participants to work with local government on finding and implementing solutions.



In this photo Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry participates in the Jobs break out group

This day of solidarity and action is not the end, but rather the beginning of a campaign to affect serious policy changes to End AIDS in the District!

Upcoming events:
Saturday, November 17 12:00pm: OUTREACH and Housing Committee meeting at Highlands Public Library, 115 Atlantic St. SW. More info www.mwpha.org

Wednesday, November 28 5:30pm: ALL OUT for the school health education hearing at the State Board
of Education; 441 4th St. NW. More info www.metroteenaids.org
(Judiciary Square)

Friday, November 30 1:00pm: World AIDS Day, Action at the White House. One of policy asks identified at the Speak Out will be included as the local ask for this action. More info www.dcfightsback.org

DC Residents Take to the Streets to Fight HIV/AIDS

Marion Barry joins American Public Health Association members and community leaders to advocate for jobs, housing, drug treatment and youth programs

Faced with one of the worst HIV/AIDS epidemics in the country, DC community members have organized a day of events on Saturday, November 3, 2007, to demand change and encourage local activism.

Led by DC Fights Back (DCFB) and the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association (MWPHA), participants will meet at 12:00 pm at the corner of MLK Avenue, SE and Malcolm X Avenue, SE and march to the Washington Highlands Library at 115 Atlantic Street, SE by 2:00. At the Washington Highlands Library, Marion Barry will join other city officials, local residents, American Federal Government Employees Union Local 12, HIV Activists and American Public Health Association (APHA) meeting participants to Speak Out on HIV/AIDS.

The march and speak out will demand that the DC Government develop a comprehensive strategy to combat the factors, including a lack of jobs and affordable housing, that have led to the epidemic.

"We are marching East of the River because we believe that the people and communities most affected by the epidemic must always be at the forefront of policy efforts aimed at a solution,” said George Kerr, co-chair of DC Fights Back. “Further, we know that the fight against HIV cannot be separated from the fight for basic human and economic rights."

Following its tradition of involvement in leading public health issues at national conferences, MWPHA with DCFB, invited the APHA to participate and engage in direct action to aid local efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and begin to remedy health disparities.

The community dialogue continues and expands what began in May when over 100 community members gathered for the first Speak Out to develop a plan of action to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

About D.C. Fights Back:

DC Fights Back is a network of people living with HIV/AIDS and their allies working to engage our communities and ourselves in every aspect of HIV advocacy to ensure the best possible treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS; and the best possible science-based HIV prevention

About the Metropolitan Public Health Association:

The Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association is the local chapter of the American Public Health Association. The American Public Health Association is the oldest, largest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world and has been working to improve public health since 1872. The Association aims to protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States. APHA represents a broad array of health professionals and others who care about their own health and the health of their communities.


Download the flyer for this event

DC Fights Back Resource Day: By the Numbers

Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, yesterday's DC Fights Back Resource Day was an astounding success. Here are some of the (great) numbers that tell the story:

We had 21 organizations that co-sponsored the event, and 14 organizations that had tables with information about HIV/AIDS Services in DC. We had 8 people get an HIV test at the resource day. We got 5 new people registered to vote in the District of Columbia. I don't know exactly how many people were at the event, but 65 people signed-in at the registration desk and 20 folks who are not on the DC Fights Back E-mail List asked to be added.

Our 5 panelists discussed services available in the District of Columbia. And we had so many questions we didn't even get to them all. We are planning to print out the questions, find answers, and post them on our website.

All in all it was an amazing event, and I was thrilled that Dr. Hader had a chance to meet with and hear from so many community members in her first week.

Click here to see pictures of the resource day.

Of course, the work continues. Here are some ways you can stay involved.

• Join us for the Speakout and Neighborhood March on November 3rd – March starts at noon at intersection of Martin Luther King Ave, SE and South Capitol St. – Speak Out at 2pm at the Washington Highlands Library, 115 Atlantic St. SW. For details, grab a flyer here or call 202 645-5880.
• Join DC Fights Back. To sign up for the Yahoo Group, click here.
• Register to Vote while you’re here and pay attention to the City Council, School Board, and other local races. click here to register to vote or click here to check your voter registration status.
  
• Keep informed on HIV in DC. Visit www.fighthivindc.org for daily updates.
• Tell your story about HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia. Send your pictures, blog posts, or youtube videos to tellyourstory@fighthivindc.org
• Consider Joining the Community Planning Group, Ryan White Planning Council, or another advisory board.

In short, keep at it! Thanks to Cherie Lindsay, George Kerr, The Westminster Presbyterian Church, and everyone who helped make this resource day possible.

Building Momentum for DC Fights Back Resource Day

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

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

Dr. Shannon Hader to Provide Opening Remarks

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

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

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

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

click here to download the flyer for the event

DCFB at the Black LUV Festival

Each year the Black LUV festival offers DC an antidote to the everyday dysfunction and malfunctions that living in DC often feels like. This whole day is dedicated to positive social change through community empowerment. And as always the festival has stepped up when the government has failed. By getting the word out to people that getting tested for HIV is something for everyone.

You can see the signs that were posted in front of the stage declaring DC's abysmal HIV and AIDS statistics. Alongside this sign was one talking about the drop out rate in DC's schools. But the thing that is so apparent at this event is that the organizers are not satisfied to just throw up their hands in the face of such a dismal outlook. The organizers this year had 5 mobile testing units providing free rapid HIV tests and some offering diabetes and blood pressure tests as well.


Although a rapid pace was set all day, from 4:30 to 7:00pm there were dozens of people waiting in line to get tested at all times. The government should be able to do this. There wasn't an artist that came to stage that didn't mention positive social change and empowerment, the MCs kept up a near constant patter about people getting tested.
The whole day was an empowering experience and I felt lucky to be a part of such a positive movement. And Geno gave such a powerful and inspired call to action I am sorry for anyone who didn't get a chance to be there.

The Mayor's office did honor the commitment of Kymone Freeman and the Black LUV committee which is well deserved. The last photo shows Kymone Freeman excepting a proclamation from the mayor's office declaring the day, Black LUV Festival Day.

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

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

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

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

Please join us for both events!

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

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

Download the flyer for this event

10 Simple Things You Can Do Right Now!

We had a great DC Fights Back Meeting last night. We're working on four great events: 1. The Bird Dogging Training which will take place on August 30th; 2. The AIDS Walk on October 6th - we have a great DCFB AIDS Walk Team you can join; 3. An HIV/AIDS Resource Fair which will take place on October 16th; and finally 4. We'll be working with the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association to conduct a Speak Out and Neighborhood March on November 3rd and will also be part of the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. You can click here to download a cool flyer which describes all four events.

DC Fights Back is doing a great job I want to stress, however, that we can't do it without your help. Here are TEN quick and easy things you can do to make a difference right now.

10 Things You Can Do to Fight HIV in DC

1. Please download this flyer and put it up somewhere in your community like your local coffee shop, place of worship, bar, or school, or wherever we can reach new people.

2. If you haven't already please join the DC Fights Back Announcement list at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dcfightsback so that you can stay in the loop.

3. Take just one minute today and send a welcome message to Dr Hader, the new Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration. Dr. Hader needs to hear the concerns of our community, and she needs to know that we are engaged, that we are organized, and that we expect measurable progress.

4. If you can help organize the October 16th HIV/AIDS Resource Fair, click here to contact Cherie Lindsay and volunteer.

5. Join the DC Fights Back AIDS Walk Team and walk with us on October 6th.

6. Take just 30 seconds today and help raise the visibility of HIV in DC by adding Fight HIV in DC to your list of friends on: Myspace, Friendster, or YouTube.

7. If you can help organize the November 3rd Speak Out and Neighborhood March, click here to contact Karen Pomerantz and volunteer.

8. Be a YouTube Star - Record a video documenting your experience with HIV in DC and we'll add it to our youtube page. If you don't have a camera, let me know, and we'll put you in touch with someone who does.

9. Add the DC city-wide HIV/AIDS Calendar to your website or myspace page. The folks at Metro Teen AIDS just added the calendar to their Metro TeenAIDS MySpace Page, which I'm excited about. To learn more, click here or just ask me.

10. Come to the next DC Fights Back Meeting on August 28th at Our Place DC at 6pm at Our Place DC, 801 Penn. Ave SE. Washington, DC 20003 Suite 460.

Bird-Dogging Training on Thursday, August 30th

DC Fights Back will be hosting a bird-dogging training by Paul Davis of Health GAP as part of the O8 Stop AIDS project (www.08stopaids.org). The training will happen on Thursday August 30th, from 1:30 to 5:30 PM at the Center for Non-profit Advancement. AIDS Vote has this to say about bird-dogging:

"Bird-dogging is the name given to the activist tactic of attending public appearances in order to win new policies from politicians. With this direct interaction between activists and decision makers, it’s easy to have a big impact through the simple act of bringing a few people to an event, working together to raise your hands and asking questions that provoke an answer from the target politician."

Often, we work very hard to reach decision makers through intermediaries like their staff or the media. We make phone calls or write letters that are (hopefully) answered by policy maker's secretary or legislative assistant or special advisor. Calls, letters and lobby visits to staff are very important and necessary work. However, we should take every opportunity we have to directly reach policy makers, especially at public appearances like campaign events or town meetings when the people we need to say "yes" are outside of the protective bubbles they surround themselves with. Public events are especially valuable since activists can often gain direct access and get an answer in front of members of the public and media, so we can hold politicians accountable for their promises.

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement is located at 1666 K Street, NW, Suite 440 Washington, DC 20006. They are in the same building as McCormick and Schmidt, conveniently located near two Metro Stations; Farragut West – 17th Street exit and Farragut North K Street exit.

DC Fights Back Meeting on August 14th

The next DC Fights Back meeting will be August 14th at 6pm at Our Place DC, 801 Penn. Ave SE. Washington, DC 20003 Suite 460. Our Place, DC is convenient to the Eastern Market Metro Stop.

Minutes from from the meeting our now available on the DC Fights Back website. click here to download the minutes.

What are we working on? Plans include, a bird-dogging (reaching out to candidates on the campaign trail) training that will take place the end of this month, an HIV/AIDS Resource Day in October, and a the MWPHA/DC Fights Back Speakout in November.

DC Fights Back Sends Letter to Adrian Fenty

Newly elected DC Fights Back Co-Chairs, George Kerr & Larry Bryant, sent a letter to Mayor Adrian Fenty last week to update him on the results of the DC HIV/AIDS Speakout held in May. They included a copy of the Final Speakout Report.

Also included in the letter was a plea to Adrian Fenty to appoint a full-time Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration. They write...

"... at the moment one of the most pressing concerns regarding HIV/AIDS in the District is the lack of a full time Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration. Six months into your administration, you are the first Mayor since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic who has operated without a full time HIV/AIDS Director. We urge you to appoint a Director of the HIV/AIDS Administration and we stand ready to work with the individual you appoint."

DC Fights Back Housing Committee Update

There is a new yahoo group set up for the DC Fights Back Housing Committee. Hopefully it will help facilitate work on the issues raised by the Housing Breakout group at the DC HIV/AIDS Speakout.

To join the new Yahoo Group, click here.

The full URL is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dcfightsback-housing/.

Calling All Women

DC Fights Back will be organizing a Women's Speakout.

We will be having a meeting on Monday, July 30, 2007 at 5:00pm at Our Place DC at 801 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003 Suite 460 to discuss and come up with ideas for this event. If you are interested in helping plan this event please come out and share your ideas. Our Place DC is very close to the Eastern Market Metro.

For more information, contact Cherie Lindsay

DC Fights Back's New Officers; Next Meeting July 31st

At our last meeting DC Fights Back elected new officers. Are new co-chairs are George Kerr and Larry Bryant. I (David Mariner) am the new public relations coordinator, and Cherie Lindsay is the new internal affairs coordinator. It's a great team, and I'm excited to be part of the new steering committee that is going to take this organization to the next level.

Our next meeting will be July 31st at Our Place DC starting at 6:00 PM. Our Place is at 801 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003 Suite 460, very close to the Eastern Market metro.

Some of the things in the works include a women's only speakout modeled after the Speakout we organized in May, an outreach event working in partnership with the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association, and continuing the discussion about who we are and how we will operate going forward.

Also, I'll be heading up a communications working group. We will look at a lot of things including: submitting op-eds to local papers that reflecting the issues raised at the Speakout and other events, using youtube to help people with HIV tell their own stories about what is really going on in DC. Alex has also been working on some cool improvements to the DCFB website.

Please join us at the next meeting!

DC Fights Back Update

The minutes from our last DC Fights Back conference call are now online click here to download the minutes. Also available on the DC Fights Back website is the final outcome document from the Speakout.

Our next meeting will be July 3rd at 6:00 PM. Our meeting will be at Our Place DC at 801 Pennsylvania Ave. SE Washington, DC 20003 Suite 460.

On the agenda for the meeting is really looking more closely at who we are as an organization and what we want to accomplish in the coming year.

Some of us are planning to go out to dinner after the meeting at a nearby restaurant. Please join us.

Speakout Reports: Substance Use Breakout Group

Several organizations co-sponsored a DC HIV/AIDS Speakout on May 17th, 2007. I will be posting the reports from each of the breakout groups throughout the next week. The final outcome document from the Speakout will be published on the DC Fights Back Website. If you'd like to get involved, please be sure to join this yahoo group.

The Substance Use Breakout group covered a lot of territory during their discussion. At the top of the list of their priorities, of course, is a city funded needle exchange program. Progress is being made on the hill that may in fact make this possible. Other recommendations included providing substance use training to HIV providers, creating a 12-step support group specifically for HIV positive individuals, and creating a mentor program or peer hotline.

click here to see the flip-chart notes from the substance use breakout group.

Speakout Reports: Jobs Breakout Session

Several organizations co-sponsored a DC HIV/AIDS Speakout on May 17th, 2007. I will be posting the reports from each of the breakout groups throughout the next week. The final outcome document from the Speakout will be published on the DC Fights Back Website. If you'd like to get involved, please be sure to join this yahoo group.

The Jobs Breakout group was facilitated by Karen Pomerantz. In addition to being a member of DC Fights Back, Karen serves on the governing council of the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association.

This group talked about promoting independent living among HIV positive people to reduce the need for government help. This is definitely a timely issue. Because of better treatments for HIV/AIDS, we live in a time when people who have been on diability because of HIV/AIDS can return to work: that is IF there are jobs available and they are prepared for those jobs.

This breakout group talked about the need for vocational training and life skills training, as well as HIV specific job training opportunities. Participants in this group emphasized that people living with HIV/AIDS can play an important role in fighthing the epidemic in DC when they are employed peer educators and community educators.

Click here to see the flip chart notes from the Jobs Breakout Group

Speakout Reports: Stigma Breakout Group

Several organizations co-sponsored a DC HIV/AIDS Speakout on May 17th, 2007. I will be posting the reports from each of the breakout groups throughout the next week. The final outcome document from the Speakout will be published on the DC Fights Back Website. If you'd like to get involved, please be sure to join this yahoo group.

One of our smaller breakout groups at the Speakout was Stigma, which is quite a challenging topic to take on. We all know that stigma impacts HIV in DC. It's one of the reasons some people are reluctant to get tested for HIV in the first place, or to be open about their HIV status.

As our breakout group stated, stigma causes "shunning, hurt, hopelessness, denial of dignity, denial of opportunities, low self esteem, and marginalization.

But how do we fix stigma? Again, our breakout group said: "We fix stigma through education, advocacy, by being real and truthful, through grass roots organizing, by utilizing resources, being involved, and getting others invoved."

One of the concrete suggestions that came out of this group was creating a speakers bureau of HIV positive individuals in DC. I think this is a great idea.

Personally, I think the best way to overcome stigma is for people living with HIV to be out, open, honest, and live their lives with integrity. We are lucky to have several such folks in DC including: Wallace Corbett, David von Storch, Danielle Pleasant, Larry Bryant, Monte Wolfe, and countless others.

As we continue to look at this topic, there are two great resources I want to share with you. The first is NMAC's HIV/AIDS Stigma Resource Center. You'll find lots of great information and resources on that site. Second, the Academy for Educational Development has an "Understanding and Challenging HIV Stigma: Toolkit for Action." It's a rather lengthy PDF file, click here to download the toolkit.

And be sure to share your thoughts on fighting stigma by posting a comment below or e-mailing me privately. Thanks to DC Fights Back member Geno Dunington for facilitating this breakout group and providing opening comments at the Speakout.

click here to download the notes from the stigma breakout group.

Speakout Reports: Women's Breakout Session

Several organizations co-sponsored a DC HIV/AIDS Speakout on May 17th, 2007. I will be posting the reports from each of the breakout groups throughout the next week. The final outcome document from the Speakout will be published on the DC Fights Back Website. If you'd like to get involved, please be sure to join this yahoo group.

Our Women's breakout group was moderated by the amazing Cherie Lindsay from Our Place DC. Other individuals on the panel included Marie Sansone from the DC Department of Health, and DC Fights Back member Dorithia Akins.

One of the topics the group tackled was HIV/AIDS research. The group would like to see more trial study opportunities for women, and would like to see studies that take their needs into account (i.e. childcare, etc ...). The group also discussed the importance of women-focused research like Microbicide Research, and specifically, the need to have more money for Microbicide Research (Barack Obama has introduced the Microbicide Development Act of 2007 in the Senate which if it succeeds, will address this).

The group also talked about the need for a clinic specifically for women, a 'one stop center' for women in the district.

Other issues that were brought up included: job placement, skills building, life skills/time management, respite, and support groups.

I hope that the folks in this working group continue working on these issues. If I missed something or you have additional things to add, please do so by posting a comment below.

Click here to download the flip chart notes from the Women's Breakout Group.

Speakout Reports: Housing Breakout Session

Several organizations co-sponsored a DC HIV/AIDS Speakout on May 17th, 2007. I will be posting the reports from each of the breakout groups throughout the next week. The final outcome document from the Speakout will be published on the DC Fights Back Website. If you'd like to get involved, please be sure to join this yahoo group.

The Housing Breakout Group had an intense discussion. Participants included our amazing moderator Kristine Campbell, Carter Hewgley, the Health and Human Services Program Analyst for the Office of the City Administrator, and longtime activist Everett Foy who volunteered to head up the new DC Fights Back Housing Working Group.

Many of the concerns raised were things I heard back at the November 2006 DC Housing Symposium. Problems the group include the HOPWA waiting list, a lack of TBRA (tenant based rental assistance) providers, an unruly and difficult process for accessing various housing programs, unsuccessful transitional housing, and a lack of trained monitors.

The Housing Breakout Session came up with several concrete recommendations, which I hope the Housing Working Group will work on in the future. Recommendations included better training for monitors, conducting a needs assesment, and dveloping a strategy for community involvement. Perhaps the most ambitious goal set by this group is to take matters into their own hands and identify and develop unused buildings for for people living with HIV/AIDS.

I look forward to seeing how the work of this group progresses. And I also signed up for the working group, so I help to lend a hand.

Click here to download the full flip-chart notes from the Housing Breakout Group

Larry Bryant "We are the people we’ve been waiting for."

Larry Bryant is featured on the cover of POZ magazine this month. Larry is the co-chair of DC Fights Back, the local affiliate of the Campaign to End AIDS.

To find out more about Larry and his experiences, click here to read the cover story online

Speakout Reports: Youth Breakout Session

Several organizations co-sponsored a DC HIV/AIDS Speakout on May 17th, 2007. I will be posting the reports from each of the breakout groups throughout the next week. The final outcome document from the Speakout will be published on the DC Fights Back Website. If you'd like to get involved, please be sure to join this yahoo group.

The Youth Breakout group covered a lot of topics including health care and comprehensive sex education. Members of the youth breakout group included Jeremy Ogusky, Policy Manager for Metro Teen AIDS, LGBT and Latino Activist Jose Guttierez, and Rita Sinha, Miss District of Columbia International.

To very concrete recommendations came out of the Youth Breakout Group. The first is to create reality based sex and drug education for DC Youth. The good news is that a broad coalition of groups in DC are already pushing for comprehensive sex education, so we're on our way to that goal. The consensus of the group was that abstinence is very important, but it needs to be part of a comprehensive message that includes information on safer sex. The second recommendation is to create a speakers bureau of people living with HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia to talk to young people in the District. I think this is also a great idea.

Click here to see the flip-chart notes from the Youth Breakout Group. If there was anything missed, or anything you'd like to add, please post your comments below.

The May 17th Speakout on HIV/AIDS

Thanks to everyone who made yesterday's Speakout a success. You can see pictures from the event by clicking here.

After great presentations by Geno Dunington and Alex Lawson, Larry Bryant helped us form breakout groups for more intense discussion. Our breakout groups were Housing, Jobs, Youth, Stigma, Substance Use, and Women. All of the facilitators for the breakout groups were experts in their field and did an amazing job leading the group discussions.

Give us all a few days to process all the great information we got tonight, and nex week I hope to blog each day about a different breakout group and the issues they raised at the speakout.

Also, we got a lot of requests from folks to have Alex Lawson's powerpoint presentation from tonight. Alex will be putting it on the DC Fights Back website soon.

Today I have my hands full with HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Events, so be patient and I'll make sure we get the details from the Speakout online as soon as Danielle can type up all of those flip charts!

Today is the Day

Yes I know, you might not have been invited to the Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS. But no worries, because today is your day to tell us exactly what you think needs to be done to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the District of Columbia. I for one, can't wait to hear what you have to say, because nobody knows the District of Columbia better than our residents.

This event would not be possible without the many sponsors including DC Fights Back, The Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association, The Max Robinson Center, Food & Friends, Us Helping Us, RAP Inc, Metro Teen AIDS, and the Save Lives: Free the Condoms Coalition.

The event starts at 7:00 PM at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 401 I Street, SW. Be there.

For media inquiries or additional information please contact: George Kerr at 202 263-1102 or e-mail gkerr85@yahoo.com.

DC Fights Back / C2EA Minutes Now Online

The minutes from the May 8th DC Fights Back meeting are now available online. Click here to download the minutes as a pdf file.

Our next meeting will of course be the City Wide Speakout on HIV/AIDS whic takes place starting at 7:00 PM at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 401 I Street, SW (Waterfront-SEU Metro Stop).

The speakout is co-sponsored by several organizations including RAP, Inc, Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association, Us Helping Us, Max Robinson Center, Capital Area Vaccine Effort, and Save Lives, Free the Condoms Coalition. My apologies to anyone I left off the list.

The members of DC Fights Back have put a lot of time and energy planning this event. Kudos to everyone, but especially DC Fights Back Operations Director George Kerr who is the lead organizer of the Speakout.

See you at the Speakout!

May 17th City Wide Speak-Out on HIV/AIDS

Several organizations will be sponsoring a city wide speak out on HIV/AIDS on May 17th. This is your opportunity to share your ideas about what's working - and what's not working - in the city's fight against HIV/AIDS. The event starts at 7:00 PM at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 401 I Street, SW.

All interested organizations are invited to co-sponsor this event, and to be part of planning it. For more information please contact George Kerr at 202 263-1102 or e-mail gkerr85@yahoo.com.

And please help spread the word: click here to download the flyer for this event.

DC Fights Back / C2EA Meeting Notes Online

As many of you know, at our last meeting Campaign to End AIDS DC and DC Fights Back decided to operate as one organization going forward. Minutes from the last meeting are available on the DC Fights Back website. click here to download the minutes.

We are working hard to put together the May 17th Speak Out on HIV/AIDS, so now is a great time to get involved. If you haven't already, please Join the Yahoo Group.

Blade Article on Mayor's HIV Summit

The Washington Blade has a good article covering the Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS. The article quotes Adrian Fenty stating: “You have my full support, as mayor of the District of Columbia, that we will show the kind of leadership, follow-through and engagement to make sure that we’re making fast and steady progress on this crisis."

There's also some great quotes from Alex Lawson (pictured left). click here to read the whole article

How to Contact Elected & Appointed Officials in the District of Columbia

DC Action for Children has created the Guide to Accessing Elected and Appointed Officials in the District of Columbia. The Accessing Guide contains a comprehensive directory of contacts including the mayor, city council, executive officials in various government agencies, ANC commissioners and the school board. This is a great resource tool. I encourage you to print out a copy and keep one handy. To download the guide, click here. To find out more about DC Action for Children, visit www.dckids.org

C2EA DC Meeting Monday April 23rd

The next C2EA Metro DC Meeting will take place on Monday, April 23rd from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Austin Center at WWC (1407 S Street, NW).

We will be talking about the upcoming Speakout we're planning for May, follow-up from the Mayor's summit, and much more.

And of course, if you're not already signed up, please be sure to Join the C2EA Metro DC Yahoo Group

You can read the draft minutes from our last meeting right here.

The Mayor's Summit on HIV/AIDS Will Take Place

Campaign to End AIDS Metro-DC and DC Fights Back. met Monday March 26th. To download the minutes from our meeting, click here.

The bulk of the meeting was focused on the Mayors Summit on HIV/AIDS. Yep. That's right. After a little prodding from this blog and of course from dcist.com, the Mayor's office has decided to make good on a campaign pledge to hold a summit on HIV. It may not be exactly in the first 90 days of his administration, but that's hardly worth mentioning.

The general consensus at C2EA-DC was that it would be great if everyone was invited to participate in this meeting, but unfortunately it looks like it will be invitation only. If you haven't received an invitation and you would like to be there, I would encourage you to contact the Mayor's office directly, or if your more inclined to direct action, you could just show up the day of the event and request your place at the table.

Members of C2EA and DC Fights Back have worked together to articulate our goals for the meeting, which are spelled out in detail in the meeting but basically we are looking for:

1. A full update on the hiring of a new HAA Director including a timeline (or deadline), criteria being used to evaluate candidates, and vehicle for community input.

2. A commitment to full community participation at this meeting (everyone who shows up should be invited to participate).

3. A clear commitment from HAA to provide all requested information to the HIV Community Planning Group and Ryan White Planning Council in a timely manner without excuses or delays, so that these community planning bodies can do their jobs. This includes budgetary information the CPG currently needs.

4. A commitment from Mayor Adrian Fenty to speak out publically about our HIV/AIDS epidemic. This includes declaring a State of Emergency in the District, joining other elected officials like Eleanor Holmes Norton and publically take an HIV test on National HIV Testing Day, Being visible at important events like National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (which the Mayor did nothing for),

5. A plan for ongoing communication between the Ryan White Planning Council, the HIV Community Planning Group, HAA, and the Mayor's office. Better communication through the HAA website, specifically including Planning Council Information (there is nothing), Grievance Procedure information (there is nothing), and CPG information.

I think these are realistic and achievable goals, and I look forward to the meeting.

The next meeting of the DC Metro C2EA will be Monday, April 2, 2007 at 6pm in the living room of the Austin Center at the Whitman-Walker Clinic (1407 S street, NW). Please join us, as we continue to plan for the summit. As always, if you're not on the C2EA Metro DC Yahoo Group, please click here to join now

C2EA DC Meeting Monday March 26

The next C2EA Metro DC Meeting will take place on Monday, March 26th at 6:30 PM. We'll be meeting in the conference room on the 2nd floor of the WWC administrative building, 1407 S Street, NW.

We will be talking about the upcoming summit on HIV/AIDS in DC, the speakout we're planning for May, and much more.

And of course, if you're not already signed up, please be sure to Join the C2EA Metro DC Yahoo Group

C2EA Metro DC Meeting March 5th

The next C2EA Metro DC Meeting will be Monday, March 5th, 2007 at 6pm. We will meet at the Whitman-Walker Clinic's Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center (1701 R Street, NW). Now is a great time to get involved, so I hope you'll join us.

If you missed the last meeting or you're just coming on board, you can read the minutes from our last meeting here. And of course, if you're not already signed up, please be sure to Join the C2EA Metro DC Yahoo Group

C2EA-MetroDC Update

Campaign to End AIDS Metro DC met last monday and had our best turnout ever for a meeting. C2EA-MetroDC has joined the call to action for an HIV/AIDS state of emergency in DC. We submitted this letter to Mayor Adrian Fenty via snail mail & e-mail which calls for a state of emergency and requests a meeting with the Mayor's office.

You can read the minutes from our last meeting here. And please be sure to join us for our next meeting on February 12th, starting at 6:00 PM at Housing Works (925 15th Street NW, 2nd Floor, McPherson Square Metro).

Members of C2EA-MetroDC will be at various National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Events across the city getting the word out. Dorithia & I will set up a table and hand out info at the The Ward 7 HIV/AIDS Collaborative Reception from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Planned Parenthood Ophelia Egypt Program Center, 3933 Minnesota Avenue, NE. If you'd like to join us, just let me know.

Campaign to End AIDS Meeting on Monday

C2EA-MetroDC will meet Monday, January 29, 2007 at 6pm. We will meet at the Whitman-Walker Clinic’s Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center (1701 R Street, NW) in Conference Room 1, which is on the second floor of the building. Just let the doorperson know you are there for the C2EA Meeting and they will gladly let you in.

You can see minutes from our last meeting right here

C2EA-Metro DC Meeting on Monday January 15th

The next Campaign to End AIDS Metro DC Meeting will take place from 6 pm to 7pm on January 15, 2007 at the offices of Housing Works, 925 15th Street NW, 2nd Floor (at McPhereson Square).

We are just getting started, but I'm very excited at this new wave of local HIV/AIDS activism in the District. Read the minutes from the last meeting here, then be sure to come out and join us on Monday.

Oh, and if you haven't already, Be sure to join the C2EA-MetroDC Yahoo Group

C2EA-MetroDC Meeting on November 8th!

The next Campaign to End AIDS Metro DC (C2EA-MetroDC) meeting takes place Wednesday November 8th starting at 6:30 PM at Regional Addiction Prevention (RAP), Inc.

RAP is located at 1949 4th Street NE and is closest to the Rhode Island Metro Station. If you're coming from the metro: Turn left as you exit the station. Take the stairs (not ramp) down to Rhode Island Avenue. Turn left for two blocks. Turn left onto 4th Street. RAP is in the third block. Look for the purple awning.

We will continue to discuss what we want C2EA-MetroDC to be, building on the consensus statements from our last meeting:

We want to foster civic engagement in HIV/AIDS locally in DC,
particularly among people living with HIV/AIDS.

We want to be a network of concerned individuals and not a network
of organizations.

We would like to do some sort of 'launch event' possibly around
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

What can you do to help make our next meeting a success?

Come to the meeting, and bring a friend!

Let folks know about the new C2EA-MetroDC Yahoo Group, and invite people to join

Read the article in the Washington Blade about the recent DC
Council hearing on AHPP (click here), and be ready to discuss it.

Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday!

The Start of Something Good

Last week a small group of folks got together over at my place to discuss the possibility of a new vision for the Campaign to End AIDS in DC. We talked a about a lot of stuff including school HIV/AIDS programs, HIV/AIDS programs for Women and Children in the District, Stigma, HIV/Meds (and the people who advertise for them), and much more. The common theme however, seemed to be a desire to see a renewed since of civic engagement in the local struggle here in DC. There was a strong desire to see all the diverse communities living with HIV and affected by HIV in this city 100% engaged in all levels of the local fight: in the Community Planning Group, and the DC Public Schools, and the Planning Council, and City Hall, and the voting booth, and much more. I will be posting more about this later in the week, but I'm excited to see we're off to a good start. If you'd like to stay updated on Campaign to End AIDS Metro DC, Please join this yahoo group