I first presented the concept of a World AIDS Day Telethon at a World AIDS Day HIV Awareness Chicago Mayoral Candidates Town Hall hosted by McDermott Haymarket and facilitated by my organization, TransActions, and H.E.R.O. ( Helping to Educate Regarding Orientation ) .
We were not able to launch this in 2011, but hopefully we can mobilize the community to get the word out to HIV-supportive foundations to make World AIDS Day Telethon a reality.
As an African-American MTF transgender I've been perturbed by the lack of funding/resources regarding providing HIV support to the Chicagoland transgender community. Just recently, the Centers for Disease decided not to fund a transgender program, along with a cut in the funding of the CDC-funded TWISTA transgender funds. I know in my heart that the CDC is fully aware of the high HIV/STI prevalence and incidence rates of infection within the transgender community. For the CDC not to fund these transgender HIV interventions to combat new infections is appalling to me. Lives are at stake, young transgender lives.
I attended the National Minority AIDS Council U.S. Conference on AIDS here in Chicago recently, where I met David Furnish, president of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and we had a brief discussion on the topic of promoting a 2012 World AIDS Day Telethon. Furnish was very excited and thought it was an excellent idea. I expressed the importance of bringing back HIV awareness and new funding to help fight the epidemic. I asked him to visualize the idea of a World AIDS Day 2012 event starring Elton John and all his star-studded friends. Furnish was more than excited; at that point he said he "would love to help" and he would talk to Elton John when he got back home regarding topic. I envision all major networks promote the 2012 World AIDS Day Telethon along major cable network: OWN, VH1, and MTV just to name a few.
If this World AIDS Day mobilization effort is successful and new revenue is generated, my hope is that those communities which have the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence and incidence rates will take precedent when allocating the funding. This endeavor will be epic and global. My vision of the World AIDS Day Telethon is a global concert.
Mobilizers can contact the following HIV/AIDS foundations or any others which come to mind in getting the word out regarding a World AIDS Day 2012 Telethon. Get the word out through social media outlet Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. The world is waiting: Elton John AIDS Foundation, Magic Johnson Foundation, American Foundation for AIDS Research, etc.
I'd like to dedicate the community mobilization effort to the legacy Lois Bates.
Joy Morris�is CEO of TransActions,�mzjoy773@yahoo.com or see www.transactionschicago.org .