|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|
|
Valle, leaders urge re-engagement in fight to end AIDS
From a press release
2013-06-12
|
|
This article shared 2068 times since Wed Jun 12, 2013
|
|
Chicago, IL — As the nation marks the opening of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, executive directors from over 35 LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations from across the United States have released a joint letter committing themselves and their organizations to re-engaging the broader LGBT community in the fight against HIV. While issues like marriage equality and employment protections for LGBT workers have taken center stage, HIV continues to ravage the LGBT community. Despite making up just two percent of the population, gay and bisexual men accounted for more than 63 percent of new HIV infections in 2010. In fact, gay men are the only group in which HIV infections are increasing.
"Center on Halsted, and other community centers throughout the country, has a long history of providing care and support services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS," said Modesto Tico Valle, Chief Executive Officer at Center on Halsted. "We each play a vital role in advancing our community, and there is no better time than now to work collectively for a healthy future, free from HIV/AIDS, where LGBTQ people can thrive in supportive inclusive environments."
"We are at an important crossroad in our fight against HIV," said National Minority AIDS Council Executive Director Paul Kawata. "The evidence behind treatment as prevention, and expansions in health care coverage that will accompany implementation of the Affordable Care Act, have provided a unique opportunity to end this epidemic, which has ravaged our community for more than three decades. But this will not happen without the full engagement of those most impacted by the disease, and no community has been more heavily affected than the LGBT community. I am thrilled to be a part of this campaign to re-energize the LGBT response and work together to realize the vision of an AIDS-free generation.
Below is an excerpt from the joint statement:
Over the last 30 years, the [LGBT] community has seen great strides in the movement for full equality. Much of this success is the result of a concerted movement, which was galvanized in response to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s…In the decades since our movement has seen incredible victories… Unfortunately, our community hasn't maintained the same momentum in our fight against HIV…Each day, more than 80 gay and bisexual men become infected with HIV in the United States…Despite these alarming statistics, which have galvanized our community in the past, the HIV epidemic has seemed to fall by the way side. Many in our community have simply stopped talking about the issue. This must change.
The entire letter and accompanying video can be viewed online here: www.wethelgbt.org .
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) represents a coalition of faith based and community based organizations as well as AIDS service organizations advocating and delivering HIV/AIDS services in communities of color nationwide. Since 1987, NMAC has developed leadership in communities of color through a variety of advocacy campaigns, public policy education programs, national conferences, research programs, capacity building, technical assistance and trainings, and digital and electronic resource materials. For more information visit www.nmac.org .
About Center on Halsted
Center on Halsted is the largest, most comprehensive community center in the Midwest dedicated to advancing community and securing the health and well-being of the LGBTQ community in Chicago. For more information, please visit www.centeronhalsted.org .
|
|
|
|
This article shared 2068 times since Wed Jun 12, 2013
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | Reunion Project hosts Chicago town hall for people aging with HIV 2024-04-24 - The Reunion Project is holding a two-day town hall for long-term HIV survivors in Chicago. The town hall will happen 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May 17-18 in Loyola University's Kasbeer Hall, 25 E. Pearson St. It's part ...
|
| | Legislation to increase HIV testing, Linkage to Care Act passes Illinois House with bipartisan vote of 106 2024-04-20 --From a press release - SPRINGFIELD — Thursday night, House Bill 5417, the Connection to HIV Testing and Linkage to Care Act, or the HIV TLC Act, championed by State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) passed the Illinois House of Representatives with ...
|
| | Howard Brown reaches tentative agreement with union after 1.5 years of contentious negotiations 2024-04-18 - Howard Brown Health has reached a tentative agreement with its union, after a year and a half of negotiations that included two workers strikes. The Illinois Nurses Association, which represents about 360 employees at Howard Brown ...
|
| | David E. Munar reflects on Howard Brown leadership and new Columbus, Ohio post 2024-04-11 - On April 1, David E. Munar started his tenure as CEO of the Columbus, Ohio-based non-profit health system Equitas. The date marked the latest chapter for Munar, who previously helmed AIDS Foundation Chicago and, most recently, ...
|
| | RUSH, others receive grant related to HIV prevention for Black women 2024-04-11 --From a press release - CHICAGO — RUSH, in collaboration with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, University of Chicago Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago and Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL), has been awarded ...
|
| | HIV criminal laws disproportionately impact Black men in Mississippi 2024-02-21 --From a press release - A new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that at least 43 people in Mississippi were arrested for HIV-related crimes between 2004 and 2021. Half of all arrests in the state ...
|
| | 'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19 - In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...
|
| | $200,000+ raised at AIDS Foundation Chicago's World of Chocolate Fundraiser to fight HIV/AIDS 2024-02-13 --From a press release - (Chicago, IL) More than 950 guests gathered at Chicago's famed Union Station (500 W. Jackson) for Chicago's Sweetest Fundraiser, AIDS Foundation Chicago's (AFC), World of Chocolate on Friday, February 9. ...
|
| | Munar prepares to step away from Howard Brown leadership 2024-02-11 - After 10 years of leadership at Howard Brown Health, President and CEO David Ernesto Munar has decided to step down from his post on Feb. 29. Munar, who'd previously been president and CEO of AIDS Foundation ...
|
| | National Black Justice Coalition commemorates National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2024-02-07 --From a press release - WASHINGTON — Today, Feb. 7, marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). In commemoration, Dr. David J. Johns, CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), a leading Black LGBTQ+/same-gender ...
|
| | NATIONAL Wis. report, gender dysphoria, HIV research, Stonewall exhibit, gay CEOs 2024-01-19 - A new annual report from Wisconsin's Office of Children's Mental Health shows that the state's minorsespecially girls, children of color and LGBTQ+ youthcontinue to struggle with anxiety, depression and thoughts ...
|
| | WORLD Activist honored, marriages in Estonia, Madrid law, trans sports item 2024-01-05 Video below - The National AIDS Commission (NAC) recently honored Caleb Orozco—a leading figure in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Belize—for his instrumental contributions to the national HIV response, BNN reported. According ...
|
| | SAVOR World of Chocolate, Jaleo and 'Superhot' 2023-12-31 - World of wonder: I am excited to announce that I will be a judge at AIDS Foundation Chicago's World of Chocolate fundraiser! Join me in sampling delicious chocolate from local chefs and help support a great ...
|
| | PASSAGES Frankie Franklin-Foxx 2023-12-18 - Frankie Franklin-Foxx (born Waverlynn Franklin), a resident of Chicago's North Side, passed away peacefully Dec. 13 at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. She was 68. Born at Cook County Hospital, Frankie graduated from South Shore High ...
|
| | NATIONAL Dr. Rachel Levine, World AIDS Day, trans deaths, Philly bar art 2023-12-08 - United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Liles C. Burke ruled that emails and other records from U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine are relevant to a lawsuit challenging Alabama's ban ...
| |
|
|
|
|