01.04 Newsletter.REV - AIDS Action Committee

WINTER 2004 • VOLUME 19, NO. 1
AIDS Action has been
chosen to conduct field
interviews for a Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention study of
sexual and drug-using
behavior among gay and
bisexual men. Boston is
one of 15 cities nationwide where the study is
being carried out.
The initiative, dubbed the Men’s Health Survey, will last for one
year. The information gathered will be used to develop strategies for
federally funded HIV prevention programs targeting men who have sex
with men.
According to the CDC, HIV infections among gay and bisexual men
rose 17 percent nationally between 1999 and 2002 while infections
overall rose 5 percent in those same years. A sharp increase in syphilis cases among gay and bisexual men in Massachusetts over the last
several years also worries prevention authorities as it may indicate an
increase in unsafe sexual behaviors that can transmit HIV.
“In the long term, the information we compile will help target
prevention programs for men who have sex with men so that they are
as effective as possible,” says Survey Supervisor Chris Wittke. “In
the short term, we’ll be able to gather information on how gay and
bisexual men in and around Boston are behaving so that we can focus
our existing interventions in ways that they will do the most good.”
Nationally, the survey administration is overseen by ABT Associates,
one of the largest for-profit government and business research and
consulting firms in the world. The other cities being targeted include
Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San
Juan and Washington.
“We’ve spent the last couple of months identifying venues where at
least 3/4 of the clientele are men who have sex with men,” explains
Wittke. “We’ll be selecting from these places at random and visiting
them over the next 12 months. At the end of the year, we hope to have
500 in-depth snapshots of Boston-area men that tell us about their
sexual, social and drug-using behaviors.”
continued on page 7
Men’s Health Survey staffers Brandon Meredith, Chris Wittke, Donyne Cowan and
Dean Dillon (from left to right).
WWW.AAC.ORG GETS UPDATE
Director’s Desk
p2
State Budget Update
p2
New Boomerangs Opens
p3
20th Anniversary Dinner
Coverage
p4
Upcoming Events
p5
How to Volunteer
p7
If you’ve visited AIDS Action’s online home, www.aac.org, over the
last couple of months you’ve probably noticed a big change. That’s
because the site went through an extensive redesign with the help of
Boston-area web designer Tim Stevenson and the web content
management firm, Convio.
The new site is designed to be more informative, accessible, useful
and interactive.
“The new website allows us to keep in touch with our supporters and
constituents and to more effectively provide them with information they
can use to help themselves and their families and also to help us advance
the battle against HIV and AIDS,” says AIDS Action’s Executive Director
Rebecca Haag.
Visitors to www.aac.org are now able to set up an account so they can
automatically receive items of interest. They can register to be a part of
AIDS Action’s newly enhanced Cyberaction network and receive action
alerts on important public policy initiatives. They can also talk to a live
counselor via the new Online Hotline; search the HIV Health Library for
information on living with HIV and the medications used to treat it; find
out about upcoming events; and donate money to support AAC programs
and services.
The site is constantly updated with the latest news on HIV/AIDS, information on important upcoming dates and events and happenings at other
AIDS service organizations.
“Our goal is to keep the sight fresh so that people have a reason to
keep returning. Like any of the agency’s programs, we want our web
presence to reach as many people as possible as often as possible,” says
Haag. “Like the old adage says, ‘knowledge is power.’ That’s especially
true when it comes to this disease.”
Director’s Desk
Dear Friends,
We enter the New Year with a renewed
sense of hope. We faced many challenges
in 2003: infection rates were up particularly
among our young people, state resources for
services to people infected with HIV continued to
shrink (down almost 40%), and an estimated 7000 people
in Massachusetts are infected and do not know it. And yet,
“Hope springs eternal”. Why?
Despite our difficulties or maybe because of them, there
is a new spirit of commitment and cooperation among
those of us dedicated to ending this epidemic and providing necessary services to those suffering as a result of this
terrible disease. All during this past year, AAC joined with its
supporters, partners, and clients in commemorating twenty
years of battling HIV/AIDS. Through a series of community
events, we celebrated our successes and remembered those
who we lost. In all of this, we gained a valuable insight. We
have many, many allies and supporters in this battle.
The sharing of memories and experiences, made us realize that we can succeed if we stand together and rebuild a
sense of community around HIV/AIDS. There is a new spirit
of collaboration and cooperation among the AIDS service
organizations and our funding partners. We have been
working together to find new ways to serve our clients and
still maintain prevention programs despite the widespread
funding cuts. We are working together to ensure that this
Administration and the Legislature do not reduce funding
further and jeopardize the public health of the citizens of the
Commonwealth.
We are also very encouraged by the prospect that the
Legislature may finally pass a rational public health policy
on clean needle access. Mayor Menino has demonstrated
great leadership in this area, and is publicly advocating for
legislation that would allow clean needles to be purchased at
a pharmacy. “Pharmacy Access” legislation has been filed
by Representative Marty Walsh and Senator Robert O’Leary.
Hearings are scheduled for late January. Since 41% of
people currently living with HIV were infected through needle use this
would be a major step toward reducing new infections.
Massachusetts is one of only four states that still requires prescriptions for the sale of needles. The American Medical Association, the
American Public Health Association, the American Bar Association,
and the U.S. Conference of Mayors all support access to sterile syringes. On December 2, 2003, there was a supportive editorial in The
Boston Globe. It stated, “Legislation of syringe purchases deserves
especially high priority at a time when state budget cuts have forced
reductions in other AIDS prevention programs. . . The Legislature
should take the mayor’s advice and legalize over-the-counter purchase of needles.”
This is our number one public policy priority at AAC in 2004. We
are leading a statewide task force to ensure passage. Please help.
You can make a difference by registering to be part of our Action
Alert at www.aac.org. Contact your senator and representative to
register your support for this important legislation.
Our work with our clients is also a source of hope. Despite the
odds, these folks continue every day in their struggle to survive. The
medications often cause serious side affects and many need transportation, housing and nutritional support in additional to consistent
medical care. And yet, they persevere.
In December, staff of AAC started a new program for long term
survivors. Over lunch, survivors shared their stories, challenges, and
hope. They helped each other. They realized that others were having
similar challenges with certain medications, had suffered set backs,
were looking for jobs. Most importantly, they learned that they were
not alone. As peers they were able to help each other in unique ways.
These individuals are now meeting regularly and other groups are
being formed.
So we at AAC enter the New Year with hope in our hearts and a
renewed sense of community, commitment, and collaboration. We
thank you for all of your support and look forward to working with you
to achieve new successes in 2004.
We wish you and your families a New Year filled with love, laughter
and peace.
With warm regards,
Rebecca Haag
Executive Director
Public Policy Update
By Magnolia Contreras, Director of Public Policy and Community Relations
The Fiscal Year (FY) ‘05 state
budget process is already underway. Governor Romney’s budget
proposal, known as House 1,
is scheduled to be released on
January 28th. Subsequently, the
House and then the Senate will
introduce, debate and pass their
versions of the budget. Following
a Conference Committee where
the House and Senate work out
the differences in their budgets,
the final version of the legislature’s
budget proposal, the Conference
Committee Report, will go to the
AIDS Action Update is a
quarterly publication of the:
AIDS Action Committee
of Massachusetts, Inc.
294 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Tel: (617) 437-6200
TTY: (617) 437.1394
Fax: (617) 437-6445
www.aac.org
Governor for his signature or veto.
In the case of a veto, the legislature will decide whether to accept
the veto or to attempt to override
it. The goal is a final budget signed
by July 1, 2004. It is important
that we in the AIDS advocacy community let our lawmakers know the
importance of adequate funding
for AIDS prevention and service
programs EARLY and OFTEN in
this process!
The AIDS line in the state budget has been cut by 37% since FY
’01, when it was funded at $51.1
million. This year the line item was
funded at just $32 million. That
translates into $19 million less in
funding available for prevention,
for counseling and testing, for HIV
specialty services and for crucial
support services to help people
adhere to their treatment regimens. In addition, more rigorous
income standards were implemented by HIV Masshealth, which
provides health coverage to low
income people living with HIV.
What has been lost in the last
three years? Over 100 HIV positive
Rebecca Haag
Executive Director
Louise Rice
Acting Director of Prevention Programs
Larry Kessler
Founding Director
Fernando Salguera
Director of Administration and Finance
Steve Balfour
Director of Events
Susan Tannehil
Director of Programs
Carola Cadley
Director of Development
Chris Viveiros
Associate Director for Communications
Magnolia Contreras
Director of Public Policy & Community Relations
Blackcoffee
Design
Lynley Rappaport
Director of Programs
Mass Web Printing
Printing
people lost their MassHealth coverage. 16,000 HIV tests have not
been performed. Specialty care
services including health center
and home health care programs
have been reduced or eliminated.
Thousands have lost crucial client
support services such as nutrition,
transportation and respite care.
Prevention services targeting youth
and people with substance abuse
problems have been eliminated.
What is most alarming about
these cuts is the fact that the
numbers of people living with HIV
Contributing writers:
Tammy Goodhue, Rebecca Haag,
Larry Kessler, Alison Kirchgasser,
Chris Viveiros, Rob Wilson
The AIDS Action Committee of
Massachusetts is a not-for-profit
organization whose mission is to
stop the epidemic by preventing
new HIV infections and optimizing
the health of those already infected.
and AIDS in the state continues
to increase. The Department of
Public Health reports that there
are 14,564 known to be living
with HIV/AIDS in Massachusetts
and estimates that there are an
additional 7,000 people who are
infected but do not know it.
With no vaccine and no cure for
AIDS, preventing new infections is
our strongest weapon against this
disease. Prevention and education
programs must be a priority as we
are seeing infection rates rising
among such groups as young
people and people 50 and over.
Counseling and testing services
are crucial to reduce the large
number of people unaware of their
positive status. Once people are
aware of their status is it important
for them to begin treatment immediately and to stay in treatment.
Delays or interruptions in HIV
treatment can lead to higher viral
loads and to increasing strains of
drug resistant HIV. In some areas
of the state at least 20 percent of
new infections are resident strains
of HIV.
Project ABLE (AIDS Budget
Legislative Effort), a coalition of
AIDS organizations, advocates and
people living with HIV, is recommending that:
• $4 million be restored to the AIDS
line item (DPH 4512-0103) in
FY’05. This would restore funding
to a total of $36 million.
20 YEARS OF STRUGGLE AGAINST HIV/AIDS
by James Carroll
STILL HERE
A LOOK BACK AT 20 YEARS
By Larry Kessler,
Founding Director
January 2004 marks the
end of AIDS Action’s 20th
Anniversary Commemoration
and I thought it would be
fitting to end my look back
at those 20 years with the
column reprinted below.
Originally published in the
December 2, 2003 edition of
The Boston Globe, this piece
by James Carroll offers a
heartfelt reflection on the last
20 years of the epidemic and
takes a thoughtful look at
what has changed and what
has remained the same.
Writing this column over
the past year has allowed
me a chance to reflect on
the many incredible people
that have been a part of
this work. I hope you have
enjoyed this look back and
I hope you will continue to
support us as we work toward a time when AIDS is but
a distant memory.
In 1988, the world health organization designated Dec.
1 as World AIDS Day, and since then the first week of this
month has been a time of special reflection on what this disease is doing to the human family. In the United States, lately, our
thoughts have been somewhat confused. Since 1996, when a treatment
breakthrough occurred with the introduction of “protease inhibitors,” death
rates have so dramatically declined that AIDS seems less urgent than
before. There is still no vaccine, no cure, but “living with AIDS” has, thankfully, become the watchword.
In Boston, one of the most admirable AIDS organizations in the country,
the AIDS Action Committee, is observing its 20th anniversary. The committee’s founding director, Larry Kessler, recalls, “Few people under 40
know or remember just how rough those early days were, when a diagnosis of AIDS meant one could count on a series of opportunistic infections
and a gradual and steady decline that was painful, lonely, and most often
fatal.” Since then, in part because of the work of groups like the AAC, the
typical course of the disease has changed, but so has society.
That AIDS no longer generates a universal morbid dread, leading to
panic and denial, is a good thing. Such responses made things worse. Gay
men, in particular, were demonized. Yet gay men took the lead in responding with courage and hope. A culture of safer sex was created, together
with a broad-based educational approach that changed behaviors and
attitudes. That homosexuals have made such strides in demanding and
receiving full civil rights in this society has been a byproduct of the forthright nobility that marked the gay community’s response to the tragedy of
what was first dubbed “gay pneumonia.”
But changing attitudes and behaviors had political implications, as well
as intimate ones. Effective advocacy in the public arena and in the world
of health care led to breakthroughs in funding, in medical practice, and in
levels of research. The disease moved along the fault lines of society, with
marginalized groups particularly vulnerable. To respond to HIV/ AIDS, soon
enough, was to respond to broad structures of injustice.
As the narrow definitions of “risk group” were expanded, the stigmas
attached not only to homosexuality and bisexuality, but to IV drug use, and
even poverty, were themselves confronted as part of the problem. Moralizing gave way to empathy. A profound shift occurred not only in medical
practice, but in thinking. And why shouldn’t we have been encouraged?
But the grip of the insidious disease never let up. As dread decreased,
so did vigilance about safer sex, and infection rates began to climb, espe-
cially among the young for whom the early traumas of AIDS were remote.
Crucial public programs to provide needle-exchanges for addicts, a proven
way to stem the spread of the virus, were not followed up on. And, especially in a time of tight budgets, funding for AIDS services, education, and
research have all been cut.
The result is a new picture of HIV/ AIDS in the United States that
should obliterate complacency. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released figures that show that HIV infections climbed
by more than 5 percent between 1999 and 2002, with the increase
among Hispanics at 17 percent. More than 850,000 Americans have
HIV, and every year that number grows by 40,000 - many of whom do
not know they are infected.
If the disease is proving so dogged here, why should we be surprised
that it continues to devastate regions of the world that lack American
resources? The mind blurs when the subject turns to AIDS in Africa, where
the toll is impossible to grasp. Last week, UNICEF released a report that
put the number of AIDS orphans in sub-Sahara at 11 million, a number
expected to rise to 20 million by 2010 - “the last will and testament” of a
country’s economic survival, as one UN official put it. The disease is on a
global rampage.
Without resuming panic and morbid dread, can we return to our former
urgency about AIDS?
Funding for treatment, education, and research, both at home and
abroad, can simply not be regarded as one more line item on public budgets. Getting clean needles to IV drug users must be a public health priority. As Mayor Menino suggested last Friday, that means in Massachusetts
legalizing over-the-counter purchase of syringes. The teaching of safer sex
in schools, with condom availability, must be reinvigorated. Full funding of
service agencies like the AIDS Action Committee must be restored. Research efforts toward a vaccine must be redoubled. And America’s relationship to the world, especially Africa, should be defined by our readiness to
commit wealth and knowledge to caring for the infected and protecting the
uninfected. Twenty years on, the struggle against HIV/AIDS has just begun.
Republished with permission of Globe Newspaper Company from The
Boston Globe, Volume 264, Number 155, December 2, 2003; permission
conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
The Boston Globe can be found online at www.boston.com
• the income limit for the HIV
MassHealth program be restored
to 200% of the federal poverty
level from its current limit of
150% of poverty.
• the HIV MassHealth enrollment
limits, which were placed on the
program during the FY’04 budget, be eliminated. (These caps
have not yet been implemented.)
AIDS Action will work closely
with Project ABLE throughout the
budget process. We will place Action Alerts on the Advocacy Page of
our website (www.aac.org) whenever it is necessary for advocates to
contact legislators. Join CyberAction (a link to join is on the home
page of the AAC website) to be
automatically notified when a new
Action Alert is placed on the site.
AIDS Action Hotline: (800) 235.2331
Hotline TTY: (617) 437.1672
Hepatitis C Hotline: (888) 443.HEPC
If you are interested in finding out
about volunteer opportunities, please
call the Volunteer Information Line at
(617) 450.1235.
Printed on recycled paper.
© 2004 the AIDS Action Committee
NEW BOOMERANGS OPENS IN BRIGHTON
AIDS Action opened a second
branch of our celebrated Boomerangs resale store in Brighton
this past November (the first one
is located on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain). Soon after, the store
was featured in an Allston-Brighton
Tab story on places to shop for
holiday gifts by staff writer Josh B.
Waldrop. We here at Update felt
Waldrop hit the nail on the head
in his description and
asked the Tab for permission to reprint
it below:
The first stop on my
Christmas quest was
one of Brighton’s newest businesses, a thrift
store called Boomerangs (298
Washington St.). The shop features
both used and unused items,
and boasts the sort of variety one
would expect from a thrift shop
- “a little bit of everything,” according to co-manager Joe Haley.
A good chunk of the inventory is
given over to women’s clothes, but
shoppers will be happy to know
that “women’s clothes” doesn’t
mean turquoise polyester pantsuits or other “vintage” delights.
Instead, I found women’s leather
boots, Gap jeans, tech vests, and
other jackets and shirts from labels
such as Structure, Chaps Ralph
Lauren and Eddie Bauer, most only
slightly worn and all reasonably
priced ($5 for pants and shirts
and $6 for shoes). And, of course,
there were plenty of funkier styles
and shapes that would fit my hipster little sister like a glove.
I also found some great stuff in
the book and record section of the
store. (Yes, that’s right, records
- those black vinyl things that you
play with a needle.) For my friends
that still stubbornly refuse to let the
good old days die, I found great
1970s selections such as Boz
Scaggs’ “Silk Degrees” and Steely
Dan’s “Pretzel Logic” for only $1
apiece. I also grabbed the paperback “Murder at Fenway Park” - a
mystery set in 1912 - for my buddy
Mike, combining his dual passions
of history and baseball.
The best part? Boomerangs is
run by the AIDS Action Committee,
as is its Jamaica Plain location. “All
merchandise is donated from private individuals and companies,”
says Haley, “and 100 percent of
the profits goes to AIDS charities.”
The new Boomerangs is located
at 298 Washington Street in
Brighton Center and is open
10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday
through Saturday and noon to 6
p.m. on Sundays. For more information or directions to the store,
call 617.787.0500. The Jamaica
Plain Boomerangs is located at
716 Centre Street and can be
contacted at 617.524.5120.
The Allston-Brighton Tab
can be found online at
www.townonline.com/allston/
AIDS ACTION’S 20 ANNIVERSARY
COMMEMORATIVE DINNER
TH
2
3
4
1. AIDS Action Committee Board Member Bryan Simmons reads from a letter
written by Magic Johnson to the first
President Bush
4. AIDS Action’s
2. John Hancock Financial Services
Executive Director
Vice President and Chief Counsel
Rebecca Haag with
Wayne Budd accepts the company’s
Harold Cox, former
AIDS Action Spirit Award from AAC
Director of Client Services
Founding Director Larry Kessler
at AIDS Action currently serving as
3. Videographer Jay Barry and his wife
Shaun, Boston Globe television critic
Chief Public Health Officer for the
City of Cambridge
and CEO, Jackie Jenkins-Scott;
Four hundred people turned out for AIDS Action’s 20th Anniversary
Commemorative Dinner on October 1, 2003. Held at the Avalon nightclub
on Lansdowne Street in Boston, the event featured performances by the
Gay Men’s Chorus, Morningstar Baptist Church’s All God’s Children Inspirational Choir and soloist Dana Whiteside from the Trinity Church.
Spirit of AIDS Action Awards, recognizing courage, care, compassion
and commitment to community in the fight against AIDS, were given to
John Hancock Financial Services; Fenway Community Health Center’s
Dr. Kenneth Mayer; Dimock Community
5
Health Center President and CEO Jackie
Jenkins-Scott; and Margaret Sullivan,
former AIDS Action Committee board
member and founder of the Everybody’s
Business fundraiser.
AIDS Action Committee board member Dennis Duffy and Margaret Sullivan
served as co-chairs of the event which
raised $250,000 to support programs and
services at AIDS Action.
AIDS Action would like to extend special
thanks to the event chairs and committee and to presenting sponsors Harvard
Pilgrim Healthcare Foundation and
FleetBoston Financial. AIDS Action
would also like to thank the performers who donated their time, as
6 well as the Lyons Group, Rafanelli
Events, Korn Design, Be Our Guest,
Max Ultimate Food, Shreve Crump
& Lowe, Spruce Flowers and United
Liquors as well as the many AIDS
Action staff and volunteers who helped
make the event possible
To get involved in the planning of the upcoming Week of Prayer, please
contact Who Touched Me Ministry’s Robin Fuller at [email protected]
or 617.450.1646.
Director Larry Kessler and Executive
5. Treasurer of AIDS Action’s Board and
Director Rebecca Haag; Dr. Ken Mayer,
6. Event co-chairs Margaret Sullivan
of Public Policy and Community Rela-
John Hancock Financial Services Ex-
Medical Research Director at the Fen-
and Dennis Duffy
tions Magnolia Contreras and Gilbert’s
ecutive Vice President and Chief Invest-
way Community Health Center; and
partner Tom McNaught, AIDS Action’s
ment Officer John DeCiccio; Dimock
Wayne Budd, Executive Vice President
former Director of Communications.
Community Health Center President
and Chief Counsel at Hancock
Photos: Marilyn Humphries
2003 SCOTT RIKLIN
MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT
While 2002’s Scott Riklin Memorial Golf Tournament was plagued by
monsoon-like conditions, the golf gods were smiling on June 10, 2003
as fifty plus participants teed up for the seventh annual event at the
Franklin Park Golf Course.
Nine under par won it for perennial powerhouse team McVeigh Electric and prizes were awarded and raffle drawings held during the Texas
BBQ, with almost everyone going home with something.
Special thanks to this year’s hole sponsors: NUTop Countertop
Company, New England Homecrafters, Inc., Devon Lumber, Direct
Tire, Ellen Hoffman and Ken Loveday, Barry Rosenburg, Auburndale
Cooperative Bank, Jackson Glass, Kal Kuban and Annette Rubin, National Lumber, Sam O’Reilly of First Financial Mortgage Company, AAA
Appliances, Mal Elfman’s Carpeting, Ed and Nancy Kleiman, Mahoney
O’Rourke Insurance Company, Gallinelli Plumbing, Signori Construction, Senibaldi Contracting Corp., Dr. Roy Baker, O.D., Commonwealth
Resources and Clarity Tiling.
Planning for the next tournament, being held on June 17, 2004
at Juniper Hills Golf Course, is already underway. If you would like
to enter a team or want more information, please call Jeff Riklin at
617.641.9786.
BOSTON BLACK CHURCHES
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR THE HEALING OF AIDS
March 7 – 13, 2004
Boston’s 14th annual Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS will take
place the week of March 7, 2004. Here in Massachusetts, African-Americans account for more than 25 percent of HIV/AIDS cases while making
up about 5 percent of the state’s total population. AIDS is the leading
cause of death among African-American men and women aged 25 to 44
in the United States.
During the Week of Prayer, black churches throughout greater Boston
will dedicate their sermons to the topic of HIV and AIDS. The week kicks
off with the annual Week of Prayer Gospel Concert where the Belynda A.
Dunn Award for Courage, named in honor of the late Who Touched Me
Ministry founder, will be given.
The annual event is organized by the Who Touched Me Ministry and
co-sponsored by AIDS Action Committee, the Multicultural AIDS Coalition
and the New England HIV Education Consortium.
Sponsored nationally by the Balm in Gilead, the annual Week of Prayer
program is the nation’s largest HIV/AIDS awareness program aimed at
African-Americans, and emphasizes the need for black churches to help
in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
AIDS Action Committee Founding
Matthew Gilbert, AIDS Action’s Director
AIDS Action’s HIV Health Institute hosted HIV and Corrections: Inside and Out, a conference for
front-line social service providers, correction workers, former inmates and people living with HIV on
Friday, December 5, 2003. The event at the Radisson Hotel in Marlborough drew more than 100 people
interested in increasing their knowledge, awareness and understanding of HIV infection in correctional
and post-correctional settings.
The percentage of prison inmates known to be HIV-positive is four times that of the general population
and the high concentration of persons infected or at risk for HIV, combined with gaps in treatment and
prevention services for inmates and ex offenders, presents important challenges and opportunities.
Highlights of the conference included discussions on bridging the gap between public health care and the
corrections system, prevention for incarcerated women, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in
prison, challenges of providing services to multi-diagnosed inmates and connecting inmates with community
services. Faculty included Tom Conklin, MD, Director of Health Services at the Hampden County Correctional
Center; Anne DeGroot, Founder and Chief Editor of the HIV Education/Prison Project Report; and Rick Altice,
MD, Director of the HIV in Prisons Program at the Yale University School of Medicine.
The conference was sponsored by Abbot Laboratories, Agouron/Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
and GlaxoSmithKline. The New England HIV Education Consortium, HEPP, Massachusetts Department of
Public Health, SPAN and Centerforce all joined AIDS Action as planning partners.
For more information on future HIV Health Institute events and conferences, contact Eric Brus at
617.450.1454 or visit www.aac.org
HASTY PUDDING THEATRICALS PERFORMANCE
TO BENEFIT AIDS ACTION COMMITTEE
March 16, 2004
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals of Harvard University invites AIDS
Action supporters to its 8th annual Charity Night at the Pudding, a
special performance of As the Word Turns benefiting AIDS Action
Committee of Massachusetts
The Hasty Pudding Theatricals is the oldest theatrical company in North
America and includes J.P. Morgan, Theodore Roosevelt and Jack Lemmon among its alumni. At its core, the Pudding show is a no-holds-barred
student-written musical comedy with an all-male cast performing both the
male and female roles.
Continuing a long tradition of witty, pun-tastic, and unabashed musical
extravaganzas, HPT has outdone itself yet again with its 156th production,
As the Word Turns. Follow characters like Lynn Guist, Graham Uhr and
Rich Bas’Tard as they try to out spell each other at every turn to win the
coveted title of Ultimate Spelling Bee Champion - a big deal in their whimsical land where letters are king.
The event is being held at The Hasty Pudding Theatre, Harvard University 10 Holyoke St., Cambridge and tickets are $25. The HPT box office at
12 Holyoke Street will open in early February for ticket sales. To purchase
tickets before February, please leave your name and telephone number at
(617) 495-5205 and a sales agent will return your call as soon as possible. Ticket Sales Managers, Burden Walker and Charles Worthington can
be contacted via email with questions at [email protected] and
[email protected].
15TH ANNUAL BAYARD RUSTIN COMMUNITY BREAKFAST
April 24, 2004
Every year, hundreds of politicians, community leaders, activists, and
religious leaders from Boston’s gay communities of color and their friends
attend AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts’ Bayard Rustin Community Breakfast at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Dorchester.
The theme of the upcoming Breakfast, being held April 24, 2004, is
An HIV “Positive” Report: Action in the Face of Complacency.
While people of color account for only 18 percent of the state’s population, they make up 59 percent of those recently diagnosed with HIV. The
Centers for Disease Control and prevention have found that nearly onethird of young, gay Black men in the U.S. are HIV-positive, as are nearly
fourteen percent of young, gay Latino men.
This year’s keynote speaker is Massachusetts state senator Jarret
Barrios. There will also be entertainment by local performers.
The Bayard Rustin Community Breakfast was founded by the AIDS
Action Committee as an HIV/AIDS awareness forum for gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender, and questioning communities of color and their
family and friends to be informed, affirmed and empowered in the face of
the continuing AIDS crisis and to recognize the key role they play in ending the epidemic. The breakfast is co-sponsored by the John F. Kennedy
Library & Museum, where it is held free and is open to the public.
For more information on the upcoming Breakfast or to get involved
in planning it, call the Bayard Rustin Community Breakfast Hotline at
617.450.1644 or email [email protected].
upcoming events
1
2004
Taste of the South End
March 16, 2004
This year AIDS Action
will be hosting The Taste
of the South End on
March 16, 2004 at the Boston Center for the Arts on Tremont Street. Last
year’s event was a great success and included more than 30 of the South
End’s most popular restaurants and eateries as well as a half dozen wineries. Some of the participating restaurants included: Aquitaine, Bomboa,
Davio’s, Hamersley’s Bistro, Masa, Metropolis Café, Pho Republique,
Rouge, and Tremont 647.
Last year, 500 people attended The Taste and enjoyed the musical
entertainment and silent auction, which included gift certificates from
many of the participating restaurants. Mark your calendars now and plan
on coming to the 2004 Taste of the South End on Tuesday, March 16th
to sample food from some of Boston’s best restaurants and mingle with
your friends and neighbors.
For more information about the Taste of the South End, visit
www.aacevents.org or call 617.450.1527.
SAVE THE DATE! AIDS WALK & 5K RUN
June 6, 2004
The 19th Annual AIDS Walk & 5K Run to raise money for AIDS services
and programs will be held on Sunday, June 6, 2004. Call 617.424.WALK
to sign up yourself or a team to walk or run or to learn how you can volunteer to help make this year’s Walk & Run a success!
A message to our friends:
Do You Need to be Needed?
Volunteer Opportunities
Do you have great listening and communications
skills? Are you comfortable talking about sex and
drug use without passing
judgment? Then come
work on AIDS Action’s
two statewide anonymous
Hotlines in Client Services. Be part of a team
that has provided information, support and referrals
on HIV risks, testing and
treatment to three quarters of a million people
since 1983. Make a dent
in the Hepatitis C epidemic by taking calls on our
new statewide bilingual
Hepatitis C Hotline. Both
Hotlines especially need
daytime volunteers.
Outreach volunteers in AIDS Action’s MSM (Men who have
Sex with Men) Action Program hand out prevention materials and
information at special events or one of several area bars and clubs.
Hand out condoms and safer sex information, make friends and
enjoy a fun social setting while making a difference. We seek those
who are straight, trans, gay, male, female, bisexual, questioning,
etc., who want to be part of a colorful and fun program proven to
prevent the spread of HIV/ AIDS and other STDs. Bar volunteers
must be 21 years of age or older.
If you are an attorney, you can use your skills to help people living with HIV maintain control of their personal affairs and exercise
their legal rights as part of our Legal Task Force. The Task Force
provides information and free legal services to AIDS Action’s clients
in the areas of estate planning, bankruptcy, private and public disability benefits appeals, guardianship, and landlord-tenant issues.
STATEWIDE HIV/AIDS HOTLINE
NOW ONLINE
As more and more people turn to the internet to find information about HIV, the AIDS Action Committee’s Hotline will be
available online to provide that information. Since this past World
AIDS Day (December 1), AIDS Action’s Hotline program has been
accessible from our website.
Boomerangs, AIDS Action’s resale stores, are seeking volunteers
for a variety of fun and rewarding opportunities during store hours.
Volunteers can help assist shoppers and donors on the sales floor;
work behind the scenes by processing daily donations; assist with
store displays, windows and merchandising; or provide vital administrative support. There is something for everyone at Boomerangs
Brighton and Jamaica Plain, so join our team!
People interested in working in a group setting should consider
AIDS Action’s ongoing administrative support groups, the Tappers
and Wranglers. The Tappers meet Tuesday evenings, the Wranglers
meet Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. Both groups support
various departments by working on mass mailings and other administrative tasks. A three-month commitment is required for administrative group volunteers.
The hope is to reach out to people who are interested in asking
questions but are more comfortable using a computer than a
telephone to do that. These people can now anonymously ask a
live Hotline Counselor any HIV or Hepatitis C-related questions
over an instant messenger program on our website and receive
personalized answers. During those times when no counselor is
available, people will have the opportunity to leave an email message for a counselor to respond to later.
AIDS Action’s events department can always use volunteers to
help with its major fundraising events, The AIDS Walk & 5K Run,
bike ride, Yuletide Stride Road Race and Taste of the South End.
Day and Evening volunteer positions are available preparing for
these events and helping out the day of.
For information about volunteer opportunities at AIDS Action, contact Deb Fournier at 617.450.1315 or email [email protected]
volunteer profile
If you would like to try our new online Hotline,
go to the Hotlines page of our website at
http://www.aac.org/site/PageServer?pagename=help_hotlines
and click on the Hotline Online button on the right side of the
page. To reach our hotline by phone, dial 800.235.2331
from anywhere in the state of Massachusetts.
Tim Stevenson
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Tim Stevenson, I’m 35 years old and I live in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. I am a designer by trade who has
been a creative director, music video director, and graphic
and web designer for local ad agencies as well as my own. I
have done work for Volkswagen, Hummer, Neiman Marcus,
Atlantic Records. Currently, I have a company known as
GDG (gritty design group) at www.gritty.com. We specialize
in graphic design, web design, as well as Flash and video
presentations. I can be reached at [email protected]
Tell us how you got involved with AAC and how you put your
web design skills to work for us.
I was looking for an opportunity that would allow me to
give back to the community in some way. I had just finished
a corporate gig and my good friend had just started consulting on AIDS Action’s new website redesign and redeployment
and asked if I’d be willing to volunteer on creating the new
look and feel of the site. Being the extremely persuasive person that he is, he convinced me this would be a great design
challenge and a noble contribution. So I signed up.
We worked together on trying to create a virtual AIDS
Action. We wanted to create an online experience that was
functional, easy to use and also captured the heart and soul
of the agency. I care about doing great work, and the AIDS
Action website allowed me the freedom to do that. Once I
got to know more about the extent of AIDS Action’s programs
and services, this project also became a part of a cause I was
happy to be committed to.
Why should other people with special professional skills to
offer get involved with AIDS Action?
Morally its always nice to put your skills to use in other
ways that don’t include making money. AIDS Action is an
amazing place that truly appreciates the contributions and
time you put in. And you can go to bed at night knowing you
did something, in some small way, to help.
Any final thoughts?
As an avid biker, I now want to get more involved in AAC’s
events such as the bike ride this Summer. Maybe they will let
me do that site too!
Happy New Year! I hope this year brings health and happiness
to each one of you. As we begin the New Year, I want to take a
moment to thank you. Because of your generosity, we have been
able to help the thousands of men, women and children who rely
on our services every day of the year. Services that provide shelter,
food, transportation, and complete case management for people
living with HIV/AIDS as well as services that provide a voice of
prevention and political action around HIV/AIDS issues that affect
our entire community.
5 Star Travel’s Community Share
Program benefits AIDS Action
We often receive comments from thoughtful and grateful clients
and we thought this would be a good time to share a few of them
with you.
AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts was awarded 5 Star
Travel’s “Community Share Program” for the second half of 2003.
The Program, created by and managed by 5 Star Travel, donates a
portion of each travel booking to a different non-profit during each
designated period.
The program to date has raised more than $35,000 and this year
AIDS Action was selected to receive money from 5 Star Travel bookings that were made from July – December 2003. Past recipients
have included Fenway Community Health Center, GLAD, and The
Boston Living Center.
AIDS Action would like to thank 5 Star Travel for their support and
recognition of the work we do.
“I was amazed such an organization existed—I
felt such a great sense of relief.”
“I walked through the doors of AIDS Action
Committee an incomplete person; I asked for
help...what I got was so much more.”
“AIDS Action was available to me when I needed to make major changes in my life.”
Men’s Health Survey
continued from page 1
All of the data collected will be
held in a secure location, only accessible by project staff, to protect
the confidentiality of survey participants. At the end of the project
year, the data will be transmitted
along with the data from the 14
other participating cities to ABT
Associates which will analyze the
information and compile it into a
useful format for the CDC.
“It’s incredibly gratifying for
AIDS Action to be selected to
spearhead this initiative in the
Boston area,” says AIDS Action
Executive Director Rebecca Haag.
“AIDS Action makes me feel like I belong in the
world. The staff has led me in so many positive
directions that I now feel I have control.”
“We’ll be collecting information
that will help us design more effective prevention programs.”
“At the same time, we’ll be taking an active role in shaping prevention strategies in this country
for years to come,” Haag continues. “I have the utmost confi dence in the ability of the staff
we’ve assigned to this project to
carry it out with the integrity and
forethought necessary to ensure
its success.”
At the end of the year, Haag
thinks the agency will be wellpositioned to carry out the next
phase of the survey project, focusing on intravenous drug users.
“We’ve trained our people and
created the infrastructure to support this sort of intense survey
work,” says Haag. “I think we’ll
be in a very good place to carry
out the next arm of the survey
and then to hopefully continue
with the project for as long as the
CDC feels the work is valuable
and informative.”
“Thank you. It is so nice to come to a place
where someone will listen to you and help you
without judging you.”
“I’ve called the hotline before; the staff is always
calm, supportive and very knowledgeable—
thank you.”
“AIDS Action and the staff at the HIV Treatment
Library helped make me feel less adrift when I
arrived at my doctor’s office.”
“After losing my son to AIDS, I became a volunteer at AIDS Action. At first, I was too sad to do
much. But in this healing environment, I began
to work out my pain and see what I could do to
help others.”
These are just a few of the comments we receive on a regular
basis. I wanted to share them with you because you are as much
responsible for the good work we do as our dedicated staff. Your
gifts make our work possible.
These are challenging times for AIDS service organizations. HIV
infections are once again on the rise, and funding sources have
been cut. There are a number of ways you can support AIDS Action
in its mission to care for those already infected and halt the spread
of AIDS here in Massachusetts.
To make a gift today, simply fill out the enclosed envelope, visit
our secure website aac.org or call me directly at 617/450-1216 to
discuss giving options in greater detail.
On behalf of our staff, our Board, and especially the people we
serve, thank you for your loyal and generous support.
Carola Cadley
Director of Development
Directory
AIDS ACTION COMMITTEE OF MASSACHUSETTS, INC.
294 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
617.437.6200 Main number
617.437.1394 TTY • 617.437.6445 Fax
www.aac.org • [email protected]
THE AIDS ACTION HOTLINE
Anonymous statewide hotline for those with questions about HIV/AIDS, safer sex and STDs.
9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday
Spanish-speaking counselors available 9:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday
800.235.2331 (Massachusetts only)
617.536.7733 • 617.437.1672 TTY
STATEWIDE HEPATITIS C HOTLINE
Anonymous statewide hotline for those with questions about Hepatitis C
9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday
Spanish-speaking counselors available 9:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday
888.443.HEPC (Massachusetts only)
617.536.7733 • 617.437.1672 TTY
HIV HEALTH RESOURCE LIBRARY
Located in the AIDS Action offices at 294
Washington Street, the library is generally open
the same hours as the agency- Monday through
Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those wishing to visit the
library are encouraged to call ahead to ensure that
a staff person will be available to meet with them.
617.450.1432 • [email protected]
AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Inc
294 Washington Street, 5th Fl, Boston, MA 02108
AIDS ACTION’S FUNDRAISING EVENTS
For information on all of AIDS Actions fundraising events, visit www.aacevents.org, or call
617.450.1100. For information on specific events,
call or visit:
BOSTON AIDS WALK AND 5K RUN
617.424.WALK
www.aidswalkboston.org
www.5krun.org
AIDS ACTION RIDE
617.450.1100
www.aidsactionride.org
MONSTER CHALLENGE TRIATHLON
617.450.1100
www.monsterchallenge.org
ARTCETERA
617.450.1527
www.artcetera.org
TASTE OF THE SOUTH END
617.450.1527
www.aacevents.org/taste.html
VOLUNTEER INFORMATION
For information on volunteer opportunities,
call or email:
617.450.1277
[email protected]
WINTER 2004 • VOLUME 19, NO. 1