Aug 19: Act Queer! Teleconference on HIV/AIDS

Despite the lack of leadership from the Left and LGBT Movement on the AIDS epidemic, queer and trans people, poor people and people of color continue to be disproportionately impacted by the epidemic. Recently there have been some major developments in HIV/AIDS policy and research, and we anted to share with you these exciting updates:

JOIN THE CALL TO FIND OUT!

Please RSVP to this call.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

2pm-3:30pm EST/11am-12:30pm PST

Conference Call # (712) 432-0600

Password: 751219#

Moderator: Kenyon Farrow, Queers for Economic Justice (New York, NY)

Presenters include:

QEJ on YouTube

QEJ’s mission demands involvement in all media, so it should be no surprise that they’re all over youtube. Here’s Kenyon Farrow speaking at the plenary session “HIV/AIDS Crisis: This Is What We’re Doing About it!”, part of the 21st National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change.

Jay Toole facilitating a mock hearing, The People vs. Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The clip discusses Bloomburg’s broken shelter system and its very real impact on the lives of New Yorkers.

Reina Gossett talking about welfare and social reform as a panelist on Activism at the Intersections, hosted by Sager Symposium

And Kenyon Farrow again, discussing the importance of reproductive justice to gay black men at the Civil Liberties and Public Policy program.

Tell Your Senators to Support LGBT Data Collection in National Health Survey!

Contact Your Senators and Urge Them to Support an LGBT Demographic Question to the National Health Interview Survey

The addition of an LGBT demographic question to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) would provide more accurate and complete data on LGBT communities, which would allow federal prevention appropriations and programming to target vulnerable LGBT populations.

Thanks to advocacy efforts, 46 Representatives in the House supported the addition of an LGBT question to the NHIS. Now Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) is circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter in the Senate to rally support for appropriating the $2 million necessary to add this question to the NHIS. Contact your Senator today to ask them to sign o nto the Whitehouse Letter in the Senate. To contact your Senator, please call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121, tell them your state, and ask to speak to your Senator. When you are connected to your Senator’s office, ask for the staff member who works on Health and Human Services appropriations.

Tell them that you are a constituent who supports appropriating an additional $2 million for the National Health Interview Survey and that you would like them to sign on. In order to sign on, they need to contact Jordanna Davis in Senator Whitehouse’s office by close of business on Friday, May 1.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Persistent gaps in information about the gay men, bisexual men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) - including gay men and MSM of color - mean that fewer than 8% of gay and bisexual men surveyed in 15 cities received group-level HIV prevention services and only 15% received individual-level interventions.

The bottom line is 85-92% of all MSM at risk for HIV do not encounter prevention intervention services. Most transwomen, also, experience exclusion from prevention programs, and the rate of HIV in this hard hit community is estimated to be as high as 69% (limited data available suggests a range of 14-69% transwomen HIV prevalence).

We need accurate and complete data on LGBT communities, so that federal prevention appropriations and programming will target the communities that bear a disproportionate burden of HIV risk and vulnerability.

Demand Congress Count LGBT People!  We have less than a 48 hour window to call for LGBT health data collection!

Thanks to advocacy efforts, 46 Representatives in the House supported the addition of an LGBT question to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Now Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) is leading the charge in the Senate to rally support for appropriating the $2 million necessary to add this question to the NHIS that guides health policy, funding and programs nationwide.

As of Friday, April 24, only 1 of 100 Senators signed on to support LGBT health data collection!

Call your Senators now.  Tell them that to end AIDS, LGBT people cannot be ignored in federal surveys any longer.  Ask your Senators to sign on to the Sen. Whitehouse “Dear Colleague” letter about LGBT health data collection by Tuesday, April 28.

Contact your both of your Senators by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 (two calls). Tell the operator your state and ask to speak to your Senator.  When you are connected to your Senator’s office, ask for the staff member who works on Health and Human Services appropriations.

To locate your U.S. senators’ names, click here.

Talking points

• I urge you to sign on to support the Sen. Whitehouse letter asking for LGBT data collection in the largest federal health survey, the National Health Interview Survey.
• LGBTs have many acknowledged health disparities, but until the federal health surveys stop ignoring us, our hands will be tied in getting the data that’s needed to eliminate these disparities.
• VERY IMPORTANT: For the Senator to join this important effort, please contact Jordanna Davis in Senator Whitehouse’s office by close of business on Tuesday, April 28th.

This is the springboard to getting LGBT people on the Census, and it’s the single thing that would completely change LGBT health overall. So please call your Senators now and insist they sign on to this letter!

Call Script

My name is [NAME], and I live in [CITY, STATE]. Thanks for taking my call.  I’m calling to encourage Senator [SENATOR'S NAME] to sign on to the Sen. Whitehouse “Dear Colleague” letter about LGBT health data collection by Tuesday, April 28th.  LGBT people have many health disparities, including high rates of HIV. Until the federal health surveys stop ignoring LGBT, our hands will be tied in getting the data that’s needed to eliminate them.  For the Senator to join this important effort, please contact Jordanna Davis in Senator Whitehouse’s office by close of business on Tuesday, April 28th.  Thank you.

Please make your calls by Tuesday, April 28th. Let us know how your call went by emailing champ@champnetwork.org.

Thanks for taking action,
Vanessa and all of us at CHAMP.