Not surprisingly, one of the main topics of discussion at the Oct. 20 quarterly meeting of the Massachusetts Commission on GLBT Youth was coping with Gov. Deval Patrick s $150,000 cut to the state s $800,000 LGBT youth funding budget. The cut was part of a larger effort by Patrick to axe nearly $1 billion from the fisc
As Gov. Deval Patrick prepares to make emergency budget cuts later this week due to falling state revenues, MassEquality last week urged him to spare funds for programs that serve the LGBT community. In an Oct. 3 letter to the governor, MassEquality Executive Director Marc Solomon asked that the governor preserve state
My goal is that people learn something and change their behavior, said Alfredo Marulanda of the Latin American Health Institute s (LHI) Many Men Many Voices (3MV) Intervention, a six-week course on STD and HIV prevention. Marulanda, Prevention and Education Case Manager at LHI, will be facilitating the sessions, using
State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, who lost the Democratic primary Sept. 16 by a one-percent margin to challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz, announced plans to run a sticker campaign to retain her Second Suffolk District seat in November at a community forum at the Prince Hall Grand Lodge in Dorchester on Sept. 23. Wilkerson, a longt
David Brown, the anchor of Channel 5 s Eye-Opener newscast, doesn t believe in doing anything halfway. When the organizers of the Boston Marathon called the station in 2006 to ask if any of the reporters were interested in running to benefit Children s Hospital, Brown signed up and spent the next six months training fo
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report Sept. 11 that for the first time shows the number of new national HIV cases in specific sub-populations, and the numbers show that within the gay and bisexual male community the epidemic has taken the greatest toll among young African American men a
When Alfredo Hernandez, 44, auditioned to be one of the spokesmodels in the Boston HIV Stops with Us ad campaign he knew that he might soon become a very public spokesperson for people living with HIV. Even so, he was taken aback when he began seeing his face plastered on billboards and transit advertisements around th
Francine Coleman is 56 and has been living with HIV for 21 years. While she thanks God every day that her condition hasn t progressed to an AIDS diagnosis, she attributes both her health and happiness to AIDS Project Worcester (APW), an organization that has given her a network of incredible support throughout her stru
As co-chair of the Democratic National Committee s Platform Committee, Gov. Deval Patrick may have been the most visible Bay Stater involved in drafting the Democratic Party s 2008 platform, but he wasn t the only Massachusetts committee member involved in shaping the platform s language. Diego Sanchez, director of pub
Keith Orr and Michael Shankle, Bay Windows Contributors
This past week what we suspected was confirmed: HIV still affects our community more dramatically than originally projected. The first news came from the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, where the CDC reported a dramatic increase in reported HIV infections in the U.S. But more jolting health news hit close
It might not rank up there with the criminal Bush administration s comical tendency to lecture other countries about human rights abuses and the rule of law, or Republican John McCain (or any Republican, for that matter) standing onstage at the Sturgis motorcycle rally deigning to criticize the Democrats on energy poli
A report by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) finds efforts at HIV prevention in Massachusetts have made little headway among gay and bisexual men in the last several years. While nearly every other mode of transmission, including through injection drug use and heterosexual sex, has seen a drop in new infecti
President Bush signed a bill reauthorizing the President s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) July 30, and the bill includes language repealing a 1993 law that banned HIV-positive foreign nationals from entering the country and, in most cases, prevented them from obtaining permanent residency in the U.S. The reaut
The United States Senate voted July 17 to repeal language barring people with HIV/AIDS from entering the U.S. by a vote of 80 to 16 as part of legislation reauthorizing the President s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR). While all other decisions based on communicable diseases are handled by the Department of Heal
Mass. Sen. John Kerry was a leader of this effort. Below is a press release from Immigration Equality about the vote. New York, NY, July 17, 2008 - Immigration Equality hails the Senate s vote to lift the HIV immigration and travel ban. The Senate voted today to repeal the language that bars people with HIV/AIDS from e
Gov. Deval Patrick vetoed $122.5 million in spending when he signed the fiscal year 2009 (FY09) budget into law July 13, but LGBT and HIV/AIDS programs survived the veto process without losing any funding. That means the FY09 includes funding increases for all of the state s LGBT programs, as well as a $725,000 increas
The final state budget for Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) that was passed by the legislature on July 2 includes funding increases for every state LGBT program and for the state s HIV/AIDS budget line item. The final version of the budget was drafted by a conference committee of House and Senate members who ironed out the diff
The legislature passed the final version of the fiscal year 2009 (FY09) state budget July 2, and it includes funding increases for every state LGBT program and for the state s HIV/AIDS budget line item. Advocates and their allies on Beacon Hill succeeded in winning these increases during a tight budget session in which
June 27 was National HIV Testing Day, and Mayor Menino did his part by getting himself tested at JRI Health in Downtown Boston, where he was joined by officials from the Boston Public Health Commission, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and representatives of several community health agencies. Menino joine
Ethan Jacobs can be reached at ejacobs@baywindows.com
Despite the mountains of surveillance data about HIV/AIDS, when it comes to the transgender community there is precious little information about the scope of the epidemic. Lee Thornhill, prevention and education manager for TransCEND (Transgender Care and Education Needs Diversity), a trans-focused program at Cambridge
Even before she set off from the DCR Hatch Memorial Shell to participate in the 23rd annual AIDS Walk Boston on June 1, Bette Byrnes had already completed a long journey. As she has since moving away from Boston in 2002, Byrnes boarded a plane from her home in Clearwater, Florida, to participate in this year s walk.
Organizers of the 6th annual Harbor to the Bay AIDS charity bike ride kicked off their campaign to recruit riders with a May 19 reception at Club Cafe in the South End (see photos at right). The ride, which starts in Boston and finishes in Provincetown, takes place Sept. 20. We have already outpaced last year s benchma
On June 1, Phil, a 36-year-old South Ender, will participate in AIDS Action Committee s (AAC) AIDS Walk for the first time in about a decade. Back then he joined a walk team to honor a close friend who had died of complications from AIDS in 1994. This year, Phil s reason for walking is even more personal: he was diagno
The Massachusetts state Senate voted to add new dollars to LGBT-related programs across the board May 22 during deliberations on the fiscal year 2009 (FY09) budget. HIV/AIDS programs, however, did not fare as well; the Senate rejected an amendment to add $500,000 to the HIV/AIDS budget line. The Senate approved budget
HIV/AIDS advocates convened in Washington, D.C., on May 20 to hold a congressional hearing at the Rayburn Building to outline their call for the federal government to develop a national strategy to end the epidemic. Rebecca Haag, who is executive director both of the D.C.-based AIDS Action and Massachusetts AIDS Action
Massachusetts Asian and Pacific Islanders (MAP) for Health held its Rooted in Acceptance reception and awards ceremony May 15 at the Boston Center for the Arts to honor individuals who have worked to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community. The event was held to coincide with Nati
Every year thousands of people come together for New England’s largest HIV/AIDS event, which raises awareness and needed funds for the AIDS Action Committee. The 10-kilometer walk goes through Boston, Brookline and Cambridge, beginning and ending on the Esplanade. Visit the website to learn more about pledging, donatin
A former patient of Caritas St. Elizabeth s Medical Center filed suit against the hospital May 12, alleging that medical staff wrongfully disclosed his HIV status to his employer. The former patient, who is referred to in court documents as John Doe, filed suit in Suffolk Superior Court asking both for monetary damages
The Senate Ways and Means Committee released its budget proposal for the next fiscal year on May 14, and like their counterparts on the House committee they opted to provide level funding to the state s LGBT programs and to provide a small increase to the state s HIV/AIDS budget. Lawmakers and advocates are working to
Commuters riding the T may have noticed a plethora of eye-catching ads popping up to promote AIDS Walk Boston, which takes place June 1. The slick ad campaign was not the product of a high-powered ad agency; it was the brainchild of a pair of design students from the New England Institute of Art. The students, Catherin
Taking the stage holding a sign that bore the slogan, I AM A MAN at this year s Bayard Rustin Community Breakfast, Diego Sanchez at once paid tribute to the gay, black civil rights pioneer for whom the event is named and affirmed his own transgender identity. I carry this sign to give a shout out to black people who we
The House Ways and Means Committee s Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) budget proposal contained dreary news for LGBT advocates. The proposal, released April 16, provided level funding for LGBT youth, elder and domestic violence programs and added a modest increase to the state s HIV/AIDS budget. All of the allocations fell far
A group of HIV/AIDS advocates will hold a drag fundraiser in Worcester on April 19 to raise money for a new fund designed to help transgender people facing financial distress. Jesse Pack, founder of the Transgender Emergency Fund and a staff member at AIDS Project Worcester, said that the fund will help low-income tran
The Monday Night Bowling League, an LGBT candlepin league, is staging its 23rd annual HIV/AIDS benefit show and raffle, which features drag performances by league members, at Mass. College of Art s Tower Auditorium on April 6. And why do bowlers make good drag queens? I m not sure they do, confesses Mark Roy, the show
The John M. Lloyd Foundation presented its first AIDS Leadership Award, a $100,000 grant, to Gregg Gonsalves this week. The award honors unsung heroes in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Gonsalves, who currently coordinates regional AIDS and tuberculosis treatment literacy and advocacy programs for the AIDS and Rights Allia
For most gay men the name Manhunt.net conjures images of late night hookups and pages upon pages of profiles of hot (and not so hot) naked men. Since its launch seven years ago the company has extended its steamy, sweaty grasp from Boston across the country to become one of the largest gay websites in the
Repeal on HIV travel ban headed to Senate floor The effort to end the U.S. ban on travel and immigration into the country by people who are HIV-positive moved one step closer to victory last week when the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved the inclusion of language to end the ban as part of legislation to r
Jason Hair-Wynn arrived at his Attleboro home on March 13 to find an envelope from the U.S. Department of State s National Passport Center in New Hampshire that he thought contained his new passport, a necessity for the month-long trip he ll be taking this summer to do HIV/AIDS and health education with youngsters in
As part of AIDS Action Committee s expanded outreach of the gay male community, the organization has hired Keith Orr, a former Bay Windows editor and the producer/co-host (with Bay Windows publisher Sue O Connell) of WFNX Radio s long-running LGBT chat show One in Ten as its marketing manager. Orr likened his new dutie
As part of AIDS Action Committee s expanded outreach of the gay male community, the organization has hired Keith Orr, a former Bay Windows editor and the co-host (with BWpublisher Sue O Connell) of WFNX Radio s LGBT chat show One in Ten as its marketing manager. Orr will continue his radio gig, so don t worry about mis
It may be hard to believe, people living with HIV/AIDS are barred from traveling onto American soil, unless they can jump through some serious hoops. But a bill sponsored by Mass. Sen. John Kerry to repeal provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that ban HIV-positive people from entering the
Project ABLE (AIDS Budget Legislative Effort), the lobbying arm for a coalition of state HIV/AIDS organizations, called on the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees to expand the state s HIV/AIDS budget by $6 million during a Feb. 28 budget hearing at the State House. But it wasn t the only organization petitionin
A Feb. 13 health forum at Club Cafe sponsored by Fenway Community Health proved that there s a fine line between keeping medical providers informed about issues in gay and bi men s health and perpetuating anti-gay stereotypes. At the top of the forum s agenda was Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more common
This week on Capitol Hill, supporters of syringe exchange programs (SEP) for HIV prevention celebrated a victory. Last year, Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.) led successful efforts in the House of Representatives to allow the District of Columbia to spend its own funds on syringe exchange after a nine-year ban. D.C. has the
Following AIDS Action Committee s decision last month to withdraw from Project ABLE (AIDS Budget Legislative Effort), the statewide coalition that lobbies Beacon Hill on HIV/AIDS funding issues, more members of the coalition have begun speaking out about their dissatisfaction with Project ABLE s efforts to increase sta
Harold Cox launched the lunchtime discussion by asking people in the room to share their own memories of their work at various periods of the epidemic. Harold Cox launched the lunchtime discussion by asking people in the room to share their own memories of their work at various periods of the epidemic. Harold Cox, an a
Ethan Jacobs can be reached at ejacobs@baywindows.com
Gov. Deval Patrick released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2009 (FY09), which included a modest $225,000 increase in funding for HIV/AIDS programs, bringing the total HIV/AIDS line item budget to about $37.2 million. Patrick level-funded all of the LGBT-related programs in the budget, including programs focusing o
On Jan. 30 Denise McWilliams, director of public policy and legal affairs for AIDS Action Committee (AAC), resigned from the steering committee of Project ABLE (AIDS Budget Legislative Effort), a coalition of more than a dozen HIV/AIDS organizations across the state that bands together to lobby for increased HIV/AIDS f
Last week media outlets across the globe reported on a study showing that gay men in Boston and San Francisco were found to be at high risk for infection by a multi-drug resistant form of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a staph infection that causes ulcerations and abscesses and that, if left untrea
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