KAZAKY - LOVE

Boy bands have come a long way since New Kids On The Block. This video is possibly NSFW.

Do People Care about AIDS?

More Musings from Paul Kawata

When you’ve been fighting AIDS as long as we have, it’s easy to forget that not everyone shares our sense of urgency about this epidemic. Recently, a friend said to me “You have to remember, people don’t care about AIDS anymore.” While I can certainly understand how some could draw this conclusion, I refuse to accept it. It’s our job, as a community, to make sure that Americans understand the devastation this epidemic continues to reap on our neighbors, friends and loved ones.

This is why programs like AIDSWatch, which will be taking place this week in Washington, DC, are so critical. They provide an opportunity for people living with this disease to tell their own stories, in their own words. It allows brave men and women to educate their members of Congress, not only about the terrible toll of this epidemic, but also the importance of a sustained and committed response from our government.

Still, given these difficult economic times, much of the public’s attention is focused elsewhere. How do you stay relevant and essential? This is the question facing many AIDS organizations. As this disease is constantly evolving, we as a community must also be flexible and adjust to new political and economic realities if we are to be successful.

Here are some thoughts on how you can ensure your agency’s future:

• Be the Best
• Evolve and/or expand your mission
• Consider becoming a Federally Qualified Health Center
• Merge
  

Be the Best
In order to be the best, your agency should strive to occupy a unique niche. This might mean that your agency is the only organization in your area that directs its services to a specific segment of the population, or that your agency is the best at providing a specific service within the community at large. Either way, you should always focus on providing your services in the most cost-effective and efficient ways possible.

Between state budget cuts and potential federal budget cuts, funding may become even more elusive than it already is. Tough decisions will need to be made. As AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) lists grow, and more people lose their jobs and subsequently their health insurance, funders will be forced to make decisions that could determine the survival of your agency. If they have to choose between your agency and all the others, “Why should they choose you?”

Expand Your Mission
Now is a good time to consider expanding your mission. You’ve already developed an infrastructure to serve the HIV/AIDS community, maybe its time to look at providing that service to others. Some AIDS food programs have expanded to serve people with other diseases or the elderly. Another tactic may be to expand the types of services that your agency offers to the HIV/AIDS community. Either way, you must be sure that your agency and your staff have the expertise and the passion to support these expansions.

Become a FQHC
Become a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). It’s a good way to insure your future and there is a need for them in our communities. However, becoming a FQHC is a difficult process and will probably require you to hire outside consultants. This program is run by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), for more information go to: http://bphc.hrsa.gov/policy

Many of our communities do not have adequate medical infrastructures and FQHCs are an important component to filling current gaps in services.

Merger
I know merger is a difficult concept, but sometimes it can be the best thing for your community and your constituents. If your agency is spending more time securing funding than serving your constituents, it may be better to combine resources with an organization that could assist in more efficiently and effectively providing those services.

If none of these options are possible for your agency, you may need to seriously consider shutting down. While this is always a difficult prospect for anyone to imagine, we must always do what’s best for our community and our constituents.

If you must shut down, it is essential that you close in a responsible manner. Tell the truth about your closure, try not to blame others, and remember we all deal with loss in different ways. Help your clients find new agencies to meet their needs and insure confidentiality of their medical records. Your community is going to be looking for answers. Keep them informed of what is happening and try to minimize the blame. Get in front of the story before rumors have a chance to take hold.

The largest payer of HIV/AIDS services, prevention and research is the federal government. No state government, no private foundation, no pharmaceutical company can take the federal government’s place. However, with the new members of Congress, it’s going to require a new strategy. We need to have strong policy/advocacy networks in states where we have key Congressional leaders. We need to be able to reach across parties. We need to build upon our advocacy efforts to enhance our community’s level of sophistication even more than we already have.

The public’s attention may be focused elsewhere, but that doesn’t stop our work. As long as there are people living with HIV/AIDS and as long as there are people at risk for getting HIV/AIDS, there will be work and responsibilities. It just makes it harder and requires us to play the game smarter then anyone else.

Thank you for all that you do for your community, people living with HIV/AIDS, and people at risk for getting HIV/AIDS. You may sometimes feel like people have forgotten about AIDS, or that they don’t care, but please know that this isn’t true. And also know that I will always care and be grateful for all you do on behalf of our diverse communities.

I am going to move all of my blogging to http://blog.nmac.org Please check back for my latest musings!

Yours in the struggle,

Paul Kawata
Executive Director
National Minority AIDS Council
1931 13th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009-4432
Tel: 202.483.6622; Fax: 202.483.1135; Website: http://www.nmac.org

Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pkawata Twitter http://www.twitter.com/pkawata or read my blog http://aidsjournal.blogspot.com/

2011 United States Conference on AIDS
November 10-13, 2011
Chicago, Illinois
http://www.2011USCA.org

Follow NMAC on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/NMACCommunity and Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/NMAConFB

Please support AIDS Programs of the National Minority AIDS Council CFC #10557

Asian Baby Drag Princess Does Burlesque

By Popular Demand: Asian Baby Drag Princess Does Burlesque

NMAC Statement on President Obama’s FY2012 Budget Request

“Yesterday, President Obama released his budget request for fiscal year 2012. In his proposed budget, the President makes difficult decisions regarding spending reductions, while prioritizing programs that are essential to keeping Americans safe and healthy and our economy on the path to recovery.

“The National Minority AIDS Council was pleased to see that the President stayed true to his commitment to addressing the AIDS epidemic by requesting additional funds for many federal HIV/AIDS programs and pushing for funding to implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Particularly promising is the increase of $80 million put forward by the President for the nation’s AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, which have faced a catastrophic funding crisis, resulting in wait lists and enrollment caps in several states across the country.

“Still, on the heels of proposals by Republicans in the House of Representatives to cut spending by $100 billion in 2011, NMAC knows that we have a tough road ahead. The new House majority has made clear that getting the nation’s fiscal house in order is their top priority, but they must not do so on the backs of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens. The AIDS epidemic poses a serious public health risk to our country and one of the most pressing human rights challenges of our time. Our nation’s response must reflect the severity of that challenge.”

GLEE - "When I Get You Alone" Performance from 2/8!

Look how far we've come!

We Were Here

House Proposes $1.136 Billion Cut to CDC

You've got to watch this video. It shares the funding impact on CDC. If the $750 million cut is enacted, it is actually $1.136 billion because the President started with a $250 cut. This would take CDC's funding level back to FY 2003

DDF (NSFW, but amazing)

Fighting HIV/AIDS In The African American Community: Its Everyone's Responsibility

February 7th is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS continues to have a disproportionate impact on African Americans. On this day, we remember all the friends we’ve lost, all the friends fighting to stop this epidemic, and all our friends who are fighting for their lives.

We all know the numbers. They are unsettling and wrong. They’re not incorrect, but they feel wrong because, for an equal opportunity disease, AIDS sure does seem to discriminate. Black gay men and black women shoulder the major burden of the US epidemic and that is wrong.

I may not be Black and I may not completely understand the cultural experience of the African Americans, but I stand in total support and will fight shoulder to shoulder until we find a cure and stop this epidemic from ravaging not just African Americans and communities of color, but all communities. To misappropriate a quote from Dr. King, “HIV/AIDS anywhere is a threat to our health and well being everywhere”.

In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I want to tell you the story of my friend Craig Harris. Craig was one of the fiercest queens I knew. He was black, gay, proud, and living with AIDS. The history of the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) will always start with Craig Harris’s act of defiance.

NMAC was founded in the trailer park of the Circus Circus hotel in Las Vegas. Yes the trailer park. We couldn’t even afford a conference room in the main hotel. We were brought together by Dr. Juan Ramos from the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) throughout 1986 to discuss the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on communities of color. Yes, we were talking about this as far back as 1986.

In Las Vegas, at American Public Health Association’s (APHA) annual meeting, we had our final gathering. It was an ugly meeting, as passionate advocates will occasionally have. Tempers flared, life seemed short, and people were dying. Out of this meeting came the core leadership that would later form NMAC: Carl Bean, Don Edwards (our first executive director), Gil Gerard, Craig Harris, Rashidah Hassan, Paul Kawata, Calu Lester, Sandra McDonald, Norm Nickens, Tim Offutt, Marie St.-Cyr and Suki Ports.

We were at APHA because they were having a plenary on HIV/AIDS, it was their first. This was historic! If we could convince these health professionals that HIV/AIDS was a critical issue, maybe they would help our sick and dying.

As we arrived at the plenary, we discovered that no people of color were invited to speak. At the beginning of the session our board member, Craig Harris rushed the stage, shouting “I WILL BE HEARD!” He took the microphone away from Dr. Merv Silverman, who was then San Francisco Health Commissioner and announced the formation of NMAC and the need to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS within communities of color.

I love that NMAC’s history started with an act of protest. Many HIV/AIDS organizations have similar stories, our movement started as an act of protest and defiance against the status quo. If they wouldn’t take care of us, we will take care of ourselves.

It seems like history is repeating itself. Once again, we need you to stand up and be heard. Maybe not like Craig, but certainly in his spirit. To honor National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day stand up for more funding for HIV/AIDS, stand up to fix the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), stand up for full implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). Do it for yourself, do it for your clients, do it for Craig!