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October 12, 2007
STEPHANIE WILLIAMS, 1962-2007
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Stephanie Williams, remarkable woman and advocate |
AIDS advocates around the country and members of the Housing Works and Campaign to End AIDS communities are mourning the death of Stephanie Williams, a longtime AIDS activist, cochair of Campaign to End AIDS/South Carolina and winner of the 2006 Keith D. Cylar U.S. activism award. Williams, who was 45, died Sunday at her mother's home in Bamberg, South Carolina, of complications from AIDS. In addition to her mother, she is survived by her son Brandon and numerous other relatives who were with her in her last moments.
Those who knew Williams remember her beautiful smile, her kindness to friends and strangers alike and her tireless advocacy on behalf of HIV-positive people. "She was always smiling, even when she was in pain," said Karen Bates, Williams' friend and co-chair of Campaign to End AIDS/South Carolina. "South Carolina has lost an advocate and I've lost a good friend." Bates and Williams spearheaded a powerful network of people with HIV/AIDS in South Carolina. That network was instrumental in securing millions for poor people with HIV/AIDS that ended the state's AIDS Drugs Assistance Program waiting list.
Williams began AIDS advocacy after her diagnosis in the early 1990s and was one of a handful of women in South Carolina who was open about her status. She told anyone who would listen that she had AIDS, often doing impromptu outreach to young people on the streets of Columbia. She also took in strangers like they were family, at one point feeding and providing transportation to a homeless mother and her teenage son. "She had no qualms about helping everybody. She was always saying, 'The Lord will provide' and 'We're going to make it,'" said Diana Cope, who met Williams seven years ago during an advocacy training. "And, you know what? She did make it."...
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ACTION ALERT: SUPPORT TRANS-INCLUSIVE ENDA
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Note to Frank: AIDS advocates won't settle for non-trans inclusive ENDA |
The LGBT and progressive media has been writing all week about the pros and cons of passing Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) of 2007, that protects sexual orientation, but not gender identity, as Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and his allies in the House propose doing.
And HIV/AIDS advocates, led by the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP), POZ magazine and Housing Works, are sending a letter to every member of Congress to tell them a transgender-inclusive ENDA isn't just a human rights issue—it's an HIV/AIDS issue.
"Discriminating against transgender people in the workplace is counterproductive, as the link between economic instability and the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS has been proven," said POZ editor-in-chief Regan Hofmann. "Omitting transgender people from ENDA impedes prevention efforts because when people fear discrimination, such as in the workplace, they are less likely to get tested, get treated and disclose their HIV status. Discrimination cannot be tolerated in any form."...
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HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE OBAMA?
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Is he with us or against us? |
Last week, the Update reported that a handful of enterprising young activists (or “bird-doggers”) had gotten verbal commitments from presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Joe Biden (D-DE) to spend $50 billion dollars in five years on global AIDS.
It’s been much harder to pin down Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), who has dodged bird-doggers at two recent events.
Last week, advocates were thrilled with the news that Obama had committed to the $50 billion designated by experts as the amount needed to quell the global AIDS crisis. During an October 4 Obama rally at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, Luther College student Steph Lim stood near the press and waved a sign that read “Stop AIDS” in hopes of being one of three lucky Luther students permitted to ask Obama a question. To her delight, her efforts paid off, and Obama called on her...
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END OF THE LINE
but the program remains in jeopardy
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No ADAP waiting lists here— but it ain't perfect yet |
This week, the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) reported in its September ADAP Watch that there are no more AIDS Drugs Assistance Program waiting lists in the U.S. and its territories for the first time since 2002. Great news, for sure, and a credit to the hard work of advocates who have pushed for increased state and federal funding—but hardly cause for jubilation.
"This doesn't mean that ADAP problems have gone away," said Ryan Clary, associate director of health care advocacy at Project Inform. "We should definitely keep calling Congress and asking for full funding for ADAP and Ryan White."
Murray Penner, deputy executive director of domestic programs for NASTAD concurred.
"We have to sustain our momentum," Penner said. "People are falling through the cracks. It's probably more important than ever that we don't get complacent."
Numerous problems plague ADAP. Six states still have cost-containment measures, such as enrollment caps, including Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Idaho, Kansas and Louisiana. In addition, 11 states continue to allow a maximum income of 200 percent of the federal poverty line to qualify for ADAP. In Puerto Rico, advocates and AIDS service organizations say patients remain in need of medication, even though the Puerto Rican government declared an end to its ADAP waiting list in March.
"Just because Puerto Rico has not reported a waiting list, It's possible people are not receiving medication," Penner said. "While Puerto Rico has a really unique set of challenges, it's not the only state where this is a possibility."...
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HEALTHY CONVERSATION
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Hannay jots down health care priorities |
Health care as a public good. Decline in employer-based coverage. Inclusion of support services. Public health coverage simplification.
When a room of 60-some advocates met Wednesday to prepare a list of talking points for the New York State public hearing on health care reform on October 30 at Fordham University, 60-some suggestions were put forward. While groups like the Children's Defense Fund of New York, Housing Works, the New York Immigration Coalition and the American Cancer Society all had different priorities, the crowd cheered when Mark Hannay reminded everyone of their shared vision. "The number one thing on this list is that health care reform has to happen!" said Hannay, director of Metro New York Health Care For All campaign and one of the event's moderators.
One of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's campaign promises was that there would be real health care reform in New York State. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has started holding public hearings throughout the state to gather input as it develops proposals for health care reform, increased access to health insurance and universal health care. (For more information go to partnership4coverage.ny.gov)....
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NATIONAL LATINO AIDS AWARENESS DAY: MONDAY OCT. 15
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For the last month, people around the country have been celebrating Hispanic Heritage month, but those celebrations will culminate with a call to action: On Monday, October 15, some 1,000 organizations in 350 cities will mark National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) to bring attention to a disease which affects Latinos in disproportionate numbers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latinos account for 20 percent of those living with HIV/AIDS but make up only 14 percent of the population. The AIDS case rate among Latino adults/adolescents was the second highest of any racial/ethnic group in the U.S. (25 per 100,000 people) and 3.5 times that of whites in 2004. More than 75,000 Latinos have died of AIDS.
Here in New York City, Latinos account for approximately one-third of the city's 100,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. New HIV infections among Latinas have plummeted almost 50 percent since 2002 but most other statistics are less encouraging. The number of new AIDS diagnoses among Latinos (men and women), for example, has barely changed since 2002...
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ACTION ALERT!: SUPPORT COMPREHENSIVE
SEX-ED IN NEW YORK
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Montgomery understands importance of comprehensive sex-ed |
In a year of Democratic cowardice on abstinence-until-marriage sex education in the U.S Congress, it's reassuring that State Senators Velmanette Montgomery (D-Brooklyn) and Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) have proposed the Teen Health Agenda, which gets serious about expanding and fully funding comprehensive sex education for New York's young people.
The New York State Health Department took a big step forward when it rejected $3.5 million in federal funds for abstinence-only programs earlier this year. But there is still no designated state funding stream for programs that teach comprehensive sex education in schools.
"We need to replace dialogue about abstinence-only with education that talks about sexuality that will empower our children to make smart choices about their personal health," Montgomery said at a press conference Wednesday to publicize the teen health agenda. Montgomery and Krueger were surrounded by supporters from organizations including Housing Works, Brooklyn Perinatal Network and Sunset Park Family Health Center Network...
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SEX-ED IN NEW YORK"