Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "aids"

NorCal AIDS Cycle Sets New Registration Record

2011-12-16T22:03:58Z

NorCal AIDS Cycle, which raised a record-setting quarter-million dollars for local HIV/AIDS service agencies in 2011, has more than doubled in number of cyclists and crew members leading into the May 2012 ride.

The Sacramento-based four-day, 330-mile HIV/AIDS fundraising ride registered a record number of cyclists and volunteer crew members—85 cyclists and 61 volunteer crew members—in a one-day Dec. 1 World AIDS Day campaign. With another three cyclists signing up since Dec. 1, the 2012 ride, which will be held May 17-20, now has a total of 212 participants registered. In comparison, only 72 cyclists and crew had registered for the 2011 ride as of Dec. 15, 2010.

In a Facebook-organized drive to jump-start their fundraising for 2012, on Dec. 15—which participants dubbed “Throw Down Thursday”—cyclists and crew members raised a total of $5836.58 in a single day.

Even with fewer than 100 cyclists, the 2011 event raised more than $250,000 for regional HIV/AIDS service organizations, 72 percent of which was returned to non-profit organizations in Sacramento, Auburn, Redding and Chico. Each cyclist commits to raising a minimum of $1,500; each crew member to $250.

“This is a remarkably large number of cyclists and volunteers signed up so early, and we expect more people to register over the next few months,” said Emily Tsuchida, a nurse practitioner at Sacramento HIV/AIDS clinic CARES and an NCAC cyclist and board member. “The success of our World AIDS Day registration drive is particularly encouraging at a time when funding is so badly needed for HIV outreach and education, particularly among youth.”

At CARES, which received $50,000 from NCAC for its Positively Speaking outreach program in 2011, 111 people under age 25 currently are being treated for HIV, 99 boys and 12 girls.

An estimated 56,300 adolescents and adults were newly infected with HIV in 2006 in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. There were 111,100 Californians living with HIV as of June 30, 2011, according to the California Office of AIDS. There are some 5,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the Sacramento region, according to CARES—an estimated 1,000 of whom are unaware they are infected.

Craig Spatola, executive director of Sacramento-based Breaking Barriers, which provides people living with HIV/AIDS with transportation to medical appointments and Rapid HIV Testing and Prevention services, said NCAC funding has been vital to his agency at a time when government funding sources have been severely reduced. “With cutbacks in funding for HIV/AIDS organizations at the federal, state and local levels, private fundraising efforts such as NorCal AIDS Cycle are literally what is keeping agencies like ours, and the individuals we serve, alive. We wouldn’t be open today if not for the support of NCAC. It is amazing what a small group of dedicated people can accomplish!” said Spatola, who has crewed NorCal AIDS Cycle since the ride’s inception in 2005.

NorCal AIDS Cycle supports organizations throughout Northern California working to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic and to care for those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in the region and works to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS, the needs of the community and the benefitting organizations. For more information about NorCal AIDS Cycle, or to register for the 2012 ride, visit http://www.norcalaidscycle.org.

Disclosure: Bonnie Osborn is a writer and PR professional working on behalf of NorCal AIDS Cycle.

HIV Positive not so Negative Anymore

2011-12-02T23:05:25Z

Communities across the globe observed World Aids Day to reflect on the catastrophic toll HIV/AIDS has created.

World Aids Day was honored in Sacramento thanks to the partnership of The Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center and St. John's Lutheran Church.

The theme of this year's World AIDS Day memorial is "Never Forget," highlighting the still continuing struggle of HIV/AIDS in our Sacramento community, said Ken Pierce, Equality Action NOW - Chairman of the Board - Communications Director.

Yesterday The Center hosted a participatory and interactive memorial in the Panepento Family Main Room at the Center from noon to 6pm.

Community members came in, writing messages honoring those lost to HIV/AIDS, and lighting a candle in remembrance.

At 6pm a silent procession, lead by River City Sisters, traveled three blocks to St. John's Lutheran Church on L Street, for a service of honor and action. It will included a presentation of a Resolution by elected officials, a brief history of the HIV/AIDS struggle (see condensed timeline below), interpretation and presentation of AIDS Quilts, special musical presentations, and several personal perspectives on the impact of HIV/AIDS in people's lives.

After the service there was a candlelight vigil on the steps of the church in remembrance of those lost.

Here is a summary of last night's presentation of the timeline of AIDS based on informartion from Wikipedia:

1930s
    •    Researchers believe that in the 1930s a form of simian immunodeficiency virus jumped to humans in central Africa. The mutated virus becomes HIV-1.
1959
X-ray showing infection with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.
    •    The first known case of HIV in a human occurs in a person who died in the Congo, later confirmed as having HIV infection from his preserved blood samples.
    •    In New York City, on June 28, 1959, Ardouin Antonio, a 49-year-old a Jamaican-American shipping clerk dies of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, a disease closely associated with AIDS. Dr. Gordon Hennigar, who performed the postmortem examination of the man's body, found "the first reported instance of unassociated Pneumocystis carinii disease in an adult" to be so unusual that he pickled Ardouin's lungs for later study. The case was written up in two medical journals at the time, and Hennigar has been quoted in numerous publications saying that he believes Ardouin probably had AIDS.
1960s
    •    HIV-2, a viral variant found in West Africa, is thought to have transferred to people from sooty mangabey monkeys in Guinea-Bissau during this period.

    •    Genetic studies of the virus indicate that, in or about 1966, HIV first arrived in the Americas, infecting a single person in Haiti. At this time, many Haitians were working in Congo, providing the opportunity for infection.

    •    A 2003 analysis of HIV types found in the United States, compared to known mutation rates, suggests that the virus may have first arrived in the United States in this year.

    •    A St. Louis teenager, identified as Robert Rayford, dies of an illness that baffles his doctors. Eighteen years later, molecular biologists at Tulane University in New Orleans test samples of his remains and find evidence of HIV present.

1970s
    •    The first reports of wasting and other symptoms, later determined to be AIDS, are reported in residents of Africa.[8]

    •    Norwegian sailor Arvid Noe dies; it is later determined that he contracted HIV/AIDS in Africa during the early 1960s.

    •    Danish physician Grethe Rask dies of AIDS contracted in Africa.
    •    A San Francisco prostitute gives birth to the first of three children who were later diagnosed with AIDS, and whose blood, when tested after their deaths, revealed HIV infection. The mother died of AIDS in May 1987. Test results show she was infected by as late as 1977, perhaps earlier.

    •    A Portuguese man known as Senhor Jose dies; he will later be confirmed as the first known infection of HIV-2. He was believed to have been exposed to the disease in Guinea-Bissau in 1966.
1980s
    •    San Francisco resident Ken Horne, the first AIDS case in the United States to be recognized at the time, is reported to Center for Disease Control with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). He was also suffering from Cryptococcus at the time.
    •    French-Canadian flight attendant Gaetan Dugas pays his first known visit to New York City bathhouses. He would later be deemed "Patient Zero" for his apparent connection to many early cases of AIDS in the United States.
    •    Rick Wellikoff, a Brooklyn schoolteacher, dies of AIDS in New York City on December 23. He is the 4th American to have died from the new disease.

Kaposi's sarcoma on the skin of an AIDS patient.
    •    Nick Rock becomes the first known AIDS death in New York City.
    •    Dr. Lawrence Mass becomes the first journalist in the world to write about the epidemic, in the "New York Native," a gay newspaper.
    •    The CDC reports a cluster of Pneumocystis pneumonia in five gay men in Los Angeles.
    •    CDC reports clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and Pneumocystis pneumonia among gay men in California and New York City.
    •    By the end of the year, 121 people are known to have died from the disease.
    •    First known case in the United Kingdom.

    •    CDC MMWR 1982 31(23);305-7
"Exposure to some substance (rather than an infectious agent) may eventually lead to immunodeficiency among a subset of the homosexual male population that shares a particular style of lifestyle.
    •    CDC reports a cluster of opportunistic infections (OI) and Kaposi's sarcoma among Haitians recently entering the United States.
    •    The term AIDS (for acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is proposed at a meeting in Washington of gay-community leaders, federal bureaucrats and the CDC to replace GRID (for gay-related immune deficiency) as evidence showed it was not gay specific.
    •    Summer, First known case in Italy.

   •    CDC defines a case of AIDS as a disease, at least moderately predictive of a defect in cell-mediated immunity, occurring in a person with no known cause for diminished resistance to that disease.
    •    a baby in California becomes ill in the first known case of AIDS from a blood transfusion.
    •    First known case in Brazil and Canada.

    •    Dr. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, isolates a retrovirus that kills T-cells from the lymph system of a gay AIDS patient. In the following months, she would find it in additional gay and hemophiliac sufferers. This retrovirus would be called by several names, including LAV and HTLV-III before being named HIV in 1986.
    •    CDC National AIDS Hotline established.
    •    United States Public Heath Service (PHS) or (USPHS) issues donor screening guidelines. AIDS high-risk groups should not donate blood/plasma products.
    •    Australia has first death from AIDS in Melbourne, the Hawke Labor government invests in a significant campaign that ultimately gives HIV/AIDS in Australia one of the lowest infection rates in the world.
    •    AIDS is diagnosed in Mexico for the first time. HIV can be traced in the country back to 1981.
    •    The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique is developed by Kary Mullis, improving the researches on microbiology and genetics, also widely used in AIDS research.

One of the first reported patients who died of AIDS (presumptive diagnosis) in the US is reported in the Journal Gastroentereology in 1981. Professor Louis Weinstein, his treating physician, commented that "Although no clear-cut evidence of immuno-deficiency could be demonstrated in our patient, this could not be ruled out completely.”

    •    Gaëtan Dugas died. He was a French Canadian flight attendant linked by the CDC directly or indirectly with 40 of the first 248 reported cases of AIDS in the U.S.
    •    U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler announces at a press conference that an American scientist, Dr. Robert Gallo, has discovered the probable cause of AIDS: the retrovirus subsequently named human immunodeficiency virus or HIV in 1986. She also declares that a vaccine will be available within two years.
    •    Ryan White was diagnosed with AIDS by a doctor performing a partial lung removal. White became infected with HIV from a blood product, known as Factor VIII, as part of his treatment for hemophilia which was given to him on a regular basis. 1985
    •    FDA approves first AIDS antibody screening tests for use on all donated blood and plasma intended for transfusion.
    •    Rock Hudson dies of AIDS. On July 25, 1985, he was the first American celebrity to publicly admit having AIDS; he had been diagnosed with it on June 5, 1984.

    •    HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is adopted as name of the retrovirus that was first proposed as the cause of AIDS by Luc Montagnier of France, who named it 'LAV (lymphadenopathy associated virus) and Robert Gallo of the United States, who named it HTLV-III (human T-lymphotropic virus type III)
    •    ...one million Americans have already been infected with the virus and that this number will jump to at least 2 million or 3 million within 5 to 10 years..." - NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, New York Times.
    •    President Reagan instructs his Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to prepare a report on AIDS. (Koop was excluded from the Executive Task Force on AIDS established in 1983 by his immediate superior, Assistant Secretary of Health Edward Brandt.)
    •    First officially known cases in the Soviet Union and India and China..
    •    AZT (zidovudine), the first antiretroviral drug, becomes available to treat HIV.[1]
    •    Williamson, West Virginia closes its public swimming pool following an incident involving a local resident with HIV/AIDS. The Oprah Winfrey Show broadcasts a town hall meeting during which local residents express their fears about AIDS and homosexuality.
    •    Randy Shilts investigative journalism book And the Band Played On:

    •    May, C. Everett Koop sends an eight-page, condensed version of his Surgeon General's Report on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome report named Understanding AIDS to all 107,000,000 households in the United States, becoming the first federal authority to provide explicit advice to Americans on how to protect themselves from AIDS.
    •    December 1, the first World AIDS Day

    •    The television movie "The Ryan White Story" aired. Another AIDS-themed film, The Littlest Victims, debuted in 1989, biopicing James Oleske, the first U.S. physician to discover AIDS in newborns during AIDS' early years, when many thought it was only homosexually-spread.

1990s
    •    Ryan White - Dies on April 8, 1990 at the age of 18 from pneumonia caused by AIDS complications.
    •    Congress enacted The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act or Ryan White Care Act, the United States' largest federally funded health related program (excluding Medicaid and Medicare).
    •    Brazilian singer Cazuza dies in Rio de Janeiro on July 7, 1990 at the age of 32 from an AIDS related illness.

    •    A little over 24 hours after issuing the statement confirming that he has been tested HIV positive and had AIDS, Freddie Mercury (Singer of the British band Queen) dies on November 24, 1991 at the age of 45. The official cause of death was bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.
    •    NBA star Magic Johnson publicly announces that he is HIV-positive.

    •    The first combination drug therapies for HIV are introduced. Such "cocktails" are more effective than AZT alone and slow down the development of drug resistance.
    •    American actor Anthony Perkins, known for his role as Norman Bates in the Psycho movies, dies from AIDS.
    •
    •    Popular science fiction writer Isaac Asimov dies on April 6. Ten years later, his wife revealed that his death was due to AIDS-related complications. The writer was infected during a blood transfusion in 1983.

    •    Tennis star Arthur Ashe dies from related complications.
    •    Elizabeth Glaser, wife of Starsky & Hutch's Paul Michael Glaser, dies from related complications almost ten years after receiving an infected blood transfusion while giving birth and unknowingly passing it on to her daughter, Ariel, and son, Jake. Ariel died in 1988, Jake is living with HIV, with Paul Michael remaining negative.

    •    Saquinavir, a new type of protease inhibitor drug, becomes available to treat HIV. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) becomes possible. Within two years, death rates due to AIDS will have plummeted in the developed world.
    •    Legendary British DJ and entertainer Kenny Everett dies from AIDS on 4 April 1995.
    •    Oakland resident Jeff Getty becomes the first person to receive a bone marrow transplant from a Baboon, as an experimental procedure to treat his HIV infection. He died of heart failure after cancer treatment, in 2006.

    •    Robert Gallo's discovery that some natural compounds known as chemokines can block HIV and halt the progression of AIDS is hailed by Science magazine as one of that year's most important scientific breakthroughs.

    •    "The most recent estimate of the number of Americans infected (with HIV), 750,000, is only half the total that government officials used to cite over a decade ago, at a time when experts believed that as many as 1.5 million people carried the virus." article in the Washington Post.


    •    International Human Rights Day, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is launched to campaign for greater access to HIV treatment for all South Africans, by raising public awareness and understanding about issues surrounding the availability, affordability and use of HIV treatments.
    •    studies suggest that a retrovirus, SIVcpz (simian immunodeficiency virus) from the common chimpanzee Pan troglodytes, may have passed to human populations in west equatorial Africa during the twentieth century and developed into various types of HIV.
    •    Edward Hooper releases a book called The River, which accuses doctors who developed and administered the oral polio vaccine in 1950s Africa of unintentionally starting the AIDS epidemic.
2000s
    •    World Health Organization estimates between 15% and 20% of new HIV infections worldwide are the result of blood transfusions, where the donors were not screened or inadequately screened for HIV.

    •   FDA licenses the first nucleic acid test (NAT) systems intended for screening of blood and plasma donations.

    •    CDC recommends anti-retroviral post-exposure prophylaxis for people exposed to HIV from rapes, accidents or occasional unsafe sex or drug use.
    •    A highly resistant strain of HIV linked to rapid progression to AIDS is identified in New York City.

    •    The first case of someone being cured of HIV. A San Francisco man, Timothy Ray Brown, coinfected with leukemia and HIV, is cured from HIV due to his bone marrow transplant in Germany. Other similar cases begin being studied to confirm what is believed to be similar results.

2011
    •    Confirmation of the first patient cured of HIV, Timothy Ray Brown, as having a negative HIV status, 4 years after treatment.

NorCal AIDS Challenge Waives $75 Registration on World AIDS Day Dec. 1

2011-11-28T17:26:07Z

NorCal AIDS Cycle, the Sacramento-based four-day, 330-mile HIV/AIDS cycling fundraiser, will mark the 23rd annual World AIDS Day by waiving the $75 registration fee for cyclists or crew volunteers who sign up on December 1.

To qualify for the free registration, simply visit norcalaidscycle.org on Dec. 1, click on Register Now, and enter code CURE.

Ride organizers hope the opportunity to register free will inspire cyclists and volunteer crew members to sign up, get a jump on training and help the event exceed last year’s record-breaking success. The 2012 NorCal AIDS Cycle will be held May 17-20.

With nearly 100 cyclists, NorCal AIDS Cycle (NCAC) had its most successful year in 2011, raising nearly $250,000, with $190,000, or 72 percent, donated to local HIV/AIDS service organizations.

Each NCAC cyclist commits to raise a minimum of $1,500, although some cyclists raise far more. Crew members commit to raise a minimum of $250 each and often raise more as well.

In addition to helping fund services for people living with HIV and AIDS, as well as prevention, education and testing, the bike ride plays an important role in raising awareness of the continuing epidemic.

Paul Weubbe, who rode in NorCal AIDS Cycle for the first time in 2008, has been impressed by the attention the NCAC ride generates in remote Central Valley towns and Sierra foothill communities along the route. “When you have 100 cyclists come through town, people want to know what’s going on,” Weubbe says. “When you stop at rest stops, they ask questions about why we are riding. It starts a conversation that otherwise might never happen.”

World AIDS Day was established by the World Health Organization in 1988 to raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In the early years of the epidemic, grassroots organizations rallied in a massive effort both to provide critical health services and to educate the public about the critical importance of testing and safer-sex practices. But as the years passed, HIV/AIDS service organizations struggled to overcome “message fatigue,” media coverage dwindled, and the development of life-saving new treatments meant HIV was no longer an automatic death sentence. A new generation grew up without the sense of crisis that their elders had experienced. As a result, the rate of new HIV diagnoses has remained flat for years—no higher, but no lower.

An estimated 56,300 adolescents and adults were newly infected with HIV in 2006 in the United States, about 22.8 new diagnoses per 100,000 population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. There are some 5,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the Sacramento region, according to CARES—an estimated 1,000 of whom are unaware they are infected. There were 111,100 Californians living with HIV as of June 30,2011, according to the California Office of AIDS.

At CARES (Center for AIDS Research, Education & Services), a Sacramento HIV/AIDS clinic and service provider that received $50,000 from NCAC for its Positively Speaking outreach program in 2011, 111 people under age 25 currently are being treated for HIV, 99 boys and 12 girls.

“I have been working in HIV for many years and never has my patient case load been so young,” says Emily Tsuchida, a Nurse Practitioner at CARES. “It seems the youth are not using condoms, and that is what is so concerning. HIV is completely preventable in this country, and yet the rates of infection are not coming down.

“The ride is a reminder that this epidemic is still here,” says Tsuchida, who is an NCAC cyclist and board member. “When we ride through towns, raise money, and train, it starts a dialogue that makes people think, makes them remember, and hopefully inspires someone to test and prevent infection.”

The mission of NorCal AIDS Cycle is to support organizations throughout Northern California working to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic and to care for those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in the region through fundraising; to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS, the needs of the community and the benefitting organizations; and to encourage a positive environment for the dignity, quality of life, and acceptance of people affected by and infected with HIV/AIDS. For more information about NorCal AIDS Cycle, visit http://www.norcalaidscycle.org.

Disclosure: Bonnie Osborn is a writer and public relations professional working on behalf of NCAC

Chris goes to CARES

2011-03-08T19:46:28Z

CARES (the Center for AIDS Research, Education & Services) is across the street from the Townhouse, which is quiet at 4:00pm on a Monday afternoon long before they open up for Open-Mic night. I walk there after my obligatory after-work nap, still a little groggy, stopping at Old Soul for a mocha to keep my hands warm and bumping into customers who find it strange to see me on the other side of the counter. Mocha in hand, I’m heading across Midtown through the alleyways and wondering if the sun-turned-overcast sky is going to turn to rain, which would put a damper on the bonfire plans I’ve set in motion for later in the day. Over at 21st, I make a right and tell a homeless man I’ll help him out with a cigarette on my way back, then follow some fellow into the CARES building with its reflective front windows and No Smoking signs posted on the pale brick walls.

It’s a miniature hospital. Think linoleum floors, Top-40 turned Elevator Muzak playing from the radio, hard plastic waiting room seats with outdated magazines splashed about like an afterthought—Hurricane Katrina on the cover of a National Geographic, posters that say “Compliance is Not A Crime” and rotating towers of pamphlets marked “Women’s Support Groups” and “Addiction Recovery,” a defeated, yet hopeful feeling among the patients waiting in slow-moving lines at the Pharmacy, people idling at the Check-In windows waiting for someone to wave them forward. I check in and fill out my HIV/STD Test form, the same form I filled out last time, and wait for a while near the elevator and watch people come and go, old friends, usually, who catch up with each other in the Pharmacy line. I see a kid getting the same test as me (“My girl, she wants me to get the test, she don’t trust me. I tell her I love her but she don’t believe me,” he tells the Check-In nurse), a woman who tells her entire life story to another nurse, as well as a man who is worried about “Mother missing her appointment.” In the back of my mind I can’t help but think that most of these people, mostly middle-aged men, have HIV or something. They’re here for something, and that makes me sad. Then I realize that they’re probably thinking the same thing about me: Poor guy, so young. I’m glad they—we—have a place like this to go to.

I mean, where would I go? With no health insurance, what would I do?

I’m eventually led upstairs to the same little room where I was taken last time, where I took my cotton-swab HIV test (negative results, thank goodness), and have to explain that I’m not here for another cotton-swab. I'm here to feel good about knowing I'm clean of STD's, and this is the first time I've been tested. My nurse leaves to put my information in the computer, again, I guess, and while I wait I grab a couple more condoms from the party bins in the bookshelf and read about post-Katrina New Orleans, which makes me sad, though the photographs are phenomenal. My nurse comes back and tells me to follow her downstairs, down to the bottom floor.

Now this part of CARES looks even more like a hospital. More official. Here there’s a white-coated doctor off to the side, stuffed away in a cubby full of biohazard signs and computers and centrifuges and urine sample cups and boxes of gloves and a sign that says “Warn Your Phlebotomist If You're Allergic To Latex.” When I arrive, I sign in on a sheet outside of his window and take a seat in the waiting area across from the bathroom. I read a magazine about Sacramento and don’t learn anything new. Makes me want to write for a magazine about Sacramento… Then my name is called, I go into the doctor’s cubby, sit in a padded chair with one of the arms lifted while he looks up information about me in the computer. Nothing shows up. He asks me, twice, my phone number—he was off by a digit—and my date of birth, but there are no results. Like I snuck in or something. So he sends me back upstairs to confirm with the nurses that yes, I was in the system, and the nurse is confused and tells me she’ll take care of it for me. Within twenty minutes, the information has been processed.

So I get my blood taken. Reminds me that I should get back into donating blood again. The Doc takes just a little bit of blood—a little glass vial, “Still warm,” he laughs—and then I hold gauze against my elbow to keep from bleeding out all over the floor. Wouldn’t that be terrible? Next thing, Doc gives me a urine sample cup with my name printed out all official-like on the side, and I pee into it. Good thing I drank that mocha. I leave the warm sample on the metal cabinet near the Doc’s door. Test over.

“When do I hear back?” I ask him. “If you don’t hear anything by Wednesday,” he says, “then that’s a good thing.”

CARES is located at 1500 21st St.

HIV awareness campaign reaches out to minority youth

2010-12-08T19:18:36Z

For the second year in a row, Kaiser Permanente is supporting the Center for AIDS Research Education and Services (CARES) in their HIV and STI testing campaign geared towards African American and Latino youth age 15-26.

The program trains youth peer educators to reach out to minority youth through social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace and gets them out in to the community to do counseling, HIV testing and education.

“We’re seeing a very high rate of new HIV cases among minority youth,” said Amanda Chi, CARES Manager for Outreach, Education and Prevention. “This program is unique in that it uses new ways to connect with youth who otherwise wouldn’t be seeing or hearing how important it is to get tested for and protect yourself against HIV.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, minorities represent 70% of new AIDS cases, 65% of people living with AIDS and 72% of all AIDS deaths. Those under the age of 30 account for 34% of new infections, the largest of any group, with 21% of those infected being unaware of their status.

The continued support of this program -- $75,000 -- is part of $500,000 in funding that Kaiser Permanente is providing to seven Northern California organizations through a fund established at the East Bay Community Foundation. Organizations were selected for their ability to provide screening to the targeted population as well as to connect clients with HIV/AIDS support services, like those offered at CARES.

For more information, visit www.caresclinic.org.

Disclosure: Katie Minke is employed by Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Valley Area, Northern California Media Relations

Cleve Jones to Highlight "Milk and Cookies" Event at the Crest Theater

2010-04-30T19:59:13Z

Sacramento, CA - On October 12, 2009, Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the highly controversial bill (S.B. 572) establishing “Harvey Milk Day” to take place each May 22nd, Milk’s birthday. The signing came on the heels of President Obama awarding Harvey Milk posthumously, the Presidential Medal of Freedom last August.

Equality Action Now, a local grassroots civil rights organization wanted to make sure Sacramento wasn’t left out in providing community-based affordable events commemorating Harvey Milk’s 80th Birthday, his Presidential Medal of Freedom award, and the California’s first official Harvey Milk Day. During the last several months EAN’s leadership and volunteers collaborated with several individuals and organizations throughout the region to organize events celebrating Harvey Milk and his legacy.

“Milk and Cookies” Panel Discussion and the Screening of “Milk”

To open the week Equality Action Now is hosting a VIP Reception, “Milk and Cookies” Panel Discussion, and the screening of “Milk” the movie production that won 2 Academy Awards starring Sean Penn. All will take place beginning at 6:00pm Wednesday May 19, 2010 at the Crest Theater in downtown Sacramento. State Senator Mark Leno, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and Cleve Jones are special guests.

Elected to the Senate in 2008, Senator Mark Leno is the first openly gay man elected to the State Senate, and one of the first two openly gay men ever elected to the State Assembly. Prior to his election to the Senate, he served six years in the State Assembly and four and a half years on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

As sponsor of S. B. 572, Harvey Milk Day would not have been enacted if it were not for the tenacity and perseverance of Senator Leno.

Tom Ammiano is a long-time San Francisco Democratic leader who has served the city nearly three decades as a teacher, civil rights leader, educator and Supervisor. Today Ammiano serves as a State Assemblyman.

Assemblymember Ammiano is a tireless fighter of LGBT and civil rights and recently came out for the legalization of marijuana. He was also a good friend of Harvey Milk and may have a story or two to tell participants of the VIP Reception and “Milk and Cookies” Panel Discussion.

Cleve Jones is an AIDS and LGBT civil rights activist. He conceived the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. At the onset of the AIDS pandemic Jones co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Jones began his career as an activist in San Francisco during the turbulent 1970’s. He worked as a student intern in Harvey Milk’s office while studying political science at San Francisco State University. Actor Emile Hirsch portrayed Cleve Jones in Milk, director Gus Van Sant’s biopic of Harvey Milk. Equality Action Now is especially happy to have Cleve participate in this special event.

Additional guests providing entertainment during the “Milk and Cookies” Panel Discussion is the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus and local “Spoken Word” artists, Jovi Radtke and C.M. Foster.

A VIP Reception with Leno, Ammiano and Jones begins at 6:00pm. The “Milk and Cookies” Panel Discussion starts at 7:00pm and the screening of Milk begins at 8:00pm. Entry to the VIP event is $30 and the Panel Discussion plus the screening of Milk $10. Tickets are available at Tickets.com. For more information about Harvey Milk Day events visit: www.EqualityActionNow.org

Sacramento marks World AIDS Day by advocating for drug funding; memorializing lives lost

2009-12-03T00:14:12Z

Millions of people from around the globe marked World AIDS Day on December 1. In Sacramento, local HIV/AIDS organizations worked hard to make the day about not only remembering lives lost, but also advocating for the 34,000 Californians who have HIV/AIDS. Many of those people are currently at risk of losing funding for their medications.

As California continues to face a state budget crisis, HIV/AIDS organizations statewide are fearful of more cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). Funded by the federal and state government, ADAP provides essential anti-HIV medications to low-income people who are uninsured or underinsured. The potential cuts to ADAP come after Governor Schwarzenegger already eliminated $85 million in state funding for other vital HIV/AIDS services earlier this year, including many prevention, education, and counseling programs.

CARES used the annual day to call on the State Legislature to work with the Governor’s Administration and members of the California congressional delegation to devise a plan for averting the public healthcare crisis.

“There are 5,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the Sacramento region. Many of them are low-income people who will lose access to essential life-prolonging medications if our Governor eliminates ADAP funding,” said Bob Kamrath, Executive Director at the Center for AIDS Research, Education & Services. “ADAP keeps people alive – that is clearly non-debatable. This issue is not about dollars and cents, it’s about lives that will be lost if full funding is not maintained,” he added.

Many people who have already seen friends and family members die from the disease gathered for a city wide event at Tower Theatre. Speeches remembered countless lives lost, discussed the present epidemic, and focused on ending new HIV infections in the greater Sacramento area.

“I think science has stripped our hearts…We have lost sight of our young people. The vast majority of dollars spent are on drugs, with less than five percent being spent on prevention. My fear is that we’ll continue to see deaths,” said Dr. Donna DeFreitas of CARES.

A current patient at CARES joined Dr. DeFreitas in asking the community to take a stand against HIV. “People who have HIV need to step up to the plate and make a difference,” said Miguel Diaz, who has been infected with HIV for over 25 years.

Attendees were each given a wrapped red carnation with a space to write the name of a person they wanted to remember. After the event many stayed to view portions of the National AIDS Memorial Quilt, the largest community art project in the world. The panels contain names of people from the Sacramento area who have passed away.

Social Media for the Social Good—Non-profits Explore New Methods of Outreach

2009-11-20T04:17:59Z

Three local non-profit organizations were featured in a Sacramento Social Media Club panel on Tuesday evening hosted by the Sacramento State College of Continuing Education. The panel included Celia Cortez, Projects and Event Manager for the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Jordan Blair, Board Member for River City Food Bank; and Jon Benorden, Program Coordinator for the Center for AIDS Research, Education and Service (CARES). Lesley Miller, Media Director for 3Fold Communication, also sat on the panel. Moderator Josh Morgan, principal at Morgan/Dorado and program director for the Sacramento Social Media Club, focused the discussion on how non-profits are using social media to educate, engage, and build lasting relationships with their communities.

Facebook was the unanimous point of entry into social media for all three organizations. Cortez said the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber selected Facebook because it was the most popular platform among their member organizations; Blair choose Facebook for River City Food Bank because it is the platform upon which he spends the most time. “Facebook provides an easy way for people to connect with causes and non-profits thanks to its one-click ‘become a fan’ feature, “commented Morgan. River City Food Bank, where many of their long-term contributors are past retirement age, is finding that Facebook helps them to engage with the next generation of donors. However some of their loyal supporters are stepping out into social media as well; an 85 year old volunteer joined Facebook just so he could “friend” the River city Food Bank. Benorden said that their “old school” supporters are beginning to mesh with the new people they’ve engaged through their group & page on Facebook but that CARES still has a long way to go.

Both the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and CARES are also using Twitter to promote their organizations and causes. Miller said 3Fold encourages their clients to cross post on multiple social media platforms to increase the traffic among all the sites. For example, use Twitter to remind people the organization is on Facebook or create an event on Yelp and ask people to write a review. I frequently use Twitter to drive traffic to SARTA.org’s website or LinkedIn group where more detailed membership and event information is available.

CARES created both a group page and a fan page for its campaign “Are You the Difference” which strives to eliminate new cases of HIV in the Sacramento region by 2015. Benorden plans to expand the campaign to include other platforms like Flickr and YouTube. On YouTube, CARES wants to personalize and promote their campaign by featuring user generated videos about how individuals can be or are the difference in eliminating new cases of HIV.

The biggest challenge for all of the organizations is finding the time to manage and maintain their social media accounts. Cortez shared that she uses cross posting tools to lessen the amount of time she spends managing each platform the Hispanic Chamber employs. Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and Seesmic were mentioned as free services for managing multiple accounts and platforms and Radian6 was recommended as a new professional service for this purpose. Benorden prefers to uniquely post to Facebook and Twitter to keep variety in the CARES messages, but he sticks to a common theme. Blair, who in addition to his responsibilities as a board member of the River City Food Bank works a full time job, schedules time on his weekly calendar to tend to his social media chores. When asked if a volunteer could handle the job, the general consensus among the panelists was that most volunteers and interns do not have enough depth or experience with the organization or its causes to determine social media platform content or to respond to questions and remarks received by followers and friends on the sites. For CARES, sensitivity to and experience with HIV/AIDS is a must for anyone representing the organization on its social media platforms.

The panel wrapped up with a discussion on event promotion using Facebook ads and other tools. All of the organizations are considering using Facebook ads and River City Food Bank has budgeted money for this purpose next year. Benorden pointed out that even if no one clicks through an “Are You the Difference” ad, if enough information is included about the campaign, there is value in people seeing the ad multiple times. Miller said 3Fold advises their clients to put nearly as much energy into post event promotion as they do pre event. Blair followed this advice after a recent River City Food Bank fundraiser, uploading event photos long into the night. The post event promotion is a valuable investment in the success of future events and helps those who attend feel more part of the organization—especially if they are featured in a photo!

After the panel ended, participants informally exchanged ideas on how they are using social media and also had a chance to meet the panelists and ask more questions. The event was live tweeted by volunteer Ira Cohen on behalf of @SMCSac using the hashtag #smcsac. The venue provided by Sacramento State College of Continuing Education is well equipped for meetings and seminars and the Senior Program Coordinator, Toni Ramirez shared that the college is considering offering courses on social media in the future.

Social Media Club, an international non-profit organization, brings together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaborators. The Sacramento chapter was founded in March of 2009 by local users of social media. Free events are normally held on the third Tuesday of each month, but in December, the group is planning a Holiday Party or “holitweetup” in partnership with SacTweetUp on December 10 at Hot Italian in midtown. In January, the normal schedule of monthly panels will resume. For information about the Sacramento Social Media Club and its events, join their groups on Facebook and LinkedIn and follow them on Twitter.

Photgraphs by Marie Young Photography. For more photos of this event visit her Facebook Page

Sacramento Social Media Club Leadership Team:

Julie Berge, Angela D'Arcy, Laura Good, Suzanne Hopkins, Ronnie Ledesma, Jeff Marmins, Josh Morgan

What's happening at the Capitol: September 12, 13

2009-09-12T00:23:26Z

Saturday, Sept. 12

No events are scheduled for this day.

Sunday, Sept. 13

8 a.m. - 2 p.m. Capitol City Aids Fund will be holding their annual walk and rally at the Capitol. Those who wish to walk or run the 5K course around the Capitol can register at Fleet Feet Sports, 2311 J St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The group will also be holding a health fair on the west steps of the Capitol will provide healthy snacks and drinks.

What's happening at the Capitol: June 10, 11, 12

2009-06-09T23:00:23Z

Wednesday, June 10

10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation is holding a rally entitled "Fight For Your Life" on the north steps of the Capitol to address budget cuts to HIV/AIDS services. "HIV prevention, care, and treatment [are] in peril," due to state leaders slashing funds for HIV programs, says the event's flier. The event is expected to draw 1,000 people.

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Chrysler's Global Electric Motorcars (GEM) division has paired up with the Governor's office to display their new "Peapod" car on the east steps of the Capitol. The all-electric vehicle is made of over 95% recycled and recyclable material. "It can go on any road with a posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour," says the vehicle's website.

Thursday, June 11 and Friday, June 12

No events are scheduled for these days.

What's Happening at the Capitol: May 16, 17

2009-05-16T00:30:31Z

Saturday, May 16

8-11 a.m. Roughneck Motorcycle Club will be holding a charity motorcycle run for the Firefighters Cancer Awareness Support Network near the firefighter's memorial. 250 people are expected.

9 a.m.-Noon Alternatives Pregnancy Center will be holding a 2K "Walk for Life" and according to its website, will offer free pregnancy tests, counseling, information, ultrasounds, maternity and baby supplies, and more. Located on the west steps of the Capitol, the event is expected to draw around 300 people.

9 a.m.- 4 p.m. UC Davis' Vietnamese Student Association will be holding a Bike-A-Thon which will begin on the UC Davis Campus and end at the State Capitol just south of the fish pond.

"The money raised during our Bike-A-Thon will go towards implementing VietHope’s Youth Development Program, which inspires scholarship recipients to take initiative by taking what they have learned in school and applying their new knowledge into practice in the real world. VietHope’s mission is to provide scholarships to underprivileged students in Vietnam" says a flier from the Bike-A-Thon website.

11 a.m.- 8 p.m. Five separate weddings are scheduled to take place near the rose garden.

Noon-6 p.m. Million Marijuana March will be holding a pro-medical-marijuana rally with speakers, legal information and live music. Double Lion, Feva, TPR and Kapital Kings are on the lineup, says a post on a greenpassion.org forum. 800 people are expected to show up for the event on the north steps of the Capitol.

5-6 p.m. Sacramento Adventist Academy, a private K-12 school, will be holding a band performance on the west steps of the Capitol for an expected audience of 500 people.

Sunday, May 17

Noon-4 p.m. NorCal AIDS Challenge, a four-day 330-mile ride with over 65 participants, started in Folsom on Thursday, May 14 and will end at the Capitol's west steps with a closing ceremony. It expects to draw 800 people.

5-11 p.m. Make-A-Wish Foundation will be holding a "Twilight Walk for Wishes." An event open to the public, registration begins at 5:45 p.m. and the walk begins at 6:45 p.m. on the south steps of the Capitol. "The mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Sacramento & Northeastern California is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy," says their local webpage.

Local cyclists to ride fixies in AIDS Lifecycle

2009-05-01T09:48:16Z

The statistics are staggering.

There are nearly 200,000 people currently living with HIV/AIDS in California.

In the United States, 1.1 million people have HIV.

Throughout the world, 33 million people live with the virus.

These statistics, taken from a number of sources, including the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention also say that the estimated cost of treatment for a person with HIV is $20,000 dollars per year. Funding -- for services and treatment for those who have HIV/AIDS, not to mention prevention for at-risk groups -- is much needed.

A number of Sacramentans, including friends Danny Gutierrez and Douglas Vincent, will be doing their part by participating in the AIDS Lifecycle, an AIDS fundraising bicycle event which takes place May 31 - June 6. Each participant must raise a minimum of $3,000 for the race, which will cover 545 miles and stretches from San Francisco to Los Angeles Proceeds go to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.

Gutierrez is normally a production manager for Java City Coffee Company, but he's been volunteering as a cleaner and organizing kids’ programs at the Sacramento Bike Kitchen, which educates people on how to perform their own bicycle maintenance. Vincent is currently an analyst for the state's Department of Corrections and rides 200 miles per week for fun.

Gutierrez and Vincent have known each other since "sometime in high school," are training partners, make up a fundraising team named Lugged Nutz, and are former band mates for the band Amber Inn. They have been riding together every weekend recently, trying to get in shape to complete the nearly 80-mile-per-day ride.

"On the weekends, Doug and I will take about 50-mile rides, so from about Old Town to Folsom and back," Gutierrez said.

They also plan to do a 100-mile day as part of their training. According to their blog, they are called Lugged Nutz because they planned on "doing this ride on vintage steel-lugged, fixed-gear conversions."

"Danny and I both started riding [fixed-gear bikes] because they're fun, Vincent said. "As far as riding around town, riding through the streets, they're a much funner mode of transportation. Danny and I both have this attitude that we would be more proud if we did it on a fixed gear, plus, the route we're taking - there aren't that many hills."

This means that Vincent and Gutierrez will not be able to coast, and must pedal constantly. However, the ride is very well supported with cars assisting riders on the road and booths full of drinks every now and then.

Also, anyone who does not complete the day's ride after 10 hours will be picked up and taken to the next campsite. Team Lugged Nutz does not anticipate the need for this service.

Still a month away from race day, the two have not yet earned the $3,000 that they pledged to raise before the race. "Times are pretty hard, and it's been hard for us to raise money, but we've had a lot of other support other than financial, which is great," Gutierrez said.

"The whole cause has really brought a lot of good out in people," he added.

Asbestos Press hand-printed posters while New Order Ink and Splash Promotion printed T-shirts for sale at a fundraiser the bikers are holding this Saturday, May 2. The $5 cover and all proceeds from T-shirt and poster sales will going to Team Lugged Nutz's race fund.

Saturday, May 2, at 8 p.m. five local bands, including Vincent's band Flounder and Gutierrez's band Exhale, will be rocking Lugged Nutz's fundraising concert at the Kennel Club. Donations will be accepted.