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Ending Homelessness to End AIDS

“Not only is housing the greatest unmet need of people living with and at risk for HIV, at least half of people with HIV have experienced homelessness or unstable housing.”

Here’s a link to an article that powerfully and clearly presents how homelessness impacts those living with HIV/AIDS, and why stable housing is so important in not only treating, but also preventing HIV infection.

The article also contains information on current, prevailing government attitudes and policies on affordable housing for people living with HIV and how to advocate for policy change.

You can access the article by clicking here.

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Consensus Builds For Universal HIV Testing

From the NPR website:

“Everybody needs an HIV test, at least once.

That’s the verdict from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which has just joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a scrum of professional medical societies in calling for for the virus that causes AIDS.

Teenagers and adults (ages 15 to 65) should get screened for HIV, the say, with retesting at least once a year for people at higher risk of infection, including men who have sex with men and people who use IV drugs.

The task force also recommends that women in labor be tested for HIV if they don’t know their status.”

The complete article can be found here.

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News Analysis: ‘Cured of AIDS’? Not Yet

From the New York Times

“What to make of all the recent “cured of AIDS” headlines? An American in Berlin, a baby in Mississippi and 14 patients in France are all alive without treatment.

Is a cure at hand?

No. But in unusual cases, some people seem able, with temporary help from antiretroviral drugs, to kill the virus before it can sink into reservoirs deep in their bodies — or to at least force it to stand at the doorways of their cells, unable to get in.”

The article with accompanying video continues here.

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Assistance Programs Available to Pay for HIV Meds

Medications to treat and manage HIV are effective, but can also be close to prohibitively expensive.

There are several programs, including the Affordable Care Act and those sponsored by pharmaceutical companies that can lower or minimize the cost of these treatments.

The article about these resources also contains links to Partnership for Prescription Assistance, Needy Meds, Together Rx Access and other programs that may be able to provide assistance.

The article can be found here.

Stable Housing Key To Ending AIDS Epidemic

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“Without access to stable housing, there is no way we can truly end the AIDS epidemic.”

– Rebecca Haag, President & CEO of AIDS Action Committee

Last week,  the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute issued a report titled “Out in the Cold: Homeless Children in Crisis in Massachusetts.”

The report recognized that the state needs to embrace new policies that make homeless families with children and teens eligible for shelter and housing immediately.

Rebecca Haag, President & CEO of AIDS Action Committee applauded the results of the report, noting that street-involved and homeless youth are most at risk for HIV and STDs, and that 11 percent of new HIV infection diagnoses in Massachusetts between 2008 and 2010 were of adolescents and young adults age 13-24.

“We also know that homelessness worsens the health of those living with HIV/AIDS and puts them at risk of other chronic and life threatening conditions,” Ms. Haag stated.

“Without access to stable housing, there is no way we can truly end the AIDS epidemic.”

Read the complete story here.

First National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Recognizes Needs and Role of Young People

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“Today’s young people are the first generation that has never known a world without HIV and AIDS. In the United States, almost 40 percent of new HIV infections are young people ages 13 to 29. Despite this harsh reality, young people and their allies are determined to end this pandemic once and for all.”  — advocatesforyouth.org

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day, which was observed for the first time on April 10, 2013, was created to acknowledge the impact of HIV and AIDS on young people as well as highlight the amazing work young people are doing across the country to fight the HIV & AIDS epidemic.

One of the goals that Advocates for Youth and the eleven other founding partners established was to draw attention to fact that every month 1,000 young people are infected with HIV and over 76,400 young people are currently living with HIV across the country.

The founders of the day state, “While there has been much talk about an AIDS-Free Generation, we know that is not possible without our nation’s youth. Young people and their allies are determined to end this epidemic once and for all and this day is a way to acknowledge the great work young people are already engaging in to do so.”

Here are links to sites where you can learn more about this effort and youth and HIV/AIDS issues:

AIDS.gov
 Amplify Your Voice
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Policymic

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Funding for ADAP Not in Continuing Resolution:

The spending bill (called a Continuing Resolution or CR) which was passed by Congress on March 21 does not include funding past September for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), needed to continue providing HIV medications to almost 8,000 people with HIV/AIDS.

In testimony before Congress, Carl Schmid, Deputy Director of The AIDS Institute, warned that under the Continuing Resolution, together with sequestration, states will likely have to remove patients from the ADAP program.

For more information about the resolution and its possible impact click here.