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DAPCAN
Desert AIDS Project - Community Action Newsletter
January 5, 2012
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Here's to Winter
in the Desert!
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Editorial Staff
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David Brinkman
Chief Executive Officer
Barry Dayton
Director of Marketing and Communications
Alexis Ortega
Interactive Marketing
Specialist
Rick Vila
Volunteer Co-editor
John Lewis
Volunteer Co-editor
Steve Bolerjack
Volunteer Co-editor
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Tuesday, February 7, 6:00 PM - A Positive Life - The Series
The next seminar in the Positive Life Series will be on February 7 and will cover new Hepatitis C (HCV) treatment options. See below for full information: |
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The Client Community Center hosts regular activities and events every week (listed below). Community Center special events and other activities can now be found on the main D.A.P. website. Click here for the complete list of upcoming special events.
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday, Noon - 12:45 PM
Community Center Presents - GUIDED MEDITATION & AFFIRMATIONS
 New sessions starting using guided imagery and affirmations as narrated by Belleruth Naparstek. You'll gain deeper relaxation, healing and wellness. Just show up to the Meditation Room on designated days and time. Lower anxiety, stress and depression.
First and Third Tuesday Every Month, 4:30 - 6:00 PM
Community Center Presents - POZITIVELY POSITIVE
D.A.P. Community Center is pleased to support this peer-led group for HIV+ men striving to live a more empowered and healthier life. Discussion topics are chosen by group members. For more information please contact the group's facilitator, Tim Neuman, @ 323.854.3248. Stay strong!
Every Thursday, 1:00 PM - Movie & Pizza
Community Center Presents - LETS GO TO THE MOVIES
Thursday, January 12 - Secondhand Lions (2003).
 A coming-of-age story about a shy, young boy sent by his irresponsible mother to spend the summer with his wealthy, eccentric uncles in Texas. Directed by Tim McCanlies. Starring Haley Joel Osment, Michael Caine. Come out for a good flick!
Ongoing Client Community Center activities include:
- Support groups
- Spiritual Living 101
- Hepatitis C Therapy Education
- Diabetes Education
- Stitch in Time (needlecraft), Wednesdays, 10:00 AM
- Community Center Computer Lab
- Lending Library
- Free films, Thursdays, 1:00 PM
Follow this link to see the recurring activities on the Community Center Calendar.
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Tour de Palm Springs scheduled for February 11
 If you and your bike would like to participate in Tour de Palm Springs (the annual bicycle tour/ride that benefits many organizations, including the Desert AIDS Project), now is the time to sign up here. The ride will be February 11, 2012 and you can designate D.A.P. as your beneficiary charity. (sb) |
Johnson & Johnson won't allow its HIV meds to go generic
 Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has reiterated its refusal to release patent rights on its HIV medicines to generic drug companies through a Medicines Patent Pool, a structure which promotes low-cost antiretroviral drugs in low-income countries and develops new drug combinations and formulations. According to J&J spokesperson Paul Stoffels, "The pool could trigger a 'mixing and matching' of medicines that would cause a rapid surge in patient resistance to innovative HIV drugs." No one questions that J&J still holds the patents; the issue is one of ethics and the great need for less toxic drugs, especially in Third World areas. J&J manufactures rilpivirine, darunavir, and etravirine, which are not yet the most commonly prescribed meds in the U.S. but are considered critical for HIV control in Africa and eventually may become more needed here. Click here for the Body.com's summary and here for Doctors Without Borders' (who are on the front lines in Africa) point of view (and to learn more about patents and pools). Draw your own conclusions. (sb) |
British Hep C vaccine trial called "promising" An early clinical trial of a Hepatitis C vaccine has shown "truly promising" results, according to researchers at Oxford University in England. Optimistic but appropriately cautious, they emphasize the early nature of the trials, stating, "The immune responses we've seen are exciting and we are beginning the next stage. While we are hopeful, it could be a long road to any vaccine that protects people against Hepatitis C." The high coinfection rates of HIV and HCV here in the Coachella Valley guarantee that we'll watch the progress of this trial closely. Click here for the BBC report. (sb)Back to top
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Many HIV/AIDS conferences, workshops planned for 2012 Your editor finds the wording of the graphic at left a bit odd, but Road to AIDS 2012 is a nationwide tour to engage communities on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and to gather local input to the platform of the XIX International AIDS Conference in July. There are many other conferences, workshops, seminars, etc. this year. Click here for a general list and here for POZ magazine's calendar of HIV/AIDS related events. A Google search of "AIDS 2012" returns a huge number of hits. We realize there are various motivations behind some of these events, and often we hear nothing about them afterward. But we remain optimistic about anyone addressing better HIV treatment and a cure for AIDS so we will try to follow them and report any significant, proven and hopefully, good news that they may produce. (sb) Back to top
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HIV is not a crime...or is it?
 The recent arrest of HIV-positive David Dean Smith in Michigan for allegedly infecting many people (both men and women) purposely with the virus has brought legal aspects of HIV disclosure and criminality again to fore. While we'll leave Smith's case to prosecutors and psychiatrists, it's important to note that 34 states have laws that make it criminal for a person with HIV to have sexual relations with another without full disclosure of status. Some states make this a felony and permit jail sentencing up to 25 years for consensual sex with someone who is HIV-negative (or unaware of status) without prior HIV disclosure, often even if a condom is used and no virus is transmitted. No one advocates irresponsible nondisclosure, but the excessiveness of some state laws has led some Democrats to introduce the Repeal HIV Discrimination Act in the U.S. Congress. The bill would create incentives and support for states to review and reform extreme policies, especially in cases where legal, consensual sex between adults poses no measurable risk of HIV transmission. Click here for a report and other links from D.A.P. friend and longtime activist Eric Sawyer. The Center for HIV Law and Policy provides a good summary of related issues here. (sb) |
New but controversial study on "dual infection"
 Whether one can by "dually infected" or "reinfected" with HIV has long been one the most debated topics in the research, medical and activist communities. A new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases (click here) suggests dual HIV-1 infection can be the main factor associated with CD4/T-cell decline in men who have untreated primary infection of HIV. Read AIDS researcher Dr. Joseph Sonnabend's assessment here in POZ, along with comments from readers that continue the debate. If you are sexually active, it's wise to educate yourself on this issue and to discuss it with your doctor. (sb) |
New study confirms muscle mass loss common in HIV-positive men
 A new study by the University of Wisconsin and Cincinnati Clinic confirms what most of us suspect: longterm HIV in men contributes to sarcopenia, or the loss of muscle mass, strength, and function associated with aging. Other factors that may be present in HIV-positive people such as poor nutrition, inflammation, and hormonal changes accelerate muscle loss. Click here to read the full article on the study and conclusions. Anyone with this problem needs to discuss how to address it with a doctor. Nutritional supplements, dietary changes, testosterone replacement and/or human growth hormone therapy have all shown some effectiveness. Meanwhile, all the more reason to check out those discount memberships at a gym (see article below). (sb)
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Palm Springs Film Festival begins this week
 Every year, the Palm Springs International Film Festival attracts more talented filmmakers, producers, actors, directors, celebrities and of course original, terrific movies than ever before. The Festival runs from January 5 - 16 and features more than a hundred films and very affordable ticket prices. Click here for the Festival website and here for specific information on films and ticket packages. Some are as little as $40. (sb) Back to top |
AIDS still casts wistful shadow over same-sex marriage
 At the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and early '90s, same-sex marriage was understandably the last thing on anyone's mind. Today, as LGBT rights have progressed and even marriage equality has come to a few states, some men who survived the plague but lost their partners to the disease may feel a whole range of emotions: regret, renewed grief, injustice and survivor's guilt. Yet many express gratitude and optimism about the progress we've made both against AIDS and toward full civil rights, including marriage. Click here for a reflective, moving piece about several men who lost their partners, still ponder what might have been, but have moved on with productive lives. (sb) |
Doomsday 2012: Mayan mayhem or marketing manipulation?
 Has all the hoopla about Mayan prophecies, hidden planets, pole shifts, solar flares, streaking asteroids and other apocalyptic hand-wringing tempted you to go max out your credit cards or party like it's 1999? If you watched much television last month (the History Channel--which ought to know better--ran a whole "Apocalypse Week" of programs) or surfed through some of the more outré websites, you might think it's time for such drastic actions or even be a little spooked. And Hollywood, of course, has been cranking out dubious end-of-world disaster movies for years. Well, hang onto your money and breathe easy. Scientists at NASA have thoroughly debunked all the wild theories that are currently selling books, survival equipment and plane tickets to the Yucatan (remember Y-2K?). Click here to read some reliable, comforting and sane information. It seems pills, bills and taxes will remain with us a long time. (sb) Back to top |
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Discounted gym memberships for D.A.P. clients
 Maybe your New Year's resolution involves getting back to the gym. Did you know that several of the area gyms offer discounted memberships to D.A.P. clients? World Gym in Palm Springs and WorkOUT Gym (a new gay men's gym located behind Toucan's) both offer D.A.P. discounts. Keep this in mind when choosing where you will work out and be sure you ask about the discount when signing up as the savings can be significant. And take it from your editors--even on days you don't feel up to the gym, you never regret going afterward! (jl)
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D.A.P. Resources: website and toll-free number
 Remember that the Desert AIDS Project toll-free
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~Edith Sitwell
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Medically Indigent Services Program (MISP)
AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP)
For those who qualify, medical care and help paying for your medications are available through the MISP and ADAP programs. You can find out if you qualify by scheduling an appointment by calling the numbers below. You can schedule your MISP and ADAP appointments together for Moreno Valley office ONLY. If you qualify for ADAP only, there is a local ADAP office right here at Desert AIDS Project. Specify the Palm Springs office when you call to make your appointment. Here are the numbers:
877.501.5085 - toll free
951.486.5375 - English
951.486.5400 - Spanish
951.486.4635 - fax
NOTICE: Faxed MISP applications can get lost in the process. Most persons who have faxed their application have had to re-apply later. It's best to apply in person in Moreno Valley, and get a "receipt of application", and use that as proof that you applied to avoid any uninterrupted services with your DAP medical doctor visits. (rv) (jl)
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ADAP may pay Medicare Part D premium
ADAP-eligible clients who have to purchase Part D prescription drug coverage may qualify to have their Part D premium paid by the State of California. Follow this link to the Part D Premium Payment Program Application. You can also call the State of California at 916.449.5900 for more information. (jl)
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Call 211 for essential human services in Riverside County
2-1-1 is a toll-free service for residents looking for information about essential human services such as affordable housing, food pantries, help for an aging parent, free or low cost health services, addiction prevention programs, employment, support groups, volunteer opportunities, and 1,700 additional services! (jl)
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To contact state and federal officials click on name:
President Barack Obama
Senator Diane Feinstein
Senator Barbara Boxer
Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack
Congressman Jerry Lewis
Governor Jerry Brown
State Senator Bill Emmerson
State Senator Juan Vargas
Assembly member Brian Nestande
Assembly member Manual Perez
Desert AIDS Project - Community Action Newsletter (DAPCAN) presents published material, reprinted with permission, and neither endorses or opposes any material. All information contained in this newsletter, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. Always discuss treatment options with a physician who specializes in treating HIV. Publication of the name or likeness of any individual in articles in this newsletter is not to be construed as any indication of the HIV status of such individual. If you do not wish to receive this e-newsletter, please notify us by using the email address below:
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Additional Contacts/Social Networking
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number is always available at