Saturday, March 31, 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM  

Third Annual Celebrity Doodles to benefit D.A.P.  

Celebrity Doodles has become an annual opportunity to mingle among some of your favorite stars in an evening of fun, food and festivities.  Afterward, the proceeds of both silent and live auctions of art by some of these celebrities will be donated to Desert AIDS Project. This year will feature performances by  Suzanne Somers, Lorna Luft and Meredith Patterson.  Click here for the event website, a list of celebrities expected to attend and more information.  (sb)

Tuesday, April 3, 6:00 PM 

A Positive Life - The Series:  An Update from the 2012 Retrovirus Conference

The next seminar in the Positive Life Series will bring the latest information from CROI 2012, the 19th Annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections held earlier this month in Seattle.  Drs. John Stansell and Clayton Barbour will share the latest news in HIV/AIDS therapies.  A light supper will be served at 6:00 PM, and the program will begin at 6:30 PM.  The location is the Sinatra Auditorium at Desert Regional Medical Center (at the corner of Tachevah and Via Miraleste in Palm Springs), and the event, sponsored by Jewish Family Services of the Desert, is always free.  ASL translation will be provided.  Questions? Email positivelifeseries@gmail.com, or call 760.566.6POZ (6769). However, YOU DO NOT NEED TO RSVP!  The following Positive Life Series seminar will be on Tuesday, May 1 on the topic of HIV and Cardiovascular Health, featuring speaker Ruben Gamundi.  

Thursday, April 19, 7:00 PM

 "Woven Voices"

Share the life experience of three long-time survivors of HIV/AIDS at a reading of their collective work, entitled "Woven Voices," in the Sinatra Auditorium at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs on Thursday, April 19 at 7:00 PM. The one-hour reading will be followed by a Q&A session. Those considering attending should be aware that some "adult language" will be used throughout the reading.  (rv) 

Thursday, April 26, breakfast, lunch & dinner 

Dining Out for Life 

You can support HIV/AIDS services at Desert AIDS Project simply by dining at any of the Dining Out for Life participating restaurants throughout the Coachella Valley on Thursday, April 26!  Follow this link for more information and a list of participating restaurants. (jl)

The D.A.P. Client Community Center hosts regular activities and events every week (listed below).  Community Center special events and other activities can be found on the main D.A.P. website.  Click here for the complete list of upcoming special events.

Tuesday, April 3, 11:45 AM - 1:00 PM  

Community Center Presents:  HIV & CHOLESTEROL

CROI 2012 at a glance, and save the date for next year
We have tried to cover The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) this year due to the significant and urgent issues it addresses every year.  We ran a summary last week, but offer one more here which is a fairly quick checklist of the highlights and more important results announced at this year's Conference.  This should provide a handy preparation guide if you're planning on attending next week's Positive Life series (see above) which will cover the conference in depth.  Speakers will be our local Doctors John Stansell and Clayton Barbour.  (sb)

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Marijuana and CD4s: new HIV treatment strategy?

For years, marijuana--purchased legally or not--and either smoked or ingested, along with its synthetic counterpart Marinol (dronabinol) have been used by many people living with HIV (and other chronic illnesses) to manage various symptoms of illness, including pain, depression, nausea, neuropathy and weight loss.  Now a new study conducted by the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York suggests that the active ingredient in marijuana (tetrahydrocannabinol) may prove effective at blocking a form of HIV that has been linked to faster disease progression during late stages of the infection.  It all involves complex interactions between various types of CD4s, CD2s, and other immune cells.  The science is a bit thick, but it's worth a look here.  While the Mt. Sinai researchers stop short of concluding that marijuana could be one of nature's best antiretrovirals, they suggest the possibility certainly merits further study of cannabinoids and their effect on HIV replication and immune cell response.  (sb)

As the U.S. Supreme Court reviews the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the "ACA") in coming weeks, people living with HIV/AIDS and activists should be watching closely and critically.  And those who do not have access to healthcare through organizations such as D.A.P. ought to be especially alert.  For many of approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV in this country, the Court's decisions will directly affect access to quality care and life-saving treatment over a very long term.  Among many health-related communities that will be profoundly affected by the new healthcare law, those with HIV represent an exceptionally strong example of the positive impact the ACA will have, and a particularly compelling argument for the constitutionality of the controversial "mandate," which requires everyone to purchase health insurance.  Click here and here for assessments of what's at stake for our communities.  Click here for a great summary that spells out specifics for ACA and HIV-positive patients.  And if you feel especially ambitious, click here for Lambda Legal's amicus curiae brief to the Court.  Keep in mind there will be massive publicity--both pro and con, liberal and conservative--on this case over the next few weeks, but that final rulings by the Court are not likely until June at the earliest.  (sb) 

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The AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) is a tremendous support to people living with HIV who are unable to afford the substantial cost of lifesaving medications.  Recently there was concern that the new California budget would implement a co-pay for ADAP.  Earlier this month the issue came up for a vote in the Health and Human Services Subcommittee of the Senate's Budget and Fiscal Review Committee and fortunately, the proposal was defeated 2-1.  Unfortunately, the lone dissenting vote was cast by our own State Senator, Bill Emmerson!  Send a note to Senator Emmerson telling him that his vote was unacceptable, that you demand his full support of ADAP and as a constituent, will remember his vote on this vital issue as he runs for re-election this year.  Emmerson is a conservative Republican and consistently receives very low ratings from groups that monitor public officials' positions on HIV/AIDS, marriage equality, pro-choice and LGBT interests.  Click here to read an account of the subcommittee vote and about the importance of ADAP to Californians living with HIV/AIDS.  (jl) (sb) 

When we get tired of health issues, insurance hassles, bills and pills, we like to contemplate bigger things.  New studies by astrophysicists at several observatories around the world suggest that our Milky Way Galaxy may contain billions of potentially habitable planets, places that are in the "Goldilocks Zone" of their star, in the same way that Earth is at an ideal distance from our sun to harbor life.  So far, just a few such planets have been confirmed, but extrapolations from the survey and the fact that the Milky Way includes 200 - 400 billion stars suggest such bodies are quite common throughout the galaxy.  And about 100 are within earth's cosmic neighborhood.  Click here for a cool article and explanatory video.  (sb)

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"Every treatment for HIV/AIDS exists because gay activists, almost all from ACT UP, fought like tigers to get them," writes Larry Kramer (pictured), one of the surviving founders of what was officially known as the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power.  Kramer is right.  The fact that many of us are still even here is in part, traceable to the demonstrations, arrests, civil disobedience, often outrageous and always controversial activities of ACT UP.  It was the first organized, radical movement whose primary purpose was to force America's attention onto AIDS and the appalling death toll it was taking by 1987.

We don't hear much about ACT UP anymore and it may be a surprise to learn that this month marks its 25th anniversary.  Well, I remember it vividly and I'm sure many DAPCAN readers do as well.  I first heard about ACT UP shortly after its formation, which happened to coincide around the same time I tested HIV-positive.  Living in New York City, I'd already been to many funerals of friends, knew others who were ill or soon would be, but I didn't give much thought to something like ACT UP.  I was still young, healthy and caught up in a demanding career.  I had a lot of stuff to do, I told myself, and didn't have time to be much of an activist.  I essentially remained in denial--about having HIV, about illness, about the life and death issues of political involvement.

Meanwhile, ACT UP quickly attracted national attention through demonstrations at places like Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, the FDA, St. Patrick's Cathedral and many sites around the country.  The organization and Kramer especially, were brutally criticized in some circles, even within the gay community, for what some called "anarchy" and "blasphemy" (the Cathedral incident remains notorious).  Yet it's undeniable that ACT UP combined with the "Silence = Death" project succeeded as nothing else had in finally shaking the country out of its apathy toward AIDS.

Eventually, I did participate in some ACT UP events and not just because my health began to decline.  I attended some demonstrations and marches, waved signs and yelled a lot.  But I never got arrested, never got interviewed, never got into fights, never scuffled with police.  And today I regret that.  I deeply wish that I had had the foresight, courage and maturity to contribute more to ACT UP, and to do so much earlier.  If not for the spark of ACT UP, the government, FDA, researchers and pharmaceutical companies are unlikely to have done anything urgent or timely.  Lifesaving drugs would have taken more years to come and the death list would be even longer.

Today, ACT UP continues, but barely.  Yet that is not out of lack of need.  Larry Kramer, still outspoken and irascible at 76, sums up what happened to ACT UP here and emphasizes how much could still be accomplished by similar tactics for LGBT rights and HIV/AIDS solutions.  Kramer's article is important history.  It's significant to remember that his anger, energy and the offbeat organization he helped found have much to do with why we are still here to remember at all.  A new film documentary, United in Anger: A History of ACT UP will be released this spring.  Click here to learn more about it.  

Medically Indigent Services Program  (MISP) 

AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP)

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)

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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