|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Positive Force NW: Annual Picnic
|
Cascade AIDS Project's Positive Force NW is a great community resource that is meeting the social support needs of people living with HIV and AIDS. Through ongoing events that include social networking, community building and volunteer efforts -- Positive Force NW seeks to break down stigma and raise awareness related to HIV/AIDS.
The 2nd Annual Positive Force NW Positive Picnic will take place on Sunday, July 31, from noon - 3:30 PM at Peninsula Park. This will be an opportunity for people living with HIV to meet and network with others. There will be a barbecue with grilled burgers, hot dogs, veggie food, potato salad, and more, compliments of Positive Force NW. Kickball and other games for every age and ability will be available, and facilities are accessible for all. Participants are asked to bring any games or activities to share, blankets or lawn chairs if wanted; picnic tables will be available. This is an alcohol-free event. Please RSVP no later than Tuesday, July 26 to David Duncan at 503-278-3848. Click here for more info about this fun event!
|
|
 |
|
|
|
2011 AIDS Walk Kick-Off
| |
Join us for the 2011 Team Captain Kick-Off Party
Are you a team captain? Are you interested in starting a team, but need help? If so we invite you and a guest to join us and our sponsors on Thursday, July 21st from 7-9pm at the Lan Su Chinese Garden for our annual Team Captain Kick-off Party! Join us and other team captains for lite bites, beer and wine -- but hurry -- this event is open only to the first 250 people to RSVP.
 |
|
Lan Su Chinese Garden
239 Northwest Everett Street
Portland, OR 97209
| |
RSVP Now!
|
|
|
|
New Staff at CAP
| |
One of the biggest factors in CAP's success is the quality and passion of our employees. We are excited to welcome several new staff members to Cascade AIDS Project:
Alaiyo Foster, Manager of Education Services
Alaiyo is an Oregon native who comes to CAP with Master Degrees in Education/Counseling and Public Service Leadership, and a Bachelors in Black Studies. Alaiyo has over 10 years of experience working with youth in human services work including educational settings. She has spent the last three years as the manager of Teen Parent Services for the Youth Employment Institute and as a school counselor for Portland Public Schools.
Benjamin Gerritz, Prevention with Positives Coordinator
Benjamin is a long-time volunteer of CAP and active community member serving on Oregon's HIV Prevention Planning Group and participating in Positive Force events. Benjamin joins CAP as the new Prevention with Positives Coordinator, where he will be implementing +alk, the Link, and Magnetic Men. Benjamin has a strong passion for HIV/AIDS work and is excited to be on staff at CAP.
Erin McCulley, HIV Prevention Specialist
Erin joined CAP first as a volunteer in Prevention Services and now as an HIV Prevention Specialist. He comes with a Master in Public Health degree and recent experience working in a high prevalence community in Malawi, Africa. He will be working on the Axis intervention, our new program funded by CDC where we offer 2 twenty-minute individual risk reduction counseling sessions. This is also the program we have been funded to evaluate over the next five years. Erin will also support our work in Clark and Clackamas counties.
Andy "Pony" Grigsby, HIV Prevention Coordinator
Pony has been volunteering with CAP in the Prevention department for over two years, helping out on our testing nights at Pivot. Most recently he was a temporary staff member at CAP delivering the +alk intervention (Healthy Relationships) for youth. Pony is also a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence and has been conducting outreach in Portland bars. His primary focus will be working on the Mpowerment project via Pivot and coordinating our CityGuys volunteer program.
Alexandra Vitale, Bilingual Housing Case Worker
Alex's previous work history includes four years as a Crisis Clinician for Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare's Project Respond program and two years as an Outreach Worker for JOIN. Because CAP's support service department works with both of these programs, she's a great addition to the housing team due to her experience in working with people with housing barriers and in crisis situations. She studied Psychology at the Universita' degli Studi di Padova in Padova, Italy. Besides all the great experience she brings to CAP, she also speaks four languages -- Spanish, French, Italian, and English!
Tiffany White, Youth & Family HIV Coordinator
Tiffany worked for nine years with One Heartland, a national program located in Minneapolis that provides camp opportunities and care for children living with and affected by HIV; Tiffany began as Assistant Camp Director and moved up over her years with the organization to manage their program services. She has extensive experience supporting children, teens and families affected by HIV and has written articles and presented at conferences about her work with One Heartland. Tiffany has a Master in Public Health degree with a focus on Maternal and Child Health.
|
|
Ride 4 CAP Results
| |
Our first cycling event was a great test for success!
On July 8th and July 9th, 10,000 bicyclists accepted the challenge of riding the 200 miles between Seattle and Portland. The Annual Seattle to Portland (STP) ride, sponsored by Group Health Seattle, provides an excellent opportunity to promote wellness, to support the organizers at the Cascade Bicycle Club, and for 3,000 teams to raise money or interest for a cause. Cascade AIDS Project, with a team of seven in this first, "test" year, accepted the challenge to raise awareness and funding to support the mission of CAP. We are happy to report, all seven completed the ride -- two of whom made it in one day!
In total, the team raised over $3,500. Benjamin Gerritz said, "There were so many people it was overwhelming! I got to know so many people, and I will bet you we will have over 100 riders in 2012!" Because Portland is such a bike-friendly city, we believe we can meet and beat Benjamin's suggestion. CAP will gear up for 2012 with a small planning committee scheduled to start meeting in September. If you would like to ride or to join the planning committee, please contact us at www.ride4cap.org or contact Eric Shaffer at 503.278.3851. You can also follow our progress on facebook.
|
|
Across The Country & Around the World
|
Stressful and Traumatic Experiences Among Individuals with HIV/AIDS in the Deep South of the United States
A recent study found a correlation between the health outcomes of HIV-positive individuals and the types of stressful experiences they frequently encounter. A group of researchers examined data collected from a study of 611 HIV-positive residents of the Southeastern United States over a 27-month period. They documented three types of incident stress: all stressful events, severe stressful events and traumatic events. The majority of participants (91%) reported at least one stressful experience in any nine-month period; financial stress was the most commonly reported. The researchers found that, "greater emotional distress, substance use, and a higher number of baseline stressful experiences were significantly associated with reporting a greater number of incident stressful experiences and any traumatic experiences." It was concluded that efforts need to been taken to identify the individuals who are most at risk for these three types of stress and then to deal with the factors that cause the stress.
In 30 Years, AIDS Has Been Tamed, but Not Conquered
It has been thirty years since the CDC first reported on the condition that eventually came to be known as AIDS. Since then 30 million people have died around the world and 33.3 million more are living with the disease. Globally, 7,000 people contract HIV daily; there is concern that people are becoming complacent in regard to prevention. Jeffery Crowley, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy is concerned with the fact that many young people have never known a time without effective HIV treatment and this may alter their perception of the disease, making it seem more of a remote threat, even though it is still very real. Additionally, one-fifth of the infected U.S. population are unaware of their HIV status, and one-third of infections are not detected until less than one year before the patient progresses to AIDS. In the United States men who have sex with men comprise half of new U.S. infections, and Washington DC's three percent infection rate rivals that of some developing countries. Despite these figures, progress still continues to be made in treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS.
Early Drug Treatment Greatly Cuts Spread of HIV
The National Institute of Health (NIH) recently reported groundbreaking findings from a study on HIV prevention using early antiretroviral therapy (ART). The study was conducted in nine countries and involved 1,763 serodiscordant heterosexual couples (where one person is HIV-positive, the other negative). The NIH study found that "the risk of transmitting HIV to sexual partners is reduced by 96 percent when antiretroviral treatment is begun early, when the immune system is relatively healthy." The study was randomized into two groups: immediate initiation of triple combination ART or delayed initiation of ART when the patient's CD4 count fell below 250 cells/mm3 or upon an AIDS-related event. An independent panel reviewing the study found 28 cases of HIV transmission; 27 out of 28 cases were from participants in the delayed ART group. This was the first randomized study proving ART's effect on reducing HIV transmission, which strongly indicates that treating an individual with ART sooner rather than later can significantly reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to his or her sexual partner. Michel Sidibie, executive director of UNAIDS said, "It makes HIV treatment a new priority prevention option."
|
|
Thank You Donors!
| |
Our work at Cascade AIDS Project is only possible thanks to the generous support of thousands of contributors. While we can't list all of them here, we're grateful for every donation of any size. Below, we highlight those gifts of over $1,000 received from May 14, 2011 to July 5, 2011:
Alejandro Ceballos Household
Allan Karsk Household
Anglin Creative Group
Art Work Fine Art Services
Bendistillery
Brian Douglas
City of Portland
Clear Channel Outdoor
Community Health Charities of Oregon
Curtis Lofstrom Household
David Carmack Lewis Household
Dirk Fournier & Efrain Lopez Household
Guy Swanson and Sue Tower Household
Heather and Tod Killough Household
Karen Friedman Household
LANpro Solutions LLC
MAC AIDS Fund
Margaret Coe Household
Margaret Terrall Household
Mark Weinmeister
Matthew Condron Household
NIKE Inc.
NW Natural
Off The Wall Media
OHSU
OHSU Foundation
Philip Iosca Household
Providence Health Plans
Ray Hickey Foundation
Richard Codanti Household
Shannon Richardson Household
Sharon Bronzan and Gregory Westphal Household
Stoel Rives LLP
Union Bank Foundation
VX Pinot Wines
Youngberg Hill Vineyards & Inn
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
