|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A light at the end of the tunnel
|
As highlighted below and in prior e-mails, this year, research funded by the National Institutes of Health has shown that early treatment of HIV can reduce HIV transmission to sexual partners by 96%. While we always knew treatment played an important part in prevention -- the implications of such clear and stark results is huge.
If we take the CDC's estimates of approximately 50,000 new infections each year in the U.S., and we consider that 84% of those are attributed to sexual transmission -- simple math can show you the light at the end of the tunnel. That 84% linked to sexual transmission translates to 42,000 infections each year, and a 96% reduction would take us down to just a few thousand new infections.
So how do we get there? There's a lot to untangle in an epidemic that has grown over 30 years. An epidemic that has financed a whole industry and continues to feed off the most marginalized citizens of our communities. There is the reality of our own infrastructure, AIDS Service Organizations, which have often fought to ensure protections around HIV testing and positive status, but in that mix -- have also built barriers to universal and routine testing.
Today there is a light at the end of the tunnel -- and while getting there may not be easy -- we know what is possible. At CAP, we
 | |
Photo by Jeffrey Horvitz, Queer Aperture
|
will continue to expand investment in our community-based HIV testing efforts to reach high risk populations -- but also work with legislators, health care providers, and insurers to reduce barriers to routine testing through primary care. Efforts to ensure linkages to care, stable housing so that adherence is possible, and combating stigma will also play critical roles in getting to that light.
In the end -- as it began -- the game changer will be individual behaviors. As we begin to mobilize thousands to turn out for AIDS Walk, to raise voices and funds in the fight against HIV and AIDS, know that our biggest success will be when each of those supporters and all of our friends across this region have taken control of this epidemic by taking the test to know their status.
Michael Kaplan
CAP Executive Director
|
|
 |
|
|
|
AIDS Walk Portland: October 2nd
|
AIDS Walk Portland is just around the corner! Please join us to help raise critical funds and awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS. While Cascade AIDS Project is the primary beneficiary of AIDS Walk Portland, 75% of all funds raised by the following teams go directly to them to support their programs: Our House of Portland, Partnership Project, Quest Center, HIV Day Center and Martha's Pantry.
Register to Walk with us on October 2nd, starting from Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland. The Square opens at 9am; the walk begins at 11am.
Route Monitors and Volunteers Needed!
 We have a terrific AIDS Walk route this year, which takes us through Old Town, The Pearl and Downtown. However, the multiple MAX and Streetcar crossings mean we need 100 Route Monitors. This is a great opportunity for families, co-workers or school groups to volunteer together. The shift is 9:30 am to 1:30 pm on Sunday, Oct 2. Other volunteer needs include event Set Up and Tear Down. Contact Volunteer Coordinator Marc Kochanski to sign up (mkochanski@cascadeaids.org) or click here.
|
|
Camp Starlight
| |
Another fun and successful year of Camp Starlight wrapped up on September 2nd. Camp Starlight kicked off a new program this year -- Counselors in Training! For the first time, young people ages 15-19 who attended camp in the past and "aged out" were able to apply to be a Counselor in Training (CIT). Each CIT was paired with a counselor mentor to help show them the ropes, and one of our seasoned volunteers (who is marking his 10th year with Camp Starlight!) provided training to the CITs throughout the week of camp. We're very excited to incorporate this opportunity for former campers to return to Camp Starlight to build their skills and use their talents! As one of the new CITs said, Camp Starlight is "like a second home."
Another first for Camp Starlight this year -- camp was featured on a local show that focuses on the Pacific Northwest called "The Wild Life with Jeremy." Each episode shows the host, Jeremy, doing a different outdoor adventure and making a donation to a local community-based organization. The show chose to feature Camp Starlight for their final two episodes of the season! Campers got great gifts such as sleeping bags, backpacks, shoes and clothes. Parents, campers, volunteers and CAP staff got a chance to talk about why camp and support for families affected by HIV are so important. Check out the show on Comcast Sportsnet or at their website.
|
|
National HIV Prevention Conference
|
The 2011 National HIV Prevention Conference recently concluded in Atlanta. Over 3,000 public health professionals, researchers, advocates and people living with HIV attended the conference, whose 2011 theme was "The Urgency of Now: Reduce Incidence. Improve Access. Promote Equity."
The conference presented an invaluable opportunity to learn more about new developments and emerging themes in HIV prevention. A topic of considerable discussion was the renewed focus on prevention for people living with HIV. With several studies showing that people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy have a decreased likelihood of transmitting HIV to their partners (see story below), an emphasis on testing people and then offering treatment in early stages of their HIV infection is taking center stage. Other topics of considerable discussion were the possibilities for reducing HIV infections through pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), as well as the disturbingly high rate of new HIV infections among young gay/bi men of color throughout the country.
CAP was well represented at the conference, with three prevention staff members in attendance, two of whom presented. Michael Anderson-Nathe, Director of Prevention & Education, presented a poster entitled "Predictors of HIV Risk Behaviors Among Homeless Young Adults in Portland, Oregon," showing the findings of a local HIV seroprevelance and risk behavior study of Portland's homeless youth (conducted in partnership by CAP, Outside In, and OHSU). Josh Ferrer, Manager of Prevention Services, gave an oral presentation entitled "I Heart QM: One Agency's Experience with Quality Management," covering CAP's experience in one of the CDC's first Behavioral Outcomes Monitoring Project of an evidence-based intervention.
|
|
Working Choices Program
|
CAP's Working Choices program was launched in mid-January of 2011, and by mid-February we had over 20 people interested in working with the program! Job Club was our first weekly group meeting/ workshop, which began on Wednesday, February 2nd. We had a great turnout to the first Job Club, and it has been going strong ever since, reliably every Wednesday morning. Working Choices now has over 65 participants and 17 successful employment placements!
 | |
Job Club
|
Current program offerings include our weekly Job Club, a weekly drop-in session for job search and interview prep (Open Lab/Job Lounge), monthly resume and interview classes, and quarterly presentations about employment and managing Social Security Disability benefits. Working Choices distributes a bi-weekly e-newsletter with the latest information on upcoming events, job leads and employment related articles. We also have a presence on Facebook and Twitter.
Soon the program will also be adding more workshops to address job search techniques and training / assessment opportunities. Working Choices engages in a continuous improvement process; we continually solicit feedback from participants, colleagues, partner organizations and area businesses. We use this information to add or improve services, change or modify a process, or focus more closely on an expressed need.
|
|
Across The Country & Around the World
|
Treatment as Prevention: Drugs Even More Effective Than Thought
Quite a bit of exciting news about HIV treatment as prevention has come out of the 6th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome.
We first heard about the HPTN 052 study in May, which showed that early initiation of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in HIV-infected individuals led to up to a 96% reduction in HIV transmissions in serodiscordant (mixed HIV-status) couples when compared to delayed therapy.
However, the protective effect "may be even stronger than initially reported," said investigators presenting new, peer-reviewed data at the conference. "The protection is going to be greater than 96 percent," said trial leader Dr. Myron Cohen of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Attendees stood and cheered as researchers announced the findings.
The World Health Organization says it will delay planned revisions to its treatment guidelines in order to take into account "the exciting results." Even in light of the new research, however, condom use remains a key message for prevention, said the director of WHO's HIV/AIDS department.
Early ART is also associated with a 41% reduction in HIV-related morbidity and mortality, researchers said. For more information about HIV treatment as prevention, click here.
New Initiative to Provide Better Treatment for Children with HIV/AIDS
An independent, not-for-profit drug development group that specializes in neglected diseases is launching a concerted effort to address unmet pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment needs. The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) will focus on the creation of a first-line combination treatment for HIV/AIDS patients less than three years old in the developing world.
"There are more than 2.5 million children who are currently living with HIV," said Rachel Cohen, regional executive director of DNDi-North America. "The overwhelming majority of those -- something like 92 percent -- live in sub-Saharan Africa."
A treatment would need to be safe, effective and cheap with easy dosing, stable in tropical temperatures, compatible with other HIV and TB drugs, and carry minimal resistance risks. Cohen said, "Because tuberculosis is so highly prevalent -- and many, many children are co-infected with TB and HIV -- we need to find a way to ensure that the regimen that we produce is compatible with TB drugs" and can be co-administered.
|
|
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 July 6, 2011 - September 6, 2011:
Bill Dickey and David Wagner
Brian Garramone
Columbia Distributing Company
Dana Nguyen
Daniel and Lynn Kaplan
Donald Chamberlain
Equity Foundation
Genentech
Heather and Tod Killough
Jennifer Jako
LANpro Solutions LLC
Legacy Health System
Macy's Inc.
Macy's West
Pfizer
PGE Foundation
Portland Housing Bureau
Red Dress PDX
Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc.
SnapBangWallop Photography
Stoel Rives LLP
The Standard
U.S. Bank
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
