By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com
The Washington State Department of
Health has confirmed that it will no longer fund some HIV prevention activities
in Thurston County after June 30th.
The state's approach to HIV prevention
has been redefined and funding for it has been cut due to a recent state decision
to focus scarce financial resources to areas in the state with a high number of cases, with first priority going to King County and Pierce County.
To meet this goal, there have been three main changes to prevention services: an increased focus on people living with HIV, an increased focus on populations and geographic areas with the most new HIV infections, and an increased alignment with a changing public health system.
In 2012, the
Washington State HIV Prevention Planning group established an ambitious goal to
reduce - by 50% - the annual HIV incidence among gay and bisexual men living in Seattle
by 2017.
Justin Taylor, HIV/AIDS prevention coordinator for the Pierce County AIDS
Foundation, runs the Mpowerment Olympia program, which provides local HIV/AIDS
testing in Thurston County.
The Mpowerment program received a portion of a $60,000 contract for prevention. The other parts of that funding went to pay for condom supplies for distribution, educational workshops, and HIV testing/counseling.
“This news, combined with the bleak overall
funding landscape for behavioral interventions in Washington State, means that
we can no longer continue to sustain the Mpowerment Olympia program…. It is our hope that the
devoted and energetic community members that helped craft the success of the
program will continue it as a volunteer run community group, if
that is what the group wants,” says Taylor.
Mpowerment
Olympia is an early intervention program focusing on young gay and bisexual men
between the ages of 18 -29 years old. The group started in 2001 and is approved by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control as an
empirically tested model proven to reduce risk among that demographic.
The
group creates positive social connections for young men while promoting safer
sex. Volunteers with the program hold drop-in social time at their community
space in downtown Olympia, coordinate dances and events, and hand out about 1,000 safe sex kits per month at area bars, community
events, college campuses, clubs, and clinics.
Courogen agrees that Mpowerment Olympia is a worthwhile program.
"The program provides great opportunities for youth leadership development and community building and we are supportive of their efforts to find funding to sustain their presence in the area. The Department of Health will be working to make sure that people with HIV in every county, including Thurston County, are diagnosed, linked to care, and have access to medication...." she said in an email today.
Taylor says he hopes to continue offering HIV/AIDS testing one day a week in Olympia. The free service is only offered to people deemed high risk: men who have sex with men and their partners, sex workers and their partners, injection users and their partners, those who have been recently diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease, and anyone who has had sexual contact with someone who is HIV positive.
He also hopes to offer the group, if it continues, some support including continued free use of the meeting space, access to Mpowerment manuals, resource library materials, and some pre-purchased supplies.
“We work magic with the small amount of funds we would receive each year....This
funding cut doesn’t just affect Thurston County. People come to Olympia from
Grays Harbor, Mason County and Lewis counties. If we can’t continue, with
community funding, those people will either not get tested, or have to drive
all the way to Tacoma for services," says Taylor.
"The irony is the fact that we've proven in Thurston County that prevention does indeed have a direct impact on new infections....but it’s easier for the State to track the success of a biomedical approach and harder to track the work of education, information, and awareness. I fear we’re going in the wrong direction – giving up on prevention strategies is wrong. Three out of every four new infections are still gay/bi men in Washington State and many young folks don't realize HIV is still an issue,” says Taylor.
"The irony is the fact that we've proven in Thurston County that prevention does indeed have a direct impact on new infections....but it’s easier for the State to track the success of a biomedical approach and harder to track the work of education, information, and awareness. I fear we’re going in the wrong direction – giving up on prevention strategies is wrong. Three out of every four new infections are still gay/bi men in Washington State and many young folks don't realize HIV is still an issue,” says Taylor.
But Taylor isn't just waiting or relying on state government to educate young men about safe sex.
A 2009 graduate from The Evergreen State College, Taylor uses his media production and business leadership degree and skills toward his HIV/AIDS education work here in Olympia. He says it’s about understanding people, and being in a small town that affects people’s decision to get tested.
With his friend Sonny Nguyen, he created a spoken word film called, “How to Use a Condom,” which ended up winning the University of California Los Angeles’ Impact 2012 grand prize award. Nguyen lives in Olympia and is a volunteer with Mpowerment Olympia. The two filmed it on a whim in the space currently used by Mpowerment and were encouraged by friends to send the film into the contest.
The grand prize earned Taylor and Nguyen $5,000, which they donated to the Pierce County AIDS Foundation to support the Mpowerment program in Olympia. The film can be seen on The Hook Up, Mpowerment Olympia’s YouTube show, at www.youtube.com/mpoweroly.
Taylor has also produced a 15 minute dark comedy called, “Tying the Knot,” about a closeted politician trying to find redemption through his secret, kinky relationship with a male prostitute. It recently showed at the Olympia Film Society. He also volunteers with Capital City Pride, which is Saturday, June 22 in downtown Olympia.
Free, rapid HIV/AIDS testing is also available through the Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Department at 522 Franklin St SE, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Their entrance is on the Legion Way side of the building.
For more information about Capital City Pride, go to www.capitalcitypride.net.
HIV/AIDS Facts
According
to the Washington State Department of Health, the
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) attacks the immune system, causing
deficiency or damage in the immune system. HIV damages the body's ability to
fight diseases and infections.
HIV
infection leads to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Without a
healthy, functioning immune system, a person may become vulnerable to
infections by bacteria, other viruses and disease-causing organisms. These
infections may cause life threatening illnesses.
Nationally, the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 47,500 people
were newly infected with HIV in 2010.
In Washington, the
first case of AIDS was diagnosed in 1982. Recently, the number of new HIV cases
in Washington has remained steady, about 550 new cases per year, on average. More than 18,000
people in Washington have been diagnosed with HIV disease. Over 5,000 people
have died as a result of the disease. Treatment for
HIV disease is both effective and widely available. Most people with HIV survive
long after diagnosis.
By the end of 2011,
more than 11,000 people were reported to be living with HIV across Washington
State.
Between 2007 and 2011, statewide HIV incidence estimates ranged from 390 to
541.
Data indicates that four out of five recent HIV infections are among
males; three out of four are gay or bisexual men; roughly half reside in King
County, and more than one third are gay/bisexual men who reside in the city of
Seattle.
For more information, contact the
Washington State Department of Health, Infectious Disease Assessment Unit, (360) 236-3455, or go to: http://www.doh.wa.gov/DataandStatisticalReports/DiseasesandChronicConditions/HIVAIDSData.aspx
