Help show local solidarity in a statewide protest

(PALM SPRINGS, CA – JUNE 3, 2009)

For clients of Desert AIDS Project ... and thousands of Californians...this could be a matter of life and death!!
 
Programs threatened with severe reduction or total elimination include:

Help show local solidarity in a statewide protest:

Wednesday, June 10, 2009
12:00 NOON
Desert AIDS Project
SW corner of Vista Chino and Sunrise Way in Palm Springs
Everyone is encouraged to wear a red shirt.

Can't be there but want to help?
Send letters to your elected officials by clicking here!!

Don't let California balance the state budget
on the backs of those most vulnerable

Although specific details have not yet been released, it is clear that the proposed cuts will severely limit access to life-sustaining medications and home health care for Californians with HIV/AIDS. As of November 2006, the average lifetime cost of HIV treatment, based on clients remaining in optimal HIV care for 24.2 years, was estimated at $618,900!!

Because 70% of this HIV treatment expense is for antiretroviral drug therapies - now with an average annual cost of $20,000-$25,000 - ADAP (AIDS Drugs Assistance Program) remains the primary source of access to life-saving medications for more than 35,000 Californians. Without ADAP, we will see:

• An increase in people seeking other sources for medications.
• An increase in acute medical and social service need.
• An increase in hospitalizations.
• An increase in unnecessary deaths.

Without ADAP, we will also see an extreme decrease in the health of our community, causing:

• more unemployment,
• more homelessness,
• and the need for costly acute medical interventions.

Some "long term survivors" have lived with HIV or AIDS for 20+ years now. Due to cumulative effects of antiretroviral drugs and their side effects, some people living with HIV can no longer leave their beds or their homes. 
 
Home health care programs are a necessity for such clients and have proven to be one of the most cost-effective programs in the state.  By allowing people to remain in their homes rather than being hospitalized or admitted to a skilled-nursing facility, we not only provide them dignity but also save the public hospital and nursing home system millions of dollars annually in reduced institutionalization of such clients.  

Loss of free HIV education, prevention, and treatment to those most at-risk will only increase future AIDS cases in our community
 
According to the 2007 Community Health Monitor report performed by HARC (Health Assessment Resource Center,) more than 35,000 Eastern Coachella Valley residents are without health insurance at any given time in a 12-month period. Most of these are Latino, younger adults, less educated, and male - mirroring many of the same populations most at-risk for HIV.
 
Without health insurance or access to free HIV testing, many HIV-positive individuals may not even know of their status until they present in an emergency room with AIDS. In the meantime, they may have unwittingly exposed countless others to infection.
 
By cutting funding to meet the prevention needs of these and other populations - including those who every day run the gauntlet of social stigma and isolation caused by racism, homophobia, homelessness, and poverty - the State is clearly sending yet another message that these populations are last on the list of those worthy of the assistance they so desperately need.
 
Don't let Sacramento jeopardize Federal funds for HIV services
 
The proposed cuts would further hurt Californians living with HIV/AIDS because they limit the ability of the Office of AIDS to fulfill federal grant requirements. "Maintenance of Effort" requirements, for example, mandate that the State contribute to HIV programs, in order to be eligible for Federal funds.
 
Gov. Schwarzenegger's plan could result in the State losing a portion, if not all, of its Federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and grants from the Centers for Disease Control. From the State budget alone, D.A.P. programs and services stand to lose almost $1.4 million. It is yet undetermined what the resulting Federal funding impact will be.
 
All things considered, these cuts are short-sighted.  By reducing these HIV/AIDS health care and prevention expenditures today, we will see increased long-term health care costs far into the future.  The old adage of "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" holds true for each of these programs now at-risk.
 
That's why, on Wednesday, June 10, people in cities and towns around California will hold rallies in solidarity with the rally being held on the north steps of the Capitol in Sacramento. There will also be an L.A. County rally and protest this Friday, June 5 from 5:00 - 7:00 PM at the north entrance of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood.
 
Won't you join us and add your voice to the protest against these unconscionable budget cuts that are a death sentence for so many?
 
The people who will be denied services if the budget cuts go through are among the most vulnerable Californians - the poorest of the poor, the sickest of the sick, and those who are disenfranchised for cultural, racial, and other attributes - those who have been traditionally denied the political power to speak for themselves. Help speak for them:
 
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
12:00 NOON
Desert AIDS Project
SW corner of Vista Chino and Sunrise Way in Palm Springs
 
Remember ...everyone is encouraged to wear a red shirt.