This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new national domestic HIV/AIDS campaign, Act Against AIDS. A five-year, multifaceted effort, the campaign debuted this month with nineandahalfminutes.org, a new HIV prevention Web site whose name references the rate at which HIV is spreading in the U.S. -- one new infection every 9.5 minutes. 

The campaign -- which will initially target African Americans, who account for half of all new HIV infections nationwide -- brings long overdue federal focus to the domestic AIDS epidemic. But we cannot leave a task as vital as HIV prevention to government alone.

At APLA, we develop HIV prevention messages that resonate in communities at greatest risk -- among gay and bisexual men; people struggling with poverty or addiction; and men and women of color. Our groundbreaking Native American HIV prevention program is the largest of its kind in Los Angeles County. Our crystal methamphetamine groups are helping more people than ever. And our initiatives for youth and men of color are challenging the stigma and isolation that allow HIV to thrive.

Each of us must fuel the fight against new HIV infections. It’s simply too important to leave up to anybody else.


Craig E. Thompson
Executive Director

This month, the APLA Women’s Committee debuted a new women’s resource area at APLA’s David Geffen Center, featuring woman-centered fact sheets, periodicals and health information. The new space was unveiled during APLA’s second annual Women’s Day observance, a networking event that included a nurse-led discussion on HIV and women’s health issues.

The committee, an advisory group of women clients and staff, gathers monthly to discuss enhancements to APLA programs and services for women. The resource area was the result of committee feedback.

Women are increasingly hard hit by the epidemic, now accounting for 27 percent of all new AIDS diagnoses nationwide (as compared to only eight percent in 1985). Women of color are particularly impacted -- the AIDS case rate among African American women is 21 times that of white women, and AIDS is now the leading cause of death among African American women ages 25 to 34.

APLA serves more than 500 women clients annually. 

Barry Weiss was like most workers: Each month, he contributed a portion of his salary to a long-term disability plan -- and he hoped he’d never have to use it.

But when Barry’s HIV made him too sick to work, he was grateful that he had opted for the extra insurance policy -- until it was abruptly terminated.

"Insurance was always my ‘plan B,' " Barry explains. "But what do you do when your back-up plan fails?" With no income and mounting medical expenses, he started to panic: "My survival depended on my ability to continue my HIV treatment without interruption," he says. That’s when he learned of APLA’s Benefits & Work Services Program.

"I saw a counselor there who helped me sign up for disability benefits and guided me through the labyrinth of the insurance company appeals process," Barry explains. Ultimately, his long-term disability plan was restored, and his HIV treatment continued. With a lapsed dental insurance policy (and in need of major dental care), he also registered for APLA Dental Services.

“The mobile dental clinic stops just a few minutes from my home, and the staff there has literally saved my teeth,” he explains. "APLA is largely the reason that I’m still healthy today."

"Prepare to be in total awe." 

-- A POZ Magazine review of Corpus 7, the newest installment of APLA’s annual publication that uses art, cultural criticism, poetry, short stories and humor to convey the challenges of HIV prevention in gay and bisexual communities.