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AIDS Walk and APLA raise $3.1 million

Congratulations to 30,000 AIDS walkers who joined us on October 19 and raised more than $3.1 million for APLA and other AIDS service organizations throughout Los Angeles County!
We're already putting your generosity to work to prevent HIV among youth and people of color, to support those who are too sick to leave their homes and to secure the future of programs that provide life-saving care for people who rely on government support. We're making progress on our new South Los Angeles dental clinic, which will offer first-rate treatment to an underserved community. And later this month, each of our Necessities of Life Program food pantry clients will receive groceries for a special Thanksgiving holiday meal.
It's not too late to sponsor an AIDS walker or to join us at a holiday food drive. Your support makes our work possible.
Craig E. ThompsonExecutive Director

What's New

APLA has published the seventh edition of Corpus, a journal that uses art, cultural criticism, poetry, short stories and humor to reveal the challenges of HIV prevention in gay and bisexual communities.
This issue, subtitled "Desire Between Men: Voces Mundial" [Worldwide Voices], was released to coincide with the 2008 International AIDS Conference and features an international theme with a collection of invited works from around the globe.
Skillfully compiled by guest editor Andy Quan, each piece offers a global perspective on issues of HIV infection, stigma, discrimination, violence and homophobia. According to United Nations' estimates, fewer than 1 in 20 men who have sex with men worldwide has access to HIV prevention, care and treatment. Download a copy of Corpus from our Web site.

Profile

For Garry Brown and wife Crystal, the simple instruction was daunting: "Don’t take medication on an empty stomach." It meant that, on some nights, Garry and Crystal would skip their vital HIV treatment simply because there was no meal to accompany it."That’s when we discovered the Necessities of Life Program food pantry just down the street from where we live," Garry recalls.
He and his wife visit each week, stocking their refrigerator with groceries and hygiene supplies. And they attend food demonstrations and meet with an APLA dietitian, who helps them develop a healthy eating plan and stick to their treatment regimens. "NOLP is a lifesaver for us," Garry says. "And this Thanksgiving, we'll even have leftovers!"Learn more about our food pantry network and how you can help keep our shelves stocked for the holidays.

Giving

Independent business owners and parents of three, Klaus and Jami Heidegger keep a demanding schedule. But the family also makes helping others a priority. "My father always told me that anyone is capable of changing another person's life for the better, and I've carried that with me," Klaus says. When the Heideggers lost several close friends to AIDS, they resolved to do whatever they could to fight the epidemic. "Supporting APLA… is so important to us," Klaus explains. "I see the organization expanding in our community -- doing more for people who are struggling -- and we want to make sure that work continues." It's an instinct Klaus and Jami have instilled in their children, as well: "Our daughter now volunteers to cook at a local food bank," he says. "We all have to offer support in our community however we can."
Visit our Web site and learn how you can join the fight.

Take Action

On October 23, APLA joined with Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the UCLA Program in Global Health to host "Politics and Realities of Global and Local AIDS," a town hall meeting to discuss the current state of efforts to combat the AIDS pandemic both internationally and here in the United States.
Participants included (above, from left) PHR CEO Frank Donaghue; Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) Health Action AIDS Campaign Director Pat Daoust; Associate Director of the UCLA AIDS Institute, Director of the UCLA Program in Global Health and Advisor to PHR’s Health AIDS Action campaign Dr. Thomas Coates; Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA); Honorable Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye, APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson; and Associate Director of the UCLA AIDS Institute and Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute at UCLA Dr. Gail Wyatt.
Amid reports that more people than ever before (over 1.1 million) are now living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S., panelists called for the development of a national AIDS strategy to fight the domestic epidemic.Learn more about APLA's global advocacy or join our online activist network today.

Photos of the Month

A record-setting crowd of more than 30,000 filled the streets of West Hollywood and Los Angeles for AIDS Walk Los Angeles on Sunday, October 19. View a selection of photos from the event at the AIDS Walk photo gallery.
Photo credits: Brian Lowe, Elise Caitlin, Alan Gastelum

The Last Word

"There are 2.1 million people dying of AIDS every year. If instead of AIDS those people were on planes that were falling from the sky, it would be more than 5,000 planes. The U.N. Security Council would call an emergency meeting. The world would stop -- and everyone would try to solve this problem. Instead, it's business as usual."
-- The Honorable Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye, chair of the Committee on HIV/AIDS and Related Matters of Uganda, speaking at the October 23 town hall meeting, "Politics and Realities of Global and Local AIDS."

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Optimist is the monthly e-mail newsletter from AIDS Project Los Angeles.For more news, bookmark http://apla.convio.net/site/R?i=6-UBMKvwkRKLXsZ8hrHDGg...
AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Marking 25 years of service in 2008, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach.
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