HIV/AIDS Working Group at The Center

DC Prevention Planning Group Seeks New Members

2013-05-22T18:38:06Z

The DC HIV Prevention Planning Group (PPG) needs volunteers to help the DC Department of Health (DOH) address the HIV epidemic in the District.

The PPG engages stakeholders in the DC community to help create or update the DOH's HIV Prevention Plan, which is created by the HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA). The PPG also regularly reviews HAHSTA's Plan and ensures that it addresses the needs of those most affected, infected and at highest risk for HIV transmission. We are a diverse group of people who represent the groups most affected by HIV.

Members serve renewable 2-year terms, and can vote on all PPG matters.

The HPPG is specifically seek representation from injection drug users, or organizations that serve that population, and Black men who have sex with men. We also seek providers of HIV/AIDS care services, substance abuse and mental health services.

The PPG meets approximately 8 times a year with additional committee conference calls, for a 6-8 hour monthly commitment.

Applications may be submitted until June 21, 2013.

Download the application from the HPPG website at http://doh.dc.gov/node/544422.

For additional information please contact donald.babb@dc.gov.

Second-Saturday Free HIV Testing: June 8th

2013-05-16T20:05:25Z

On Saturday, June 9th from 11AM to 2PM, there will be free and fast HIV testing at The DC Center (1318 U St. NW). Please note the time change, as the Pride Parade will be Saturday afternoon, so in June testing will be in the morning rather than the afternoon.

At The DC Center, you can find out more about the HIV Prevention Working Group, get your HIV test results in 20 minutes, and pick up some free safer sex kits, dental dams, or female condoms.

Be sure to thank the HIV Prevention Working Group, The DC Center, and Whitman-Walker Health for this wonderful resource to our community!

PLHIV Townhall: Meaningfully Involving People Living with HIV in Federal Policy

2013-05-14T16:17:55Z

What: A Town Hall for People Living with HIV or AIDS

When: Tuesday, May 14, 2013
5:00pm-7:00pm ET

Where: Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, DC
474 Ridge Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
(2 blocks from the Mt. Vernon Square Metro)

This Town Hall will be streamed live over the internet for those who are unable to attend in person.Those watching online can submit questions and comments via Twitter by using the hashtag #FederalHIVTownHall.

The Needle Prick Project Brings the Fight Against HIV Stigma to D.C.

2013-05-08T19:19:30Z

The "Get Pricked" Photo Session to take place at Showroom 1412 on Saturday.
On May 11th, the Needle Prick Project (NPP) will be hosting the "Get Pricked" Photo Session as part of the organization's nationwide campaign to decrease HIV stigma and increase HIV testing. Founder and CEO of the Needle Prick Project (NPP), Tyler Curry, will be in attendance during the photo session and will work with each participant who participates in the project.

Join Our AIDS Walk 2013 Team

2013-05-07T16:32:48Z

AIDS Walk Washington's 2013 walk will be October 26th. Last year's walk was wildly successful, and this year is looking to be just as, if not more!

The DC Center and The HIV Prevention Working Group are happy to again be a Community Partner with Whitman-Walker Health for this event, and we'd love it if you would join our team!

As a Community Partner, half of the money we raise will go to The HIV Prevention Working Group, and the other half to Whitman-Walker Health. This is a great opportunity for you to support two organizations that serve our community.

To sign up for our team, visit our AIDS Walk Washington Page. If you'd just like to make a donation, click here.

May HIV Working Group Meeting

2013-04-26T17:45:31Z

The HIV Prevention Working Group will be having its monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 22nd at 7PM at The DC Center (1318 U ST NW).

At May's meeting, we will be discussing our Happy Hour on July 9th at MOVA, getting ready for AIDS Walk and planning for Pride.

For more information about the HIV Prevention Working Group, check out fighthivindc.org. Or, find us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/fighthivindc, or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fighthivindc.

FUK!T Packing Parties in May (Updated Schedule)

2013-04-26T17:26:42Z

Starting in the month of May, The HIV Working Group's packing parties will be held on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.This month the parties will be on May 7th and 21st. Join volunteers at at Green Lantern (1335 Green Court NW) from 7PM to 9PM.

You too can fight HIV in DC by volunteering your time to this effort! Enjoy happy hour specials, meet new people, and find out more about the HIV Prevention Working Group and the FUK!T campaign. All this while helping your community!

All volunteers will also be entered into a raffle for gift cards to EatWellDC restaurants, such as The Pig, Logan Tavern, Commissary, The Heights, and Grillfish.

So, come out and join us upstairs at Green Lantern to help put together safer sex kits to be distributed at LGBT spaces in DC, including Town, JR's, Cobalt, Green Lantern, and The DC Center.

To learn more about the HIV Working Group find us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/fighthivindc or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fighthivindc.

Second-Saturday Free HIV Testing May 11th

2013-04-23T18:42:42Z

On Saturday, May 11th from 4PM to 7PM, there will be free and fast HIV testing at The DC Center (1318 U St. NW).

At The DC Center, you can find out more about the HIV Prevention Working Group, get your HIV test results in 20 minutes, and pick up some free safer sex kits, dental dams, or female condoms.

Be sure to thank the HIV Prevention Working Group, The DC Center, Department of Health, as well as Whitman-Walker Health for this wonderful resource to our community!

You can sign up to volunteer at this event on our SignupSchedule page.

Concert for Life Volunteers Needed

2013-04-19T21:39:20Z

Volunteers are needed for this spectacular event! Sign up at http://concertforlife.org/volunteers.cfm and come be a part of this fun opportunity to give back to the community and The DC Center!

When: Friday May 17th, 2013
Where: Foundry United Methodist Church 16th & P Streets NW, Washington, DC
Time: 8:00 p.m

Looking Back, Living Forward the 20th Concert for Life AIDS benefit, is a celebration in song of friendship, beauty, love, and all of life's joys. Stanley J. Thurston will direct the Concert for Life Choir, soloists, and instrumentalists in a varied recital of music from American and International collections of song.

From this all-volunteer, non-sectarian concert, 100% of proceeds go to beneficiary organizations that help people living with HIV/AIDS. Tickets are $25 and available at the door or online at Concert Tickets/Donations.

Audience members will join in the singing and a dessert reception following the performance. Please let your voice be heard again this year by attending or supporting the Concert for Life.

Thanks to the tremendous support over the 19 Concerts, total funds raised to date is $965,000! In 2013 we will surpass the $1M level of funds donated to Concert beneficiaries in Washington, DC and South Africa.

AIDS Walk 2013 Kickoff Party!

2013-04-16T18:14:14Z

AIDS Walk 2013 is swiftly approaching! Whitman-Walker Health's annual fundraiser was a huge success last year, and the HIV Prevention Working Group was happy to be a Community Partner. We're thrilled to be returning as a Community Partner again this year.

The Kickoff Party for AIDS 2013 will be Thursday, April 25th at Room & Board Showroom (1840 14TH ST, NW) from 6PM to 9PM.

Registering at this event is FREE (which is not the case after that day), and when you register at the event you will be entered in a drawing for a "staycation" at a fabulous Kimpton® Hotel. There will be beer, wine, soda and light fare. We look forward to seeing you there. Bring Your Friends! Start a Team!

Rescheduled: Sexuality and HIV/AIDS: Special Challenges for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Adolescents

2013-04-09T17:33:39Z

Because of the snow event in March, this previously scheduled workshop has been moved to May 13th, 2013 from 1:00 - 4:00pm.

You are invited to attend a special presentation on Sexuality and HIV/AIDS: Special Challenges for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Adolescents by Joan Garrity of Garrity Health Consulting and Training.

The workshop will discuss the psychosexual development of adolescents; factors that contribute to vulnerability to sexual risk-taking and infections, including HIV; assumptions about the sexuality of deaf people; and, approaches to communication about sexual risk-taking with adolescents.

This training will be held from 1:00pm to 4:00pm on May 13th, 2013 at Gallaudet University, King Jordan Student Academic Center Room #1010. Social Work continuing education units will be available free of charge.This workshop is made possible by our U.S. Department of Education training grant for school social workers.

Please RSVP by May 3rd to Ashleigh.Doop@Gallaudet.edu,

Interpreters will be provided.

For directions to Gallaudet and Campus Map, click here.

Upcoming HAHSTA Lectures

2013-04-03T20:58:25Z

These lectures are part of the Senior Deputy Director Lecture Series. They will take place at HAHSTA, 899 North Capitol Street NW, 4th floor

Topic: Hepatitis C Screening Guidelines and Program and Policy-related Issues
Date: Thursday April 18, 2013
Time: 12:00 PM-1:00 PM
Synopsis: HCV is the most common chronic blood borne pathogen in the U.S. It is a leading cause of complications from chronic liver disease. The prevalence of the anti-HCV antibody in the U.S. is approximately 1.6% with an estimated 16,000 new cases of HCV infection occurred in 2009. There were an estimated 15,000 deaths from HCV infection in 2007.
This lecture will discuss the hepatitis C screening guidelines and program and policy related issues.
Speaker: Chris Taylor is the Associate Director, Viral Hepatitis for the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD). In this role, he provides support and technical assistance to state health department viral hepatitis programs, advocates on their behalf with the Administration, Congress and Federal agencies. He is actively involved in several national hepatitis advocacy coalitions, provided leadership as a former chair of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable, and was the founding North American delegate to the World Hepatitis Alliance. Mr. Taylor has over 15 years of experience working in public health on viral hepatitis, HIV, STD, tuberculosis and immunization at the local state and national level.

Topic: Sexual Acquisition and Transmission of HIV Cooperative Agreement Program
Date: April 25, 2013
Time: 12:00 PM-1:00 PM,
Synopsis: The talk will present an overview of the key findings from the NIDA SATHCAP (Sexual Acquisition and Transmission of HIV Cooperative Agreement Program), a study involving interviews with over 8,000 MSM and drug users in Los Angeles, Chicago, Raleigh-Durham and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Speaker: Martin Y. Iguchi, Ph.D. is the Dean of the Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies. Prior to his appointment as Dean, Dr. Iguchi served as Chair of the Department of Community Health Sciences within the School of Public Health at the University of California at Los Angeles. He is also an adjunct behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation, where he formerly served as the director of the Drug Policy Research Center. Dr. Iguchi received his master and Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Boston University, and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, and a former elected member of its board of professional affairs

Concert For Life

2013-04-03T19:59:52Z

When: Friday May 17th, 2013
Where: Foundry United Methodist Church 16th & P Streets NW, Washington, DC
Time: 8:00 p.m

Looking Back, Living Forward the 20th Concert for Life AIDS benefit, is a celebration in song of friendship, beauty, love, and all of life's joys. Stanley J. Thurston will direct the Concert for Life Choir, soloists, and instrumentalists in a varied recital of music from American and International collections of song.

Audience members will join in the singing and a dessert reception following the performance. Please let your voice be heard again this year by attending or supporting the Concert for Life.

Ryan White Planning Council Town Hall: April 11th

2013-04-03T18:57:32Z

Date: April 11, 2013

Time: 4:30 pm-7:30 pm

Location: 441 4th Street, N.W. 11th Floor Conference Room

The Ryan White Planning Council is requesting the participation of the HIV/AIDS affected community in the Priority Setting and Resource Allocation (PSRA) Process. The PSRA Process gives consumers, providers and other members of the affected community the opportunity to provide input to:

• determine what services are most important for persons living with HIV/AIDS
(PLWH/A)in the Washington DC Eligible Metropolitan Area (EMA)
• determine how much funding to allocate to each prioritized service
• assist in the development of guidance to improve service delivery to PLWH/A

The PSRA Process is a significant effort of the Ryan White Planning Council to allocate funds for persons living with HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia and we want to hear from you!

HIV positive community members are encouraged to share their thoughts in response to the following questions and provide any further information that would be useful to the Ryan White Planning Council to help set priorities and allocate funding for better health care services for individuals with HIV/AIDS.

1. What are the most important service gaps that need to be filled?
2. What would you recommend to help fix service gaps?
3. What keeps you in care and what would cause you to fall out of care?
4. How can the Planning Council improve the way services are designed and
delivered?
5. What are the most important services to you?

Please note this particular town hall is for DC Consumers & Caregivers only.

If you have any questions, email rwdcpwa@tcba.com or call Donald Babb at
(202)671-4900.

May Volunteer Night

2013-04-02T18:21:57Z

Come join us on the first Monday of every month at 6:30 PM at the DC Center for our monthly volunteer night! The next volunteer night will be on May 6th, 2013.

Come in for the chance to check out our facilities, meet new people and give back to your local community center. Activities may include: sorting through book donations, cleaning up around the center, taking inventory for our FUK!T packets, and of course socializing!

Pizza will also be provided, so join us for a fun night of giving back and getting together.

You can sign up to volunteer at this event on
our SignupSchedule page.