PRESS RELEASES
PRESS RELEASES
Here’s the latest from our agency.
Oregon Legislature Awards $4 Million to Prism Health
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Salem, OR – Lawmakers in Salem have passed a funding package that includes $4 million for the purchase of the property where a new Prism Health clinic will be located. (Prism Health is a program of Cascade AIDS Project.)
The funds for Prism are part of a sweeping $211 million investment by legislators in tackling Oregon’s addiction and mental-health crisis. This omnibus spending bill (House Bill 5204) puts tens of millions of dollars towards building capacity at facilities that provide behavioral-health and substance-use services. The new Prism facility will allow the LGBTQ+ health center to deliver addiction and mental-health services for more than 250 additional patients.
“These shovel-ready projects will benefit communities in every corner of Oregon,” said Rep. Tawna Sanchez, who represents a district in North/Northeast Portland and co-chairs the Legislature’s budget committee. “This is a great thing for my Portland community and the next right step towards ensuring Oregonians of all backgrounds can get high quality, affordable care when they need it.”
The Legislature’s appropriation to Prism addresses the disproportionate impact of addiction on the LGBTQ+ community and the lack of LGBTQ-affirming addiction services in Oregon. Transgender and queer people are almost twice as likely as their straight counterparts to suffer from opioid addiction, but a 2022 survey of addiction-treatment providers in Oregon found fewer than 20% of respondents offered services for LGBTQ+ people, veterans, or people with disabilities. Prism Health helps fill this gap by providing Medication Assisted Treatment, counseling, and peer-support services for LGBTQ+ people experiencing addiction.
Prism’s request for funding got support from the Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus, which includes Sen. Kate Lieber and Reps. Ben Bowman, Farrah Chaichi, Dacia Grayber, Travis Nelson, and Rob Nosse. “LGBTQ+ Oregonians often struggle to find and receive treatment and services that address their unique experiences,” said the Caucus in a statement. “LGBTQ+ folks deserve the same access to care as every other person. We are grateful to Prism Health for providing critical services to our community and are excited to see its expansion with this funding.”
Paul Lumley is the Chief Executive Officer of Cascade AIDS Project, Prism’s parent organization. “Research has found that when LGBTQ+ people receive culturally responsive addiction treatment, they have better outcomes,” he said. "With this investment, the Legislature is helping ensure that trans and queer Oregonians have access to addiction and mental-health services that will work for them.”
Prism Health’s new clinic is located at 15 N Morris St. in Portland. The clinic will begin providing behavioral-health services later this spring, followed by primary care this summer.
For more information, please contact Jonathan Frochtzwajg at jfrochtzwajg@capnw.org or (503) 278-3852.
About Cascade AIDS Project
Founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1985 as the Cascade AIDS Project, CAP is the oldest and largest community-based provider of HIV services, housing, education and advocacy in Oregon and Southwest Washington. We promote well-being and advance equity by providing inclusive health and wellness services for LGBTQ+ people, people affected by HIV, and all those seeking compassionate care. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. And in 2022, Our House of Portland joined the CAP family to further expand our service offerings and allow us to offer a full lifecycle of care to our community. To learn more about CAP, please visit www.capnw.org
Washington Lawmakers Pass Bill to Ensure Access to Emergency HIV Prevention
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Olympia, WA — The Washington State Legislature gave final approval today to legislation that will help make sure sexual-assault survivors, first responders, and others who may need emergency HIV prevention medications can get them.
Senate Bill 6127 addresses the many barriers that Washingtonians currently face when they require HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), a combination of medications that can prevent HIV infection if it’s taken within 72 hours of exposure to the virus. These barriers include doctors not knowing how to prescribe PEP, pharmacies not stocking the medications used for PEP, and insurance companies charging high co-pays for the drugs.
SB 6127 tackles these issues by requiring hospitals to adopt a policy on PEP and provide the time-sensitive medications to patients in the emergency room. The measure also mandates that insurance companies make at least one form of PEP available to their members without a co-pay. Overcoming opposition by the Washington State Hospital Association, the legislation makes Washington only the second state to require PEP dispensing in ERs.
In public hearings on SB 6127, Joanna Shelton, a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), shared a story that starkly illustrated the need for the bill, especially in rural areas:
Last year, a woman was raped on one of the San Juan Islands. The SANE nurse assessed the victim’s assault as being very high risk for HIV. The hospital stocked a starting dose of PEP, but the island pharmacy would not be able to get the remaining medication in time. The only way to get this victim her medication was for the SANE nurse to take the prescription to a mainland pharmacy that stocked it and deliver it to a medical transport plane, which flew it to the hospital. It should not be this hard to provide such a life-altering medication.
Cascade AIDS Project, the leading provider of HIV-prevention services in Southwest Washington, proposed the concept for SB 6127. “We have a front-row seat to the many roadblocks people encounter when they need PEP,” said Jonathan Frochtzwajg, the agency’s Public Policy & Grants Manager. “Thanks to this bill, Washingtonians who have experienced a trauma like sexual assault will no longer be forced to scramble to get their hands on this vital HIV prevention tool.”
Sen. Marko Liias (21st District—Edmonds) served as the bill’s chief sponsor. “We've advanced so far in treatment when it comes to exposure to HIV, but time is of the essence when it comes to effectively preventing infection,” he said. “This bill will address two major barriers to treatment — availability and cost. I’m proud we were able to get it across the finish line this year.”
For more information on SB 6127, please contact Jonathan Frochtzwajg at jfrochtzwajg@capnw.org or (503) 278-3852.
About Cascade AIDS Project
Founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1985 as the Cascade AIDS Project, CAP is the oldest and largest community-based provider of HIV services, housing, education and advocacy in Oregon and Southwest Washington. We promote well-being and advance equity by providing inclusive health and wellness services for LGBTQ+ people, people affected by HIV, and all those seeking compassionate care. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. And in 2022, Our House of Portland joined the CAP family to further expand our service offerings and allow us to offer a full lifecycle of care to our community. To learn more about CAP, please visit www.capnw.org
New Report: Portland’s Houseless-Services System is Failing LGBTQ+ People
The report reveals numerous gaps in the houseless-services system that continue to drive disproportionate houselessness among Portland’s LGBTQ+ Community.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, OR — A coalition of Portland nonprofits that serve or advocate for unhoused LGBTQAI2S+ people, including leading LGBTQAI2S+ groups like Basic Rights Oregon and Pride Northwest, today released a first-of-its-kind report on houselessness among transgender and queer people in the Portland area.
Commissioned by the Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS), the report comes as anti-LGBTQAI2S+ legislation in many states is causing an estimated 130,000-260,000 trans and queer people to relocate to safer states like Oregon. Many members of this population face barriers to housing. However, the new report found that, “despite Oregon and Portland’s Pride Flag–waving reputation, our community is not well prepared to welcome these newcomers.” It highlighted numerous gaps in the houseless-services system, including that:
● Data on sexual orientation is not collected as part of houselessness data, even though national data shows lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer people are over twice as likely as straight people to experience houselessness.
● There are no LGBTQAI2S+ culturally specific emergency shelters in the Portland region. In addition, many local shelters are gendered (i.e., designated for men or women), which can result in discrimination and a lack of safety for trans and non-binary clients.
● Despite the over-representation of LGBTQAI2S+ people among people experiencing houselessness, there are not enough culturally specific or responsive houseless services for this population. For example, JOHS only funds one queer culturally specific organization to provide housing case management.
The report makes a number of recommendations to address these gaps, calling on policymakers to build capacity among LGBTQAI2S+ service-providers and hold mainstream providers accountable for serving LGBTQAI2S+ people in an affirming manner. “With thousands of trans and queer people potentially seeking refuge in Oregon and adding to existing demand, policymakers need to think much more about the unique needs of our communities when they think about housing and homelessness,” said Seth Johnstone, a coalition member and manager of the Transgender Justice Program at Basic Rights Oregon.
The coalition that produced the report, collectively known as the LGBTQAI2S+ Housing Collaborative, includes Basic Rights Oregon, Black & Beyond the Binary Collective, Cascade AIDS Project, Friendly House, the Marie Equi Institute, Pride Northwest, Quest Center for Integrative Health, and Rahab’s Sisters.
For more information, please contact either of the following:
Jonathan Frochtzwajg (Cascade AIDS Project) - 503.278.3852 | jfrochtzwajg@capnw.org
Katie Cox (Marie Equi Institute) - 971.601.4055 | katie@equi-institute.org
About Cascade AIDS Project
Founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1985 as the Cascade AIDS Project, CAP is the oldest and largest community-based provider of HIV services, housing, education and advocacy in Oregon and Southwest Washington. We promote well-being and advance equity by providing inclusive health and wellness services for LGBTQ+ people, people affected by HIV, and all those seeking compassionate care. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. And in 2022, Our House of Portland joined the CAP family to further expand our service offerings and allow us to offer a full lifecycle of care to our community. To learn more about CAP, please visit www.capnw.org
CAP, Our House, & Prism Health respond to tragic fatal shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs
We are heartbroken to hear of the the senseless violence against members of Colorado Springs’s LGBTQIA+ community at Club Q on Saturday. Saturday’s events were a chilling echo of the tragedy at Pulse in 2016 and serve as stark reminder of the countless ways in which hate and bigotry continue to fuel unimaginable pain on our friends, families, and loved ones.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, OR — We are heartbroken to hear of the the senseless violence against members of Colorado Springs’s LGBTQIA+ community at Club Q on Saturday. Saturday’s events were a chilling echo of the tragedy at Pulse in 2016 and serve as stark reminder of the countless ways in which hate and bigotry continue to fuel unimaginable pain on our friends, families, and loved ones. And coming on the heels of Transgender Day of Remembrance, we are reminded that this violence and hate disproportionately impacts our trans and non-binary family members of color.
From national rhetoric and discrimination-based legislation, we know that anti-LGBTQIA+ hate is on the rise. Legislators, institutions, and extremists continue to attack the basic rights of our communities and spread fear and bigotry from their positions of power and influence. And gun-fueled violence is an epidemic that continues to impact communities across America. We must rise against hate in the strongest possible terms, we must stand together in solidarity and love, and we must demand an end to not only this epidemic of gun violence but also to the continued violence against our LGBTQIA+ community. From Pulse to Colorado Springs to so many other lives stolen from us— this has occurred for far too long. And enough is enough.
CAP, Our House, & Prism Health will continue our work to provide safe, affirming, and compassionate care to everyone seeking it in our community. We will continue to push back against anti-LGBTQIA+ hate and bigotry and advocate for the safety, security, and support for all the beautiful, vibrant souls of our community. Our doors are open to you. Our hearts are open to you.
We mourn the lives stolen at Club Q and offer our deepest support, love, and compassion to the families, friends, and communities grappling with such unimaginable loss. We are here for you, and we are here with you.
In Solidarity,
CAP + Our House + Prism Health
If you are seeking support during this time, please consider these resources:
Tips for coping with gun violence and grief:
How to talk to children about gun violence
Here’s one psychologist’s advice for how to cope with the trauma and stress a mass shooting can cause
National Support Resources:
The Trevor Project
Trans LifeLine
Crisis Text Line
Local Support Resources:
CAP Social Support Programs
PDX Q Center
PCC Queer Resource Center
PSU Queer Resource Center
Oregon LGBTQ Resources
Vancouver Queer Resource Center
About Cascade AIDS Project
Founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1985 as the Cascade AIDS Project, CAP is the oldest and largest community-based provider of HIV services, housing, education and advocacy in Oregon and Southwest Washington. We promote well-being and advance equity by providing inclusive health and wellness services for LGBTQ+ people, people affected by HIV, and all those seeking compassionate care. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. And in 2022, Our House of Portland joined the CAP family to further expand our service offerings and allow us to offer a full lifecycle of care to our community. To learn more about CAP, please visit www.capnw.org
Ruling on PrEP is Homophobic—and Part of a Pattern
We at Cascade AIDS Project are deeply concerned about a federal judge’s ruling Wednesday that employers who provide health insurance for their workers should not be required to cover PrEP if doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs. U.S. law currently mandates that most health-insurance plans cover PrEP at no cost to their enrollees.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, OR — We at Cascade AIDS Project are deeply concerned about a federal judge’s ruling Wednesday that employers who provide health insurance for their workers should not be required to cover PrEP if doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs. U.S. law currently mandates that most health-insurance plans cover PrEP at no cost to their enrollees.
Whatever legal arguments it hides behind, this ruling is based in homophobia. It came in a lawsuit brought by a group of business owners and individuals who object to paying for PrEP because they believe it promotes homosexual behavior, and the judge who issued the ruling previously ruled against an Obama administration action providing family leave for married same-sex partners.
Along with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, this new ruling is part of a frightening pattern of court decisions depriving Americans of our freedom to make personal choices about our health. A minority of Americans who hold extreme beliefs are abusing the judicial system to try to control our bodies—and the only way to stop them is to vote for, donate to, volunteer with, and otherwise help elect political candidates who will protect and strengthen bodily autonomy. To register to vote in the upcoming midterm elections (or check your registration), check out CAP’s Voter Resource Guide.
Fortunately, Wednesday’s ruling did not take effect immediately, and the federal government is expected to appeal it. This means that most health-insurance plans are still required to cover PrEP, including any related doctor’s visits or lab work, at no cost to their enrollees.
Want help getting on PrEP? Go to capnw.org/prep
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
In Response to Today's Supreme Court Decision
As a healthcare organization committed to compassionate, affirming care whose core value is bodily autonomy, we are incredibly disheartened by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. We have spent nearly 4 decades on the front lines of the HIV epidemic. We know better than anyone that Silence = Death
As a healthcare organization committed to compassionate, affirming care whose core value is bodily autonomy, we are incredibly disheartened by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. We have spent nearly 4 decades on the front lines of the HIV epidemic. We know better than anyone that Silence = Death
Today’s Roe v Wade decision and subsequent concurring opinion were a stark reminder of the individual and systemic biases our community faces. Discrimination happens every day, whether it be through constant microaggressions or overt efforts by lawmakers, school boards, and community leaders to segregate members of the LGBTQ+ community and make them feel lesser. The clear and present message from our judicial system is that our bodies are not our own.
This single ruling has cascading implications for not only cis women seeking reproductive choice, but also for queer, trans, and non-binary folks who also access abortion and reproductive health services. Beyond that, we see the precariousness of our rights to contraception, interracial marriage, and same-sex marriage as partisan judges seek to unravel a half-century of progress with the fell swoop of their pens.
Though Prism Health cannot currently provide abortion care as a FQHC Look-alike, we will explore all of our options for expanding reproductive healthcare services and partner with other organizations to strengthen the network of care needed.
CAP, Our House, and Prism Health will always offer safe, compassionate and equitable access to health and wellness services to support our community, their rights, and their privacy. You are not alone. Today, we take the time to grieve, be angry, and hold space for ourselves and each other. Tomorrow, we fight.
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
United States v. Gilead: Two Year Anniversary Letter
CAP is proud to sign on to the attached letter below, which seeks “to urge [The Honorable Merrick Garland and The Honorable Xavier Becerra] to pledge and to act to ensure that the United States v. Gilead lawsuit serves as a mechanism to increase access to PrEP across the country, as quickly as possible.
CAP is proud to sign on to the attached letter below, which seeks “to urge [The Honorable Merrick Garland and The Honorable Xavier Becerra] to pledge and to act to ensure that the United States v. Gilead lawsuit serves as a mechanism to increase access to PrEP across the country, as quickly as possible. We ask that [The Honorable Merrick Garland and The Honorable Xavier Becerra] provide an update on the litigation to stakeholders and to the public at large. Any decision that DOJ and HHS make regarding United States v. Gilead, including any licensing agreements or other settlement, should be made in communication with the communities that will be directly impacted by that decision for years to come.
The Honorable Merrick Garland
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
The Honorable Xavier Becerra
Secretary of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Attorney General Garland and Secretary Becerra,
Two years ago, on November 6, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ), on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), filed a complaint against Gilead Sciences (Gilead) seeking damages for Gilead’s infringement of HHS’s patents on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention. The lawsuit brought by DOJ and HHS—United States v. Gilead—was a historic move lauded by many in the HIV and access to medicines movements. However, this lawsuit has yet to make any meaningful impact in the lives of patients living with and vulnerable to HIV. As service providers and advocacy groups fighting to end the HIV epidemic domestically and around the world, we urge you to pledge and to ensure that this lawsuit serves that goal.
PrEP is a highly effective medical technology, and it exists thanks to taxpayer-funded research conducted by constituent agencies of HHS. PrEP was invented by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the 2000s. PrEP was then first proven safe and effective in humans in a clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the late 2000s and early 2010s. This trial and subsequent trials have shown that PrEP is over 99% effective at preventing sexual transmission of HIV.
Gilead relied on this taxpayer-funded research when it sought and received approval from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to market commercial PrEP products. The FDA approved Gilead’s first version of PrEP in 2012, and Gilead has marketed PrEP products continuously since then. Since 2012, Gilead has earned at least $10 billion from PrEP sales in the United States. Gilead’s manufacturing costs on PrEP are low—estimated at less than $6 per bottle—and its profits have been massive. As HHS stated in 2019, when it filed the lawsuit, “Gilead has profited from research funded by hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and reaped billions from PrEP through the sale of Truvada® and Descovy®.”
However, while Gilead profited, there was little progress at curtailing the HIV epidemic in the United States, largely because of a lack of access to PrEP. Despite PrEP’s incredible efficacy, U.S. HIV diagnoses have fallen by less than 10% since 2012. Nearly 40,000 Americans become newly infected with HIV every year. This lack of progress is not because PrEP doesn’t work; it is because PrEP is still grossly underutilized by people who would benefit from it. Fewer than 25% of people indicated for PrEP currently use the drug. Hundreds of thousands of Americans who are indicated for PrEP do not get the drug and remain at risk of HIV. A myriad of barriers inhibit its use among the communities most vulnerable to HIV.
It is clear that these access issues were top of mind when DOJ and HHS brought the United States v. Gilead lawsuit in 2019. In the legal complaint it filed in 2019, DOJ highlighted how the very high price of Truvada—a PrEP product sold by Gilead—created one “critical barrier to increasing access to PrEP in the United States.” The complaint also observed that “[m]any AIDS activists and many in the medical community have criticized Truvada’s price in the United States, particularly in light of HHS’s patents, the government’s funding of clinical research on PrEP, and the relatively low cost at which Gilead apparently makes the product.”
As of 2019, Gilead sold Truvada at a price of $21,600/patient/year. Today, Gilead charges even more for Truvada—$22,500/patient/year. It charges the same price for another PrEP product, Descovy. Lower cost generic versions of Truvada have become available in the United States, but there is no generic version of Descovy available to patients in the United States.
Since 2019, the U.S. government’s leverage over the company seems only to have increased. First, Gilead tried to invalidate HHS’s patents outside of the United States v. Gilead litigation, but Gilead’s efforts failed. Second, the judge presiding over United States v. Gilead denied Gilead’s motions to dismiss. Third, the amount of money that Gilead could owe the U.S. government for infringement of HHS’s patents has increased substantially since 2019. In 2019, an analysis published in the New York Times estimated that Gilead’s potential infringement liability could reach $3 billion. In 2020, an independent article published in JAMA found that Gilead’s liability could exceed $4 billion. Since then, Gilead has earned billions more in revenues from PrEP sales within the United States. With each and every new sale, Gilead’s potential liability increases.
Given the urgency of the ongoing HIV epidemic in the United States and the U.S. government’s strong leverage over Gilead, DOJ and HHS must use the United States v. Gilead lawsuit to benefit patients who have been harmed by lack of access to PrEP, and they should do so as quickly as possible. While we applaud DOJ’s and HHS’s decision to bring the United States v. Gilead lawsuit, two years have passed, and the suit has yet to produce any concrete benefits for people with and vulnerable to HIV. United States v. Gilead is not scheduled to go to trial until 2023. At current infection rates, by mid-2023, over 100,000 Americans will have been newly diagnosed with HIV since DOJ and HHS brought the lawsuit.
It is impossible to ignore the fact that earlier and more aggressive action from the U.S. government would likely have benefited hundreds of thousands of Americans diagnosed with HIV since PrEP was approved in 2012. Almost a decade after PrEP’s first FDA approval, still HHS and CDC have yet to develop and implement a national action plan for universal access to PrEP. HHS has committed to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. It cannot do so without universal access to PrEP for all Americans.
We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to pledge and to act to ensure that the United States v. Gilead lawsuit serves as a mechanism to increase access to PrEP across the country, as quickly as possible. We ask that you provide an update on the litigation to stakeholders and to the public at large. Any decision that DOJ and HHS make regarding United States v. Gilead, including any licensing agreements or other settlement, should be made in communication with the communities that will be directly impacted by that decision for years to come.
Specifically, we ask your agencies to:
Publicly commit to investing any and all royalties received from United States v. Gilead to ending the domestic HIV epidemic and increasing access to PrEP. This includes:
Funding organizations that provide support services to people vulnerable to HIV to connect and maintain them in PrEP care;
Covering the cost of drugs, lab visits, and associated clinical care for uninsured patients; and/or
Establishing a federal program aimed at achieving universal PrEP access
Provide relevant updates to the community regarding the status of United States v. Gilead. Namely, we request answers to the following questions:
How do both of your agencies characterize the goals of this litigation? What remedies do you seek?
How much longer should patients expect to wait before this lawsuit increases access to PrEP?
Have U.S. Government attorneys discussed with Gilead potential settlement and licensing terms? If so, what is the status of those discussions?
Meet with representatives from the undersigned organizations to discuss the U.S. government’s strategy in United States v. Gilead, specifically as it pertains to increasing access to PrEP in the United States.
We look forward to your prompt response and answers to the questions outlined above.
Signed,
AIDS Action Baltimore
AIDS Alabama
African American Health Alliance
Alliance of Families for Justice
American Academy of HIV Medicine
AVAC
Callen Lorde Community Health Center
Cascade AIDS Project
Center for Popular Democracy
Doctors for America
Faith for Justice
Freedom, Inc.
Frontline Legal Services
Georgia AIDS Coalition
Health Care Voices
Health Global Access Project
Housing Works
Latinos Salud
Movement for Black Lives
National Black Justice Coalition
People’s Action
PrEP4ALL
SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change
Treatment Action Group
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines North America
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
About PrEP4All
Founded in March 2018, PrEP4All is an organization of community members, healthcare professionals, lawyers, and academics all dedicated to increasing access to lifesaving HIV medication. Every member of PrEP4All has been personally affected by the HIV epidemic, and most of us rely on HIV medications every day. As patients ourselves, we have all experienced the shortcomings in the domestic HIV response first hand, whether through arguing with insurance companies refusing to cover our medication, encountering doctors unwilling to refill our prescriptions, or receiving an unexpected bill for $1,800 after our copay assistance has run out. Our biggest strength is our personal experience.
Emily Gilliland to Serve as Interim CEO of Cascade AIDS Project
With the announcement of Dr. Tyler TerMeer’s departure as CEO from Cascade AIDS Project to helm San Francisco AIDS Foundation, we are excited to announce that Emily Gilland will serve as the Interim CEO of CAP!
With the announcement of Dr. Tyler TerMeer’s departure as CEO from Cascade AIDS Project to helm San Francisco AIDS Foundation, we are excited to announce that Emily Gilliland will serve as the Interim CEO of CAP!
Emily Gilliland has extensive experience in building and managing strong, high impact organizations at the local, state and national levels. Emily is a creative individual with demonstrated success building effective teams and sustainable organizations centered in diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice through effective strategy, managed implementation, and collaboration within and across communities. As President and CEO of Camp Fire Columbia, Emily led a team of 200 staff engaging over 3,000 young people in the community.
Accomplishments at Camp Fire Columbia included:
Deepened Camp Fire’s commitment to diversity, equity and closing the achievement gap for Students of Color including passing an equity statement with unanimous support from the Board, developing and implementing an equity lens, and leading change management to center functions in racial justice. (http://campfirecolumbia.org/about-us/equity-statement/)
Grew organization budget 150% through expanding community partnerships with families, schools, nonprofit partners, and funders – addressing the social-emotional and academic needs of youth while addressing food insecurity and advocacy to dismantle systems of oppression, address root causes of poverty, and move towards equity.
Completed capital needs assessment, capital improvement plan, and sustainable forestry strategy for Camp Namanu
.Oversight and leadership of camp operations including food, water, septic, staffing, facilities, regulatory compliance, health and safety, as well as emergency response for 2,100 campers and staff.
Redesigned HR processes including hiring, onboarding, employee handbook, performance management, and progressive discipline
.Selection and implementation of new fundraising, accounting, and data tracking systems.
Her experience also includes lead content development for the first launch of freedomcorps.gov, the White House’s landmark volunteerism website, creating Portland State University’s first certificate in service learning as well as serving as Executive Director of Oregon Campus Compact then HandsOn Network, a network of over 250 volunteer centers. Emily holds a philosophy degree from Indiana University and a master’s in liberal arts from St. John’s College.
Emily joins the team with an existing connection to CAP from her work as a consultant with the organization over the last year where she served as the project manager and liaison between CAP and Our House of Portland in the merger process, as well as from her support of our HIV Prevention Department as their interim department supervisor, and from her supportive role with our People and Culture department over the last year. Please join us in welcoming Emily to the CAP family and wishing her success in this new role!
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
About Prism Health
Prism Health provides high quality, affordable, and accessible health care for all, with a focus on serving individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus all other gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQ+). All of Prism services aim to reach the most vulnerable – those living below the poverty line, communities of color, homeless or unstably housed individuals, and people experiencing mental health and/or addiction issues.
Personal Message from Dr. TerMeer Regarding CEO Transition
As a person living with and concerned about HIV, I am enormously grateful to have spent the past 7.5 years of my career nurturing a vibrant and powerful community for social and racial justice at Cascade AIDS Project (CAP). It is therefore with mixed emotions that I announce my plans to step down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to start a new chapter at one of our nation’s oldest and most influential HIV Organizations – San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF)
As a person living with and concerned about HIV, I am enormously grateful to have spent the past 7.5 years of my career nurturing a vibrant and powerful community for social and racial justice at Cascade AIDS Project (CAP). It is therefore with mixed emotions that I announce my plans to step down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to start a new chapter at one of our nation’s oldest and most influential HIV Organizations – San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) - where I have been appointed their next CEO and notably the first BIPOC person to serve in this role in SFAF’s nearly 40-year history. My last day at CAP will be January 28th.
I’ve been a donor and supporter of SFAF for over a decade through my participation in the AIDS/LifeCycle. I couldn’t pass up the amazing opportunity to work with the Foundation in San Francisco as I continue my life’s work to promote health, wellness and social justice for all those impacted by HIV. However, leaving is bittersweet.
It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to be at the helm of CAP over the last 7.5 years. It has truly been rewarding beyond measure. I am proud to have served people affected by HIV, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the bravest and most brilliant colleagues I have ever known, and worked to advance system changes with incalculable positive impact for people and communities that have traditionally been furthest from access and opportunity. My time at CAP has helped me grow as an individual and as a leader and for that I will be eternally grateful and so very proud of all we have accomplished together.
There is never an easy time for a CEO to announce their departure, especially for an organization as innovative as CAP. We are in a time of such great momentum, with so many exciting new initiatives under way and on the horizon. Since that first day that I walked into the doors of CAP in 2014, we have grown from a staff of 55 to 185, from one office in downtown Portland to now post-merger having seven locations across two states, and we have quadrupled the budget of $5.5 million to what will be closer to $24 million post-merger. We are stronger and more resilient. We are more sustainable with greater infrastructure. We are owning the mistakes of our past and investing in critical Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) work. We are further reaching and creating greater impact for all those seeking compassionate care!
With your support we were able to launch Prism Health, Oregon’s premiere LGBTQ+ health center, provide affirming and welcoming primary care. In response to COVID-19, we partnered with Esther’s Pantry to address food insecurity, and increased emergency rental assistance and medical motel vouchers. Recently, we championed the Data Justice Act and made Oregon the first state to require data collection of a patient’s race, ethnicity, language, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity to help address health disparities. And on January 1st the merger with Our House of Portland will be complete, which will consolidate resources and enable us to provide greater assistance to those living with HIV in Oregon and SW Washington.
Emily Gilliland will serve as the interim CEO while the CAP Board of Directors conducts a national search for the next CEO. The search committee will include members of CAP staff, stakeholders and the LGBTQIA+ community. The goal is to hire a new CEO by the Fall of 2022.
CAP is incredibly fortunate to rely on a talented staff and deep bench of stalwart leaders who advance our mission every day through their contributions in and out of our organization. I have the utmost confidence that the amazing work and impact of CAP, Our House of Portland, and Prism Health and all of the exciting new initiatives planned in 2022 and beyond will continue to thrive and move forward during this leadership transition.
CAP is poised to continue its momentum and growth with a clear strategic plan, equity plan, and business growth plan for Prism Health. Although I’ll miss being part of that work, I am confident that you’ll get the job done and exceed all expectations. We’ll hold a gathering before I leave (TBD) and I hope to see you in person.
Thank you for letting me be part of your success.
Dr. Tyler TerMeer
A Note from the CAP Board President, Karol Collymore:
“It's been an honor for me to work with and support Tyler for over seven years at CAP and Prism Health. To watch this organization blossom into a healthcare leader in Oregon and Southwest Washington with Tyler at the helm is incredible and solidifies that care centered around LGBTQIA+ communities can lead to valuable change. I'm sad to see him leave but so proud of his next professional journey.”
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
About Prism Health
Prism Health provides high quality, affordable, and accessible health care for all, with a focus on serving individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus all other gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQ+). All of Prism services aim to reach the most vulnerable – those living below the poverty line, communities of color, homeless or unstably housed individuals, and people experiencing mental health and/or addiction issues.
Prism Slated to Receive Congressional Funding for LGBTQ+ Mental Healthcare
Congress is expected to allocate more than $800,000 to Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) later this year for a major expansion of the mental-health program at our LGBTQ+ health center, Prism Health. The funds were included in the 2021-22 federal budget at the request of U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer. CAP was one of only 10 organizations selected to receive funding after being nominated by Rep. Blumenauer
Congress is expected to allocate more than $800,000 to Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) later this year for a major expansion of the mental-health program at our LGBTQ+ health center, Prism Health. The funds were included in the 2021-22 federal budget at the request of U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer. CAP was one of only 10 organizations selected to receive funding after being nominated by Rep. Blumenauer.
Our organization will use the funds to hire several new staff members, including two new psychotherapists and a nurse practitioner specializing in psychiatric medicine. These additional providers will help Prism meet the high demand for safe, welcoming, and knowledgeable LGBTQ+ mental healthcare by expanding our mental-health patient capacity by at least 33%. They will also expand our capacity for prescribing and managing drugs to treat mental-health conditions, including substance-use disorder.
Research shows that LGBTQ+ people are more likely than the general population to experience mental-health issues. For example, almost twice as many lesbian, gay, and bisexual Oregonians as straight Oregonians report having frequent mental distress, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning youth in Oregon are five times more likely than their heterosexual peers to report having attempted suicide in the past year.
Despite these disparities, Oregon bisexuals, gays, and lesbians are less likely than straight people to have any regular healthcare provider. Even in LGBTQ-friendly Multnomah County, a 2018 study of the mental-health system noted that “it is still difficult to find providers who can be responsive to [LGBTQ+ people’s] needs across the service continuum.”
Prism began offering mental-health services in 2019 to help fill this gap. Today, the program serves almost 300 patients, more than 90% of whom identify with a sexual or gender minority. “For too long, mental health care, especially for the LGBTQ+ community, has been stigmatized, underfunded, and difficult to come by,” Rep. Blumenauer said in a statement. “Here in Oregon, Prism Health is working to fix this. I’m proud to support their efforts to expand access and improve the quality of mental health care for the LGBTQ+ community.”
For more information, please contact CAP’s Public Policy & Grants Manager, Jonathan Frochtzwajg, at jfrochtzwajg@capnw.org or (503) 278-3852.
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
About Prism Health
Prism Health provides high quality, affordable, and accessible health care for all, with a focus on serving individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus all other gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQ+). All of Prism services aim to reach the most vulnerable – those living below the poverty line, communities of color, homeless or unstably housed individuals, and people experiencing mental health and/or addiction issues.
CAP’s “Data Justice Act” passes out of the Oregon Legislature
The Oregon Legislature has given final approval to House Bill 3159, also known as the Data Justice Act. Championed by Cascade AIDS Project, the bill positions Oregon as a national leader in collecting data on LGBTQ+ health disparities.
The Oregon Legislature has given final approval to House Bill 3159, also known as the Data Justice Act. Championed by Cascade AIDS Project, the bill positions Oregon as a national leader in collecting data on LGBTQ+ health disparities.
The Data Justice Act requires healthcare providers to collect and report to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) data on their patients’ sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as their race, ethnicity, preferred language, and disabilities. Currently, providers are only required to collect some of this data from COVID-19 patients, and are not required by law to collect any sexual orientation or gender identity data. In addition to mandating data collection by providers, the Data Justice Act directs OHA to develop a database for storing and analyzing patient demographic data.
LGBTQ+ people experience many health disparities, including higher rates of tobacco use, cancer, and psychological distress. However, OHA collects little to no information about LGBTQ+ residents. In this, Oregon certainly isn’t alone: Few government agencies collect demographic data on LGBTQ+ people. (Most notably, the U.S. Census Bureau does not ask any questions directly related to sexual orientation or non-binary gender identity.) “As far as we know, Oregon is the first state to pass a requirement that health care providers collect and report sexual orientation and gender identity,” says Sean Cahill, Director of Health Policy Research at Boston’s Fenway Institute. “We commend Oregon legislators and advocates for taking this important step for LGBTQ health equity.”
The Data Justice Act will also dramatically expand collection of data on health inequities related to race, ethnicity, preferred language, and disabilities. The law ensures that patients can decline to provide demographic data.
A coalition of more than 30 community organizations endorsed the Data Justice Act, including Basic Rights Oregon, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, and the SEIU Oregon State Council. The bill’s chief sponsor was Representative Rob Nosse, and its lead advocate in the Oregon Senate was Senator Kate Lieber. For more information about this legislation, please contact CAP’s public-policy manager, Jonathan Frochtzwajg, at jfrochtzwajg@capnw.org.
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
CAP + Our House are Moving in Together!
After more than 30 years of collaboration and a shared mission, Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) and Our House are finally moving in together. Unifying our two organizations will allow us to better serve and support the needs of our community, while also expanding our vision of care.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
After more than 30 years of collaboration and a shared mission, Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) and Our House are finally moving in together. Unifying our two organizations will allow us to better serve and support the needs of our community, while also expanding our vision of care.
We appreciate all your support along our ever-evolving journey to stifle stigma, provide compassionate care and end suffering for individuals with HIV and AIDS.
Together under one roof, we will continue to serve and support our community. This strategic partnership will allow us to reach new communities, restructure our existing services to meet the evolving needs of individuals living with HIV and AIDS and the LGBTQ+ community, and ensure all in our community have access to the help they need at the right time.
Never have our programs, our services and our ability to be flexible in the ways we define and provide care been more important than they are now. We will continue to ensure that our community is receiving the entire spectrum of HIV services such as awareness and prevention education, testing and linkage, housing stability and long-term complex, specialized care. We see this as an opportunity to re-evaluate the ways we provide care and discover new strategies through which we can continue to thrive.
There are many ways to get involved in this exciting next chapter and we hope you will join us as we evolve together under one roof.
With gratitude,
CAP Secures $250,000 Investment from Multnomah County for Older Adults Living with HIV
Following months of advocacy by Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) and allies, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners voted yesterday to allocate $250,000 in the County’s 2021-22 budget toward community-based services for aging adults living with or affected by HIV.
Following months of advocacy by Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) and allies, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners voted yesterday to allocate $250,000 in the County’s 2021-22 budget toward community-based services for aging adults living with or affected by HIV.
Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran proposed the allocation at CAP’s request. “As this population ages, they encounter unique challenges that accompany being a long-term HIV/AIDS survivor,” Commissioner Meieran said in her remarks on the budget’s adoption. “I’m excited that this budget fully funds an amendment I proposed to support and expand services for aging adults living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.”
Dramatic improvements in the effectiveness of HIV treatment have resulted in people living with HIV longer than ever before. More than half of all Oregonians living with HIV are now age 50 or older. Many of these long-term HIV/AIDS survivors lost much of their support network to the HIV epidemic, so experiences of complex post-traumatic stress disorder and isolation are all too common.
Multnomah County has been a leader in recognizing older adults living with HIV as a growing population in need of special support. The County’s Aging, Disability & Veteran Services Division has identified long-term survivors as a marginalized community since 2017, and it currently contracts with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon to provide nutrition services for this population. The County’s latest investment bolsters its commitment to ensuring that the first generation of aging adults living with HIV have access to HIV-competent, culturally responsive services in their golden years.
For more information about CAP’s Public Policy & Advocacy program, go to capnw.org/ppa.
For more information about Aging Well, CAP’s program for older adults living with and affected by HIV, visit agingwellnw.org.
Oregon House Passes CAP-Backed Bill to Give Pharmacists the Ability to Prescribe PrEP
A bill that would give pharmacists in Oregon the ability to write prescriptions for PrEP passed out of the Oregon House on Tuesday with overwhelming support. Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) is leading the effort to pass the legislation, which would make Oregon the third state in the country to enable pharmacists to prescribe PrEP, as well as HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
A bill that would give pharmacists in Oregon the ability to write prescriptions for PrEP passed out of the Oregon House on Tuesday with overwhelming support. Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) is leading the effort to pass the legislation, which would make Oregon the third state in the country to enable pharmacists to prescribe PrEP, as well as HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
House Bill 2958 would remove key barriers to pharmacists prescribing PrEP by making clear that pharmacists have the authority to perform an HIV test, requiring insurers to reimburse pharmacists for PrEP screening & counseling, and mandating that most insurers cover at least one form of PrEP without forcing prescribers to obtain approval first. If the legislation passes out of the Oregon Senate and is signed by Governor Kate Brown, Oregonians who need PrEP will be able to get a starter supply of the medication in a single visit to any Oregon pharmacist trained in PrEP prescription.
PrEP is a powerful tool in the effort to end the HIV epidemic, but it is not nearly as accessible as it must be for those at highest risk of HIV infection, including Black and Latinx people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 44% of those who could benefit from PrEP are Black, and 25% are Latinx, but less than 1% of those prescribed PrEP are from these communities. Pharmacist-prescribed PrEP expands the availability of HIV prevention medication to populations that the traditional healthcare system is not reaching well.
The Oregon House passed HB 2958 on a 47-7 vote, with Representative Dacia Grayber of Tigard and Representative Rob Nosse of Southeast Portland serving as chief sponsors. Despite the fact that the bill seeks to improve access to PrEP for residents of rural Oregon, a number of representatives of rural areas voted against it: Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis of the Albany area, Rep. Jami Cate of Lebanon, Rep. Bill Post of Keizer, Rep. Daniel Bonham of The Dalles; Rep. Vikki Rep. Breese Iverson of Prineville, Rep. Werner Reschke of Klamath Falls, and Rep. Duane Stark of Grants Pass. The legislation now awaits a hearing in the Senate Committee on Health Care.
For more information, contact CAP’s Public Policy & Grants Manager, Jonathan Frochtzwajg, at jfrochtzwajg@capnw.org.
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
Announcing CAP's New Strategic Plan
We are delighted to share our new strategic plan with you! Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) and its health program, Prism Health, have developed our strategic plan to inform and guide our important work over the next three years. The plan was developed to prioritize the work that addresses identified community needs within an evolving healthcare and social policy environment…
We are delighted to share our new strategic plan with you!
Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) and its health program, Prism Health, have developed our strategic plan to inform and guide our important work over the next three years. The plan was developed to prioritize the work that addresses identified community needs within an evolving healthcare and social policy environment.
The process of conducting strategic planning has allowed CAP to proactively assess the external and internal environment for emerging trends, expectations, and issues. The resulting plan builds on and enhances our capacity to nurture a culture that supports health, wellness, and community responsibility for taking care of each other, and the individuals and families we serve.
Our strategy over the next three years will not only focus on increasing access to services but transforming how those services are delivered in order to improve health outcomes, participant satisfaction as well as the efficiency of service delivery. We see our role as working to dismantle barriers to health equity, and our ongoing commitment is to ensure that equity remains an integral part of our internal culture and external mission. We take pride in the initiatives highlighted in this report, and we extend our deepest gratitude to our dedicated staff, Board Members, and community partners for the role they all play in our continued success.
We are excited for what’s to come and look forward to enhancing our services to meet the growing demands of the communities we serve.
In Solidarity,
Tyler TerMeer, PhD Chief Executive Officer
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
About Prism Health
Prism Health provides high quality, affordable, and accessible health care for all, with a focus on serving individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus all other gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQ+). All of Prism services aim to reach the most vulnerable – those living below the poverty line, communities of color, homeless or unstably housed individuals, and people experiencing mental health and/or addiction issues.
HIV Organizations Announce Racial Justice Index To Remedy Disconnect Between HIV Leadership And Community Impact
Leading up to National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, AIDS United and its Public Policy Council, composed of 55 of the nation's leading organizations dedicated to ending HIV, are announcing they have launched the Racial Justice Index. AIDS United is working collaboratively with the Black AIDS Institute, a Public Policy Council member, to guide this work. After the summer of 2020 that ushered in a racial reckoning in America, this novel initiative aims to create awareness — and eventually sustainable change — around the misalignment between who holds power and resources in HIV organizations and the epidemic’s disproportionate impact on Black Americans.
Leading up to National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, AIDS United and its Public Policy Council, composed of 55 of the nation's leading organizations dedicated to ending HIV, are announcing they have launched the Racial Justice Index. AIDS United is working collaboratively with the Black AIDS Institute, a Public Policy Council member, to guide this work. After the summer of 2020 that ushered in a racial reckoning in America, this novel initiative aims to create awareness — and eventually sustainable change — around the misalignment between who holds power and resources in HIV organizations and the epidemic’s disproportionate impact on Black Americans.
The Racial Justice Index is part of a series of outcomes that emerged from more than two years of conversations led by leaders of color among the Public Policy Council and was made more urgent by the national outcry for racial justice. In June 2020, AIDS United, along with 53 members of its Public Policy Council and more than 20 other HIV organizations, issued an open letter to all elected officials calling for all policies to be enacted through a racial justice and equity framework. The Index’s mission is to assess and improve the HIV sector’s commitment to racial equity by creating assessment tools and resources to combat anti-Black racism and other forms of racism that will first be analyzed in PPC organizations and then the HIV sector. This includes hiring practices, leadership, talent retention and decision-making in the HIV movement. The Index’smethodical implementation process will seek to onboard HIV organizations to respond to an online national survey that will inform a publicly-released report, which will facilitate critical leadership conversations among HIV stakeholders.
The initiative will be guided by the Racial Justice Index Committee, a committee formed out of AIDS United’s Public Policy Council and co-chaired by Raniyah Copeland, president and CEO of Black AIDS Institute, and A. Toni Young, CEO, Community Education Group — nationally renowned Black leaders in the HIV community. The PPC and the Index committee are managed by Carl Baloney Jr., AIDS United vice president for policy and advocacy. AIDS United Board members, Dr. Kimberley Jeffries Leonard, president of Links Inc., and Dr. David Holtgrave, Dean of the University at Albany School of Public Health, SUNY, have also been instrumental in assisting in the creation of the Index. The committee includes HIV service and advocacy organizations from across the country. The work of the Racial Justice Index will first assess how leadership in the HIV movement reflects the communities most impacted and will later aim to provide training and capacity building to root out white supremacy in HIV organizations’ work.
As a Black man living with HIV, I am very proud of our diverse coalition of organizations making this commitment to racial justice. Since the start of the HIV epidemic, AIDS United has played an active role to ensure that all who are living with and vulnerable to HIV receive the care they need. We are in a moment where the HIV sector — and the health care sector as a whole — must look inward and ask ourselves if our structures and decisions truly reflect the people and needs of those most impacted by the epidemic. The Public Policy Council has always pushed for responsiveness and inclusiveness across the HIV sector. This carries that work forward in these pressing times when health inequities are at our nation's forefront. We cannot end HIV without ending the systemic racism that is too often embedded in processes that result in the disparities in new infections and lack of access to care. I know it is time for change, and we are eager to put in the required work to end racist inequities and the imprint of systemic racism in our sector.
Jesse Milan Jr., President and CEO, AIDS United
For 21 years, the Black AIDS Institute has led the fight to end HIV from a uniquely and unapologetically Black lens. With Black Empowerment as a central value, our leadership and our staff represent the communities we serve. By partnering with AIDS United and drawing from the intersectional expertise of the 55 Public Policy Council organizations, the Racial Justice Index will catalyze the prioritization of Black leadership, resource allocation, and capacity building. If we are committed to ending HIV within our lifetimes, rectifying the stain of white supremacy in how we do our work must be of the utmost priority.
Raniyah Copeland, President and CEO, Black AIDS Institute, co-chair of AIDS United’s Racial Justice Index Committee
HIV, HCV and Substance Use Disorder rage through Black and poor rural communities across the United States, it is critical the organizations are equipped to address the needs or Black people in the rural and Southern communities. The Racial Index will provide a tool for organizations to better develop staff and meet the growing needs of Black and brown communities.
A. Toni Young, Founder and Executive Director, Community Education Group, co-chair of AIDS United’s Racial Justice Index Committee
We are proud of the AIDS United Public Policy Council for deepening our commitment to racial justice through the important and urgent work to create the racial justice index. This initiative will help us examine the HIV sector's commitment to racial equity and empower us all with the resources needed to end the HIV epidemic, starting with our own organizations.
AIDS United Public Policy Council Co-Chairs Bill Keeton, Vivent Health vice president and chief advocacy officer, and Dr. Tyler TerMeer, Cascade AIDS Project Chief Executive Officer
On National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I join AIDS United’s Public Policy Council to celebrate the launch of the Racial Justice Index, an initiative designed for HIV service organizations to conduct internal reviews aimed at eliminating racist structures, policies, and hiring practices within them. The HIV/AIDS epidemic’s disproportionate impact on Black Americans is rooted in systemic racism and the Racial Justice Index provides a tool for HIV organizations to reassess their internal structures. The Racial Justice Index is a much needed mechanism to center racial equity at the core of the HIV sector’s commitment to ending the HIV epidemic.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Co-Chair of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus
I applaud AIDS United for launching the Racial Justice Index on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a devastating impact uponAfrican Americans and other communities of color. In order for AIDS service and advocacy organizations to effectively address these devastating disparities, they must accurately reflect the demographics of the people who need their services.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
ABOUT AIDS UNITED
AIDS United’s mission is to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. through strategic grant- making, capacity building and policy. AIDS United works to ensure access to life-saving HIV care and prevention services and to advance sound HIV-related policy for populations and communities most impacted by the U.S. epidemic. To date, AIDS United’s strategic grant-making initiatives have directly funded more than $104 million to local communities and have leveraged more than $117 million in additional investments for programs that include, but are not limited to, HIV prevention, access to care, capacity building, harm reduction and advocacy. Learn more at www.aidsunited.org
ABOUT BLACK AIDS INSTITUTE
Founded in 1999, Black AIDS Institute (BAI) is the only uniquely and unapologetically Black think and do tank in America. Our mission is “to stop the AIDS epidemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black institutions and individuals to confront HIV.” Black Empowerment is our central theme and we are led by people who represent the issues we serve. We source our capacity building, mobilization, and advocacy efforts from Black leaders and communities across the country, and provide culturally respectful, high-quality, HIV prevention and care services for Black people in Los Angeles. Learn more at https://blackaids.org
ABOUT AIDS UNITED PUBLIC POLICY COUNCIL
AIDS United’s Public Policy Council is the nation’s largest and longest-running policy coalition of community-based HIV organizations. Supported by the AIDS United Policy Department,
Learn more at www.aidsunited.org
PRESS CONTACT for BLACK AIDS INSTITUTE:
Michelle Huff Elliott | Simone Smalls
Strategic Heights Media media@strategicheights.com 212-634-7176
PRESS CONTACT for AIDS UNITED
Warren Gill
AIDS United wgill@aidsunited.org
CAP Observes World AIDS Day 2020
We were honored to join thousands of organizations and individuals across the globe participating in World AIDS Day yesterday! Originally started in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day. Observed every year on December 1st, it is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV transmission, to show support for people living with HIV, and to remember and honor those who have died from an AIDS-related illness…
We were honored to join thousands of organizations and individuals across the globe participating in World AIDS Day yesterday! Originally started in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day. Observed every year on December 1st, it is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV transmission, to show support for people living with HIV, and to remember and honor those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. It is also an opportunity to reflect back on our journey from the early days of the epidemic to where we are today. For 35 years, CAP has provided lifesaving and community-focused services to folks in Oregon and SW Washington.
2020 has been a year like no other due to the COVID-19 pandemic and our community has faced increased challenges in housing, mental health, food security, and access to healthcare. CAP has responded by providing emergency housing and rent assistance, tele-health services, food delivery, and virtual support groups. While we have been able to provide much needed relief to hundreds of Oregonians and Washingtonians throughout the pandemic, the need for these services has continued to grow and many of our friends and neighbors still need access to compassionate healthcare and critical wraparound services. For the past few weeks, we have shared a number of videos (which you can watch below!) leading up to World AIDS Day that give a window into the services we offer and why they are critical to the folks we serve. We work daily to help bring health equity to those most impacted by and living with HIV, end stigma, and provide compassionate care to the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. These messages from CAP staff, volunteers, community partners, and donors truly highlight the breadth of that work.
Thankfully, we have you, our steadfast community, to come together with us to meet these growing needs. This World AIDS Day, we were able to raise over $10,000 in critical funds to help bolster our programs this winter through your direct gifts and through our CAP Junior Board sponsored Drag Bingo event, featuring the unforgettable Mama Tits. Some of you signed up to volunteer and many of you shared messages of hope and remembrance on World AIDS Day. We are so overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support, and we can’t say thank you enough.
Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts!
Your Friends at CAP
About Cascade AIDS Project
Founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis, Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) is now the oldest and largest HIV-services and LGBTQ+ health provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, with more than 100 employees working across four locations. Our organization seeks to prevents new HIV infections; support low-income people living with HIV; and provide safe, welcoming, and knowledgeable healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community. Through our vital health, housing, and other social services, we help ensure the well-being of more than 15,000 people each year. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
Affirming our Commitment to Safe, Compassionate, And High-Quality care for the BIPOC & LGBTQIA+ Community
Historically, during times of great unrest, it is often our most diverse communities that experience compounded hardship. From the stress of overloaded systems rife with inequity to blatant and targeted harassment of people in our community.
Sadly, we’ve seen that Portland is not immune. As a local nonprofit healthcare provider , Prism Health stands firm in our commitment to offer a safe, affirming, and non-judgmental space…
Historically, during times of great unrest, it is often our most diverse communities that experience compounded hardship. From the stress of overloaded systems rife with inequity to blatant and targeted harassment of people in our community.
Sadly, we’ve seen that Portland is not immune. As a local nonprofit healthcare provider , Prism Health stands firm in our commitment to offer a safe, affirming, and non-judgmental space where all members of the all members of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community can obtain the compassionate and culturally effective health care they need and deserve.
Our facility was designed in strategic partnership with members from our Black Trans community to ensure a level of cultural competence, comfort and functionality that benefits everyone, especially those who the current systems consistently and repeatedly underserve.
We prioritize inclusivity to insure that all members of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community can access affirming and high-quality health care. Patients do not have to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer to receive care, but services will focus on addressing the sensitive issues of sexual and gender minorities and their families and friends.
Our clinic serves all patients regardless of ability to pay. No one will be denied services based on gender identity, sexual orientation, race, nationality, or religious affiliation. We offer a sliding fee for all based on family size and income. Please ask at the reception desk.
Our doors are open. We are committed to your health and safety. We are committed to accountability. We are committed to continuing to build a medical community that is trustworthy, reliable and accessible. And we are committed to you, our community!
It is with these commitments that we move forward into this time of great social and political change with gratitude and intention to be at your service.
About Prism Health
Prism Health is a nonprofit LGBTQIA+ health center in the Pacific Northwest providing comprehensive primary care. As a division of Cascade AIDS Project, Prism Health leverages CAP’s decades of LGBTQIA+ health experience to address the wide range of health issues disproportionately impacting our community. The southeast Portland clinic features primary care, mental health, and pharmacy services—all in a space where queer people can be sure they will feel safe, welcome, and understood from the moment they walk in the door. For more information, please visit www.prismhealth.org.
We’re Joining the Fight Against Big Tobacco
Cascade AIDS Project is proud to announce our endorsement of the vaping and tobacco tax on the ballot this November, and we hope you’ll join us in voting YES for a healthy future!
Cascade AIDS Project is proud to announce our endorsement of the vaping and tobacco tax on the ballot this November, and we hope you’ll join us in voting YES for a healthy future!
People have been suffering from vaping-related illnesses while tobacco companies target our kids with candy-flavored vapes. Research shows that teens who vape are 3x more likely to start smoking. But Oregon doesn’t tax vapes one penny. That’s why we’re voting YES to protect our youth.
Tobacco is the #1 cause of preventable death in Oregon. That means we all pay the price—almost $1.5 billion per year in smoking-related health care costs. This measure will prevent nearly 12,000 premature deaths. That’s why a bipartisan committee wrote this measure to dedicate the dollars to tobacco prevention and cessation programs and the Oregon Health Plan.
Dollars raised by the vaping and tobacco tax must go to the Oregon Health Plan and to fund smoking prevention programs and programs to help people quit for good. The new revenue cannot be used for anything else.
Cascade AIDS Project is proud to join the fight against Big Tobacco by endorsing the YES for a Health Future Campaign along with the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, nurses, doctors, local chambers of commerce, small businesses and community based organizations across the state.
Will you join us in voting YES this November?
Go to www.yesforahealthyfuture.org to learn more!
About Cascade AIDS Project
Founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis, Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) is now the oldest and largest HIV-services and LGBTQ+ health provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, with more than 100 employees working across four locations. Our organization seeks to prevents new HIV infections; support low-income people living with HIV; and provide safe, welcoming, and knowledgeable healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community. Through our vital health, housing, and other social services, we help ensure the well-being of more than 15,000 people each year. More information can be found at www.capnw.org
CAP & 53 Other HIV Organizations Demand Racial Justice In Open Letter to Politicians
CAP joins 53 other LGBTQ+ and HIV/STI organizations in an open letter to Politicians demanding broad policy and structural changes that will lead to racial justice. We know that we cannot end the HIV epidemic in the United States without also dismantling institutions and policies that promote and enable systemic racism and white supremacy, and we are proud to link arms with those in Minneapolis and across the country who are speaking out against police brutality and institutional racism. The full letter can be read below.
CAP joins 53 other LGBTQ+ and HIV/STI organizations in an open letter to Politicians demanding broad policy and structural changes that will lead to racial justice. We know that we cannot end the HIV epidemic in the United States without also dismantling institutions and policies that promote and enable systemic racism and white supremacy, and we are proud to link arms with those in Minneapolis and across the country who are speaking out against police brutality and institutional racism. The full letter can be read below.
Dear Elected Official:
The HIV community is no stranger to protests. From our formation in the early 1980s, our progress has depended upon our willingness to put our bodies and livelihoods on the line to stand up to the unjust and discriminatory systems that neglect us.
The progress we have made in fighting the HIV epidemic would not be possible without HIV advocates taking to the streets and screaming their truth to those in power. We owe a great debt to the titans of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s whose example and leadership taught us so much about the need for direct action and civil disobedience.
As protests currently occur throughout the country, AIDS United’s Public Policy Council must state publicly and unequivocally that we are in solidarity with all of those who protest violent and oppressive systems. We are also committed to infusing racial justice throughout all our work. We do so because we know it is the only way we can end the HIV epidemic in the United States.
Let us be clear: There is nothing deficient about Black and Brown bodies.
And yet, those of us who are Black and Brown are more likely to die from medical conditions as different as childbirth and heart disease. There is nothing specific about Black bodies that make us more susceptible to HIV, and yet nearly half the new HIV diagnoses in the United States are among Black people.
The problem is neither medical nor biological. It is sociological. The problem is white supremacy.
We have seen white supremacy in action in dramatic ways recently with the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Tony McDade. We have also seen white supremacy play out in less obvious ways recently, too, with the COVID-19 death rate among Black communities far outpacing other communities.
White supremacy is all around us, and it is taxing.
The mission of AIDS United and our Public Policy Council is to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. We cannot achieve that without prioritizing the health and well-being of Black people. We also know that we cannot achieve that without major shifts in our justice system.
AIDS United, in partnership with the ACT NOW: END AIDS Coalition, released in 2018 a community-driven plan to end the HIV epidemic. That document called for significant criminal justice reforms, including:
• Repealing laws that criminalize HIV and other infectious diseases.
• Decriminalizing sex work.
• Undoing the harassment and criminalization of immigrant communities.
• Minimizing criminal justice involvement for people who use drugs.
• Reducing mass incarceration.
• Eliminating both mandatory minimums for drug offenses and cash bail.
• Removing legal barriers to accessing public housing and other social benefits for individuals with past drug convictions.At the foundation of each of these policy proposals is a thorough commitment to valuing Black lives. These concrete proposals will go a long way toward making our communities safer and ending the HIV epidemic in the United States.
We urge you — whether you are the mayor of a small town, a member of Congress or the President of the United States — to enact these policies. We also call on you to enact all policy through a racial justice and equity lens.
AIDS United’s Public Policy Council joins our voice with the current generation of civil rights champions. We join the calls for justice for the victims of systemic, racist violence in the United States. We join with all those who are rejecting an abusive and dehumanizing criminal justice system that for too long has targeted Black and Brown communities. Will you join us?
AIDS United
Jesse Milan Jr., President & CEO
The AIDS United Public Policy Council:
AIDS Action/Fenway Health
AIDS Alabama
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
American Academy of HIV Medicine
Amida Care
APLA Health
Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
Black AIDS Institute
Black Women’s Health Imperative
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center
Careteam+ Family Health
Cascade AIDS Project/Prism Health
Cempa Community Care
Center for HIV Law & Policy
Collaborative Solutions
Community Education Group
CrescentCare
Delaware HIV Consortium
Desert AIDS Project
Equitas Health
GMHC
God’s Love We Deliver
Harm Reduction Coalition
Housing Works
Howard Brown Health
Intercambios Puerto Rico
JRI Health
JustUs Health
Latino Commission on AIDS
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Metro Inclusive Health
My Brother’s Keeper, Inc.
Nashville CARES
National Alliance for HIV Education and Workforce Development
National Black Justice Coalition
North Carolina AIDS Action Network
Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund
Positive Women’s Network – USA
Prevention Access Campaign
Prism Health North Texas
Puerto Rico Community Network for Clinical Services, Research, and Health Advancement
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
SisterLove
Southern AIDS Coalition
Thrive Alabama
Transgender, Gender Variant, Intersex Justice Project
Treatment Access Expansion Project
Treatment Action Group
Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention Services
Us Helping Us, People Into Living
Vivent Health
Whitman-Walker Health
Women’s Collective
About Cascade AIDS Project
Founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis, Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) is now the oldest and largest HIV-services and LGBTQ+ health provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, with more than 100 employees working across four locations. Our organization seeks to prevents new HIV infections; support low-income people living with HIV; and provide safe, welcoming, and knowledgeable healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community. Through our vital health, housing, and other social services, we help ensure the well-being of more than 15,000 people each year. More information can be found at www.capnw.org