Let's Kick ASS

POSITIVELY AGING: THE COMMUNITY NEEDS MORE The HIV community should not marginalize long-term survivors By David Kelly president of Lets Kick ASS-Palm Springs Chapter (https://LKAPS.org)... "Several years ago, when I was in my first decade of living with HIV, I felt a need to create something to benefit people aging with HIV. Perhaps it was too soon for me (I was in my forties) or the community (we hadn’t become half of all people living with HIV yet). What started with support groups morphed into research, and now you can attend conferences on HIV and aging. But the community needs more." Read Jax's entire article here. [It is a call to action. We are going to demand that we survivors not continue to be overlooked and ignored. Tez] https://www.positivelyaware.com//positively-aging-communit

This is what we are up against as Older Adults with HIV, and especially Long-Term Survivors, EXCLUSION, and INVISIBILITY. ACT NOW: END AIDS and AIDS United issue Recommendations for the Biden-Harris Administration on Ending the Epidemic and overlook the largest multiracial population People Aging with HIV?! This is the frustration I have as an advocate. Many of us are working on all the issues they discuss in this "guideline," but they fail to include the majority of 1.2 mi...llion people living with HIVAdults over 50, which make up 60% of ALL people living with HIV in the US. WE ARE A FORGOTTEN POPULATION. Please read this declaration and please email [email protected] about what is missing. https://www.aidsunited.org//2020_ANEA_AU_Transition_Docume

Join HIV activist Mark S. King and an exciting collection of community leaders (and celebrity guests!) for an hour of performances and celebration. This ain’t another webinar, folks, Mark promises; so no Powerpoint slides, no lessons, and no crying. Let’s have some fun and celebrate how far we have come. Well, all that, plus I always wanted celebrities at my birthday party.| The one-hour birthday event will be followed by an interactive after-party on Zoom, where atten...dees can socialize with one another and enter various private lounges to hang out and catch up on camera. We need to stay connected, and reconnect with each other. With long-term survivors reaching birthday milestones that once seemed impossible, there is much to celebrate. Donations will benefit The Reunion Project, a national network of HIV/AIDS long-term survivors. Registered attendees will receive a link to attend prior to the event on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, at 7:00 PM ET. The After-Party will begin immediately after the one-hour birthday event. Read more, donate, and register at: https://marksking.com/birthday/

Tuesday, December 1 at 2PM ET - www.SAGEUSA.org/HIVBrief Please join us for a Congressional Briefing that SAGE and our HIV/Aging Policy Action Coalition is proud to host in collaboration with the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus and the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus.... (I'm on the HIV/Aging Policy Action Coalition but not on the panel, but please check it out. We are working hard to improve the lives of Older Adults with HIV and Long-Term Survivors.) We’ll be focusing on the challenges facing older people living with HIV. It’s generally great news that people living with HIV are growing older in fact, one in two people living with HIV in the US is over the age of 50. Yet this also presents challenges. We’ll hear about all of this including the personal stories from communities across the country followed by some time for Q&A. Zoom Info (this links directly to the Zoom): www.SAGEUSA.org/HIVBrief Just click on the link no need to RSVP! Speakers include: Douglas Brooks Executive Director, Community Engagement, Gilead Sciences, Inc. Washington, DC Mark Brennan-Ing Senior Research Scientist, Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging New York, NY Sean Cahill Director Health Policy Research, Fenway Institute Boston, MA Cecelia Chung Senior Director, Transgender Law Center (TLC) San Francisco, CA Jim Meadows Executive Director, SAGE New Orleans (NOAGE) New Orleans, LA Malcom Reid Program Manager, THRIVE SS Inc. / Silver Linings Project Atlanta, GA Alejandro Acosta HIV Project Coordinator, Equality Florida Miami, FL Wilfred Labiosa Executive Director, Waves Ahead San Juan, PR Michelle Lopez Healthy Aging Specialist, GMHC New York, NY

THRIVE SS are excited about their World AIDS Day premiere of "Colors On The Wall". This the second film in the Project Griot series and it features six storytellers over the age of 50, not just living but THRIVING with HIV. We look forward to seeing you at our World AIDS Day virtual event tomorrow night December 1, 2020 at 6pm EST. Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_1SKuCkUsRrW5upJkQawh_A... [https://bit.ly/ColorsOnTheWall]

Trump's quest to end Obamacare would kill Fauci plan to conquer HIV https://www.theguardian.com//trump-obamacare-aca-fauci-pla

The ADAP Advocacy Association is pleased to share the following infographic as part of its ongoing HIV Coronavirus Project. The infographic, "IMPLICATIONS OF CORONAVIRUS: COVID-19's Impact on Aged 55 and Older & Long-Term Survivors", is available at http://www.adapadvocacy.org/publications.html. It is produced in collaboration with Let's Kick ASS AIDS Survivor Syndrome. https://letskickass.hiv

United Voices Community Choir We are looking for adults living with HIV 50 years or older who have experience singing in choirs and/or who want to sing in choirs again, once it is safe to do so. We are convening a Focus Group via phone or Zoom!... You will receive $60.00 for participation in a 1.5- 2 hour meeting! Call us @ 510.629.9676

COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) Volunteer Screening Registry. https://www.PreventCOVID.org/ As you may know, older adults have the most hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 of any group in the United States. So far, not many persons older than age 70 have signed up in this registry.... Can You Help Us? If you know of someone in your life who is older than age 70 and interested in participating in coronavirus prevention research, would you consider passing along our website. https://www.PreventCOVID.org/ For persons without internet access, or who do not feel comfortable with online forms, they can also call our toll-free registry at 866-CVT-1919 (866-288-1919).

COVID-19's Impact on Older Adults Living with HIV & Long-Term Survivors The ADAP Advocacy Association, also known as aaa+, pleased to share its latest blog, COVID-19's Impact on Older Adults Living with HIV & Long-Term Survivors. The guest blog is authored by Tez Anderson, HIV Long-Term Survivor & Founder of Let's Kick ASSAIDS Survivor Syndrome. As we have for decades, we must persevere, know that we are not alone, and are an untapped resource. Do not allow discrimina...tion based on age, or ageism, rob us of our voices. And be sensible about the threat of COVID 19. We’ve survived with HIV for decades let’s ensure we take all precautions to prevent catching COVID 19. Wear a mask, wash your hands, keep your physical distance but remain emotionally connected even if it is virtual. And vote like our lives depends on it. https://adapadvocacyassociation.blogspot.com//covid-19s-im

COVID-19's Impact on Connecticut's Latinos By: Madeline Rodriguez, Executive Director, Latino Community Services According to the Connecticut Department of Public Health HIV Surveillance Program, Latinos are disproportionally impacted by HIV-infection in the state. Nearly half of the Latinos living with HIV/AIDS in Connecticut are now over the age 50, but our Latinx generation is being hard hit by new diagnosis. (CDPH, 2020)... Latino Community Services, Inc. (LCS) was founded in 1986 as Latinos/as Contra SIDA in response to the need for culturally and linguistically competent services for Latinos in Hartford who were infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. The mission of LCS is to reduce the further spread of HIV/AIDS among Latinos and other at-risk populations and improve the quality of life and health of people living with HIV/AIDS. The clients at Latino Community Services come from all walks of life and are diverse in age, race and gender. LCS is a devout ally of the LGBTQI community and staff is dedicated to providing the best possible services so that everyone feels safe and welcomed. Read the rest here>> https://adapadvocacyassociation.blogspot.com//covid-19s-im

Please join us for an interactive virtual speaking event. GI Consequences of Infection HIV Infection: Reduce HIV-related diarrhea for the long term. A moderated discussion led by: Tez Anderson* Date: September 18, 2020... Time: 3:00 PM (PST) Event sponsored by Napo Pharmaceuticals To register contact: Brian Coppedge [email protected] Tel: 575-993-8682 https://napo.zoom.us/j/8233407096 Meeting ID: 823 340 7096 *Full disclosure, Napo is compensating me for my time for this patient presentation. Please note that if you are a licensed US health care professional, any meals and honoraria associated with your participation at the meeting are reportable under the Federal Open Payments/Sunshine Act. Napo abides by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals. Consequently, we are not permitted to pay for the expenses of spouses or guests.

We're just one week away from the start of SYNChronicity 2020, being held September 8-11, 2020. #sync2020 This year marks the largest SYNChronicity ever, with a 60% increase in participation from 2019! Later this week, you will receive conference login details and a program guide. In the meantime, you can use the information below to start preparing for your Virtual SYNC 2020 experience: ... Customize your SYNC program now. Select from this year's 60+ scheduled sessions, including: 4 Plenary Sessions, 6 Institutes, and 50+ Track Sessions (across 13 Tracks) on current and emerging topicsCOVID-19, Innovative Practice, Clinical Health, Health Systems / Fiscal Health, Hepatitis C, HRSA, LGBTQ+, MSM of Color, Social Determinants of Health, Substance Use/Opioids, HIV Workforce, and Women's Health. You also can learn about the conference's 200+ faculty members https://sync2020.org/ All of this year's HIV, HCV and STI prevention content has been collected within the POP Collective, which works as a conference within the SYNC Conference. Stay Connected Download the free app for immediate access to the conference Registration, Virtual Conference Agenda, Sponsor and Partner Information, Exhibitor Information, Webinars, and Real-time conference alerts and updates. To download, go to Apple Store or Google Play, search for and install the app,'SYNC HealthHIV'. https://sync2020.org/

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Take Charge of Your Health: HIV Treatment Update September 15, 2020 2:30 - 4:30 PM ET ACRIA Center at GMHC is offering a series of three webinars empowering people with HIV to "Take Charge" of their healthcare and live a long, healthy life. These interactive workshops present all information in a jargon-free, user-friendly format.... This webinar will focus on the future of HIV treatment by understanding how we got where we are. We will discuss how HIV treatment has changed and what's in the pipeline (including injectable HIV meds), dispel myths about HIV meds, and address the search for a cure. All information is presented in jargon-free, easy to understand language. We dig deep into topics, to make sure that everyone comes away with a clear grasp of everything presented. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/115779057277

Check out this incredible article by Bruce Ward Not Our First Pandemic: The View From a Long-Term HIV Excerpt:... "I acquired the virus we now know as HIV in 1984, three years after the first AIDS cases were reported in the U.S. I was 26 years old. I am now 62. We have all been forced to adapt to a new world in the time of COVID-19, learning how to cope with unforeseeable anxieties, fears, and uncertainty. As a person who lived through the earliest years of the AIDS epidemic, I have experienced a sense of deja vu, an uprooting of buried traumas from the past. If I were to be able to combat them, I knew that I would need to identify these unnerving feelings in order to not remain totally immobilized. I belong to a community of HIV long-term survivors, those who acquired the virus prior to 1996, the year when the first viable treatment became available and changed the face of the AIDS epidemic. Living through the AIDS epidemic has given us certain coping skills, precisely because we have been through something like this before. This, after all, is not our first pandemic."

The ADAP Advocacy Association is pleased to share its latest blog. Community-Based, Nonprofits Address COVID-19's Impact on Marginalized Communities Living with HIV/AIDS. Let's Kick ASSAIDS Survivor Syndrome is honored to be one of the community groups. ... The blog reads, in part: "The ADAP Advocacy Association announced earlier this week that it had awarded micro-grants to eight community-based, nonprofit organizations working to address the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on marginalized communities living with HIV/AIDS. The micro-grants will assist these organizations to raise awareness on the intersection between the global pandemic and HIV/AIDS in the United States." Please feel free to share our blog with your networks. Thank you for your ongoing support of the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs. https://adapadvocacyassociation.blogspot.com//community-ba

Here’s information on a webinar that you may be interested in. National COVID-19 Vaccine Trials August 18, 12-1:30 PM Eastern With dozens of COVID-19 vaccine trials in development and updates changing daily, in this webinar, Dr. Carlos del Rio will discuss a few of the leading COVID-19 vaccine trials, the progress that has been made and next steps in the COVID-19 vaccine trial process. We will also explore the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine trial process.... [http://www.r4phtc.org/national-covid-19-vaccine-trials/] See more

How many of you depend on the US Postal Service to receive your medications? The Trump effort to steal the election by gumming up the USPS also affects our constitutionally-guaranteed Post Office. Trump saying clearly on Fox why he won’t fund USPS. Now they need that money in order to make the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots...But if they don’t get those two items that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting... (and acces...s to life-sustaining drugs.) Constitution Article 1, Section 8 says that [The Congress shall have the power] to establish Post Offices and Post Roads. It does not say that the federal government shall have the exclusive power to deliver mail. Nor does it require that the mail be delivered by an agent of the federal government to every home in the country, six days a week.