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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 2011)
J«_ ü aids NOVEMBER 11. 2011 W W W .J U S T O U T .C O M Scott Gcllatlv Thirty Years Later LANDSCAPE CONNECTION Nov. 17 - Dec. 31 Portland looks back, forward for World AIDS Day 2011 Opening Reception Friday Nov. 18th, 5-8 pm 2236 NE Broadway, Portland OR 97232 503.249.5659 b r ia n m a r k i.c o m 11 lllm nette 717 sw alder pdx 97205 503/279.9358 Evening logs-n-more w h e re s ty le m e e ts c o m fo rt 3439 se hawthornem pdx 97214 503/232.7007 | 6809 se m ilwaukiei pdx 97202 503/233.4146 ¡j 617 nw 23rd pdx 97210 503/24.5896 the streets of tanas, hillsboro 9712 503/690.4577 www. dogsnmore. co / www. facebook. com /dogsnm orepdx Serving Downtown Portland Since 1903 Passionately & Completely Devoted to Health Text message reminders through Script Alert Care Assist in network provider Adherence packaging at no charge Medication reminder through My Medication Alert Online Ordering Most insurance plans accepted 503.226.2222 M onday - Friday: 9am -6pm , 538 SW 4ch Ave., Portland. OR 9” 204 w w w .c e n tr a ld r u g sp d x .c o m On December 1, communities through out the world will come together for the 23rd Annual World AIDS Day— an oppor tunity not only to remember those lost to H IV /A ID S and the 33 million people living with it today, but also to raise awareness about how to prevent and curtail the spread o f the infection. World AIDS Day 2011 holds added significance— earlier this year marked the 30th anniversary o f the first di agnosed case o f HIV. Three decades and countless medical ad vances later, perhaps the most sobering truth is that in the last 10 years the incidence o f new H IV infections has not gone down. It is estimated that 56,000 new H IV infections occur annually— that’s one every nine and a half minutes— and 20 percent o f those liv ing with the virus in the United States are not aware o f their status. Cause for hope came in May o f this year, when a study published by the National In stitutes o f Health found that early treatm ent can reduce transmission to sexual partners by 96 percent. The data led to dramatic pre dictions by commentators and experts such as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who in the Washington Post wrote, “An end to AIDS is within our reach.” It makes sense, then, that the theme for World AIDS Day 2011 is “G etting to Zero”— and wiping out AIDS-related stigma, discrimination, deaths and new infections. “I t’s huge,” says Cascade AID S Project executive director Michael Kaplan o f the findings, and their “potential to change the way we think about H IV /A ID S and alter what the future looks like.” “In the U.S. you could take infections down to less than a few thousand from 40,000 sexually transmitted each year in the [country] today,” he says. “Through simply ensuring that everyone knew their H IV sta tus and those that are positive got early treatment, we could really break the back of the epidemic. It gives us a clear path and a clear light at the end of the tunnel.” Despite high levels o f human trafficking, prostitution and drug use, Kaplan explains that H IV /A ID S in the Portland metro area is “a very concentrated epidemic, highly fo cused on gay and bisexual men. In fact, 70 percent o f all infections continue to be among gay and bisexual m en.” I t’s been C A P ’s mission since 1983 to fight the spread o f the disease, support those living with it and educate the greater popu lation. The nonprofit provides 3,000 tests a year in its downtown Portland offices, and CA P program Pivot, a community space for “men into men," offers a variety o f social and MARTY DAMS BY ALEX BRYCE BRIAN MARK I FINE ART “We want to encourage churches, synagogues, schools, colleges, uni versities, government bodies and so on to each try to do their own event. This supports the idea that HIV/ AIDS affects all communities.” —WAYNE MIYA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OUR HOUSE educational programming for gay, bisexual and trans men. Among C A P ’s W orld AID S Day efforts this year, the organization will host a public symposium assessing “W h at’s New in H IV ” with guest speaker Paul Kawata, executive director o f the National M inority AIDS Council, focusing on the key strategies o f education, prevention and treatment. CAP is joined in its educational efforts by O ur House o f Portland, which in 2011 is reaching out to students at Beaumont Middle School. Established in 1988, O ur House pro vides a diverse range o f services— from 24- hour residential care to free clothing and even pet food for owners in need— through pro grams like Esther’s Pantry and Tod’s Corner. CAP and O ur House are just two facets of the Portland contingent of World AIDS Day— a community that, since 2009, has been united under an umbrella of engagement and collaboration at worldaidsdaynw.org. As O ur House executive director Wayne Miya ex plains, “We want to encourage churches, syna gogues, schools, colleges, universities, govern ment bodies and so on to each try to do their own event. This supports the idea that H IV / AIDS affects all communities.” It’s a notion that numerous local organi zations have embraced. Take Portland State University, whose Association of African Students, a longtime World AIDS Day par-