Sharing our Pride and Commitment in the LGBT Community

By Josie Halpern-Finnerty, AIDS.gov Project Coordinator, and Miguel Gomez, AIDS.gov Director

As Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month (June) approaches, we want to honor the LGBT community's role in the response to HIV and share our commitment to combating the stigma and discrimination that still affects many LGBT people. Though we have made progress in addressing homophobia and HIV-related stigma, they are still realities for many of us, and fear of discrimination can cause members of the LGBT community to avoid learning their HIV status, disclosing their status, or accessing appropriate prevention or care services. We must use every available tool to combat stigma for all communities.

We know that LGBT people are more likely to use social media than the general population, and this has implications for our work. We've shared some of the ways that the LGBT community is using new and social media to share resources and respond to HIV. We'll continue to do so, highlighting the work of some of our microgrant recipients who are working with the LGBT community, among others. The LGBT community is innovative and continues to develop creative solutions to address homophobia and HIV-related stigma. We are honored to keep sharing some of those efforts with you through this blog.

New Media Microgrant Awardees

By Miguel Gomez, AIDS.gov Director

When we launched this blog over two years ago, we stated our commitment to learning along with you to find new and creative ways to use new media in response to HIV/AIDS. Last week, we continued to honor this commitment by making 17 microgrants to organizations that are planning for and implementing new media to respond to HIV among communities of color (funds were distributed by Team PSA and the projects will be managed by John Snow, Inc. ). We received many, many excellent project ideas from across the country — from New York to Michigan to Hawaii and Alaska.

We will be working with these organizations over the coming months to share their new media efforts and lessons learned (through guest posts here on the blog, among other things). We just held a conference call to introduce them to each other and and we'd also like to introduce them, and their projects, to you:

Respecting the Rights of Hospital Patients: Presidential Memorandum

By Miguel Gomez, AIDS.gov Director

On April 15, a Presidential Memorandum was released about hospital visitations related to the rights of hospital patients to receive visitors and to designate surrogate decision makers for medical emergencies. This is an important action for Gay and Lesbian Americans, who are often barred from the bedside of the partners with whom they've spent decades of their lives. For more information, please read the entire memorandum.

Using the Internet to Provide HIV-Prevention Messages to Men Who Have Sex with Men

By Miguel Gomez, AIDS.gov Director

On Wednesday, March 24, I had the pleasure of taking part in a day-long meeting about using the Internet to provide effective HIV-prevention messages to men who have sex with men (MSM). The meeting was sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A report is being developed about the meeting (and we’ll work with the CDC to help share the findings/outcomes), but we thought it was important to let you know that the meeting happened and that the CDC is carefully and methodically working to understand how to best reach their target audiences. The objectives of the meeting were to: 1) discuss how the use of specific channels, technologies, or websites vary by important demographic and behavioral characteristics; 2) determine the strengths and weaknesses of specific channels, technologies, or websites for different types of HIV prevention messages; 3) discuss how points raised for 2 and 3 above could inform the development of electronic materials to inform, educate, and support MSM choices for different risk-reduction strategies.

Dr. Stryker, CDC

After the meeting, I sat down with Jo Stryker, PhD, Associate Chief for Research and Evaluation at the CDC’s Prevention and Communication Branch of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention who explained that the meeting was part of a larger project aimed at developing the next generation of HIV prevention messages for MSM. "The overall purpose," she said, "was to share lessons learned from internet-based HIV prevention strategies targeting MSM."

A Conversation with the Director of the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health

Guest post by JoAnne Keatley, Director of the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health

The transgender community has been disproportionately affected by HIV, and often faces challenges finding and accessing appropriate services. JoAnne Keatley, Director of the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health , is one of the leaders in the larger national conversation about increasing access to culturally competent healthcare for transgender people. At AIDS.gov, we are committed to working with leadership in the transgender community to support this important work, and to consider how new media might play a role in extending the reach of programs. We asked JoAnne to tell us a bit more about the work that she and the Center are doing. Here’s what JoAnne had to say:

JoAnne Keatley, Director of the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health

Q: Please tell us a bit more about yourself.

A: I was born in Mexico City in 1951. I came to the United States when I was eight and grew up in Los Angeles with my mother and six siblings. We struggled quite a bit because Mom was a single parent. In spite of the challenges we faced, I learned to be resilient and to appreciate the strength in family. It is one of the things I love about being Latina! I returned to school as an adult and received an MSW from UC Berkeley in my late 40s. It’s never too late! I identify as female, transgender, and heterosexual. My work today involves managing a portfolio of Pacific AIDS Education & Training Center minority focused training projects and directing the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health . These dual roles allow me to bring forth my years of experience addressing HIV risk behavior in underserved populations.