'MO - July 2008 - (Page 19)

your health matters Will the Economy Ruin LGBT Funding? It’s likely that gasoline prices will hit ﬁve dollars a gallon this summer. Many of us have already changed our vacation plans in an effort to save money, or started buying the “off brands” at the grocery store to keep a few extra cents in our pockets. But what impact do higher prices and mortgage meltdowns have on our community’s non-proﬁt organizations? As is often the case, donations to charitable groups tend to decrease in times of economic crunch. Our LGBT organizations accomplish some amazing work; ﬁghting for marriage equality, creating social and educational opportunities, promoting visibility in the arts, and supporting political candidates are all part of our thriving non-proﬁt scene. The fact that individual donations may be down is of particular concern for our HIV/AIDS non-proﬁts. HIV/AIDS organizations have traditionally relied not only on individual giving, but also in part on government grants. In June 1981, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its ﬁrst warning about a disease that would become known as AIDS. Gay and bisexual men have been at its epicenter ever since. Although there was initially little known about the disease, and much to be fearful of, our communities came together to form the ﬁrst organizations to provide prevention and treatment efforts. These organizations helped set a new standard for health advocacy in the United States. Eventually the CDC stepped up and created funding structures to support these efforts. Locally, HIV prevention organizations like Gay City Health Project beneﬁted from these funding structures. Gay City was launched in 1995 with a mission to promote gay and bisexual men’s health by building community, fostering communication, and nurturing self-esteem. The organization was dedicated to bold, innovative HIV prevention programming, and employed the concept of social marketing to communicate its message of gay men’s empowerment and health. Executive Director Fred Swanson notes that, “in those early years, over 80% of our budget came from government sources.” In an effort to fund the most effective programs, by 1999 the CDC had established the “Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBIs),” which are scientiﬁcally supported prevention programs, and the only type of interventions funded directly by CDC to community-based AIDS organizations. Then in the year 2000, the political landscape changed. The lives of LGBT people, our rights to marry, raise children, and even exist became wedge issues in a political campaign that resulted in the Bush Administration. Not surprisingly, over the last eight years programs for gay and bisexual men have become less and less a part of publicly funded HIV Prevention efforts. “There is a distinct relationship between bad leadership and the communities who rely on our government for support,” says Swanson. “As HIV spending has moved towards partisan homophobic rhetoric, its communities like ours who don’t get the information or resources they need to stay healthy. The huge investment in ‘abstinence until marriage’ is a prime example of this.” A recent article by Ryan Lee in Atlanta’s Southern Voice demonstrates Swanson’s point. He notes that, “last year the CDC restructured its DEBI system, replacing it with a ‘Compendium of Evidence-Based Interventions.’ The new funding structure categorizes interventions into four tiers based on how much scientiﬁc evidence supports their effectiveness, with Tiers I and II having a higher scientiﬁc standard and a higher likelihood of receiving CDC funding. The CDC’s compendium currently includes only Tier I and II interventions, with only four of the 49 interventions targeting gay and bisexual men.” So, less than ten percent of the CDC’s funded interventions target gay and bisexual men, a population that makes up 50% of the HIV cases in the U.S., and close to 80% of the cases locally. This shift away from public funds for our community is evident on a local level as well. Gay City’s Swanson notes, “Last year, over half our organization’s budget came from private sources. We can’t rely solely on government support, because the demand for our services is just too great. Giving to an organization like Gay City really makes an impact.” Few in our LGBT communities would argue against the idea that it is time for change, both nationally and globally. There are hopeful signs that change is immanent, that people have had enough of the failed policies and prejudice of recent years. We cannot, however, afford to wait for politicians to get around to implementing policies and programs that will create meaningful change in our communities. We in the LGBT communities need to act now to create the future we desire for ourselves and for those who will follow us. We have the resources. We have the reach. We have the responsibility. moseattle.com 19 issue #17 | july 2008 http://www.seattlemeds.com http://moseattle.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 'MO - July 2008

'MO - July 2008 Contents Letter From The Editor Series 2008 Needs Volunteers Voices 'mo-BIZ: City Lights Sign Company HIV Is Still a Big Deal, The Online Video Series Instant Activist Pet Project: Wiener Takes All Charlene Strong on the Rights Fight Form & Function: Molding Your Middle Will the Economy Ruin LGBT Funding? Toronto is a Great Place to Meet Feature Film Review: American Teen Live Event Preview: Sitting In Circles with Rich White Girls Book Review: In the Eye of the Storm by Gene Robinson Capitol Hill Guide Three Dollar Bill Cinema Presents: Features from the Black Lagoon Raising Spirits: Tini Bigs Offers Five New Martinis SceneOut: People@Places

'MO - July 2008

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