The newsletter of the Latino Commission on AIDS – 3/10/05
Contents: LCOA marches for Women's History Month <#March> ; Is there a
dangerous new virus among us? <#VIRUS> ; Reunión Latina Conference
in Albany <#Reunion> ; Our own Aracelis to be honored bv El Diario <#Aracelis>
; Manos Unidas looking for consultants <#Manos> ; Join Poder Latino <#Manos>
; Celebrate Yadhira's Birthday! <#Yadhira> ; SOMOS Update <#Somos>
; National Latino AIDS Awareness Day 2005 Planning <#Nlaad> ; 2nd Annual
Summit for Spanish speaking treatment educators <#Summit> ; Cielo Latino
X, 2005 <#Cielo> ; Congressional Action Committee On Latino AIDS <#Cacola>
; City Latinas live longest, report finds <#Latinas> ; Australian Scientists
Stumble Across HIV Therapy <#Australian> ; Crystal Meth Anonymous En Español
<#Cma> ; Workshops for Latino Gay Men in Oakland <#Oakland> ; Ryan
White Funding Community Forum en Español <#Ryan> and news from
the internet … <#Internet>
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LCOA marches for Women's History Month
The Latino Commission joined over 30 organizations in a rally and march to commemorate Women's History Month, and to call for an end to domestic violence and better access to healthcare for all Latinas. Dámaris (Mujeres en Fe), Juan (Communications) and Cookie (Volunteer) were featured in the coverage for NY1 and NY1 Noticias. The march began with a rally at Union Square Park where Vice President Guillermo Chacón spoke and Dámaris led the invocation. Then the marchers proceeded on Broadway to Madison Square Park for a closing ceremony.
Thank you to all the organizations who participated: CONNECT Inc., Levántate Mujer Ministry, Voices of Women Organizing Project, Planned Parenthood NYC, Trinity Healing Center, National Council for Research on Women, Dominican Women's Developement Center, Muslim Women's Institute for Research and Development, Mexicanos Unidos, Life Force: Women Fighting AIDS, Inc., Casa-Atabex Ache, New York Asian Women's Center, GEN 5, Iglesia San Romero de las Américas, Arab-American Family Support Center, Council on Status of Latin American Women, Steps to End Family Violence, Fordham Lutheran Evangelical Church, Sancturary for Families, Sakhi for South Asian Women, Jamalali Uaguacha, Women's Program at Amnesty International USA, Centro Hispano "Cuzcatlán", DWA FANM, Urban Justice Center, SEPA Mujer, Battered Immigrant Women's Project - CUNY Law School, Asociación Tepeyac de New York, Haitian Center Council, Brooklyn Connect, Teatro El Puente, Urban Word, Radical Women, Gambian Society in New York, Harlem United Community AIDS Center, Misión San Juan Bautista, United Muslim Movement Against Homelessness.
Let this become an annual event where LCOA and other organizations who serve women throughout the city come together to demand better access to healthcare and an end to domestic violence everywhere.
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IS THERE A DANGEROUS NEW VIRUS AMONG US? <#virus>
Although the question was not fully asnwered, the panel March 3 sponsored by the HIV Forum and including the participation of LCOA President Dennis deLeon was a much needed space for everybody concerned to discuss this possibility. Kudos to the City's Health Commissioner, Dr. Thomas Frieden, for taking the time to join the other speakers and shed some light on this case. For more information on this and future events visit www.hivforumnyc.org <http://www.hivforumnyc.org/> .
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Reunión Latina Conference in Albany
Over 250 Latinos and Latinas took part in our annual conference in the State's
capital, from March 9 through the 11 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The purpose
of Reunion Latina is to encourage the development of leadership skills, as well
as to provide collaboration and networking opportunities for the “community
servicing” organizations that participate in the conference. Reunion Latina
is a culturally sensitive response to the HIV crisis within Latina/o communities,
communities of people of color, and providers of prevention and counseling services
throughout the state of New York. Our conference is represented by geographically
and programmatically diverse AIDS service providers. Reunion Latina helps to
unify voices and promote actions that will continue raising awareness among
legislators and other civic leaders. Reunion Latina also aims to energize sponsors
to dedicate resources for addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS among Latinos/as,
imploring the media to show the reality of HIV/AIDS, motivating individuals
and community leaders to fulfill their responsibility of providing HIV/AIDS
youth education, and confront the stigma and discrimination connected to HIV
and AIDS.
Thank you to all the LCOA staff that helped to make this year's conference a success, particularly Bethsy Morales and Ana Orozco.
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Our own Aracelis to be honored by El Diario-La Prensa!
Our dear friend and colleague Aracelis Quiñones, coordinator of Poder
Latino, will be one of the 50 distinguished Latinas to be honored this year
by El Diario-La Prensa . The awards will be handed out at a special luncheon
March 20 at the Plaza Hotel.
Please send her your congratulations via email at aquinones@latinoaids.org.
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Manos Unidas looking for consultants and more
Manos Unidas, the newest program of the Latino Commission on AIDS, provides
capacity building for HIV-prevention programs in the Northeast, Puerto Rico
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. They are in the process of creating a consultant
pool, and are looking for professionals in the areas of Social Services, Social
Work, Public Health, Behavioral Sciences, etc. who are knowledgeable and/or
experienced in working with the Latino Communities. If you are interested please
contact Daniel Leyva, Resource Coordinator at 212-584-9313 or dleyva@latinoaids.org.
Manos Unidas' Sergio Lindarte and Daniel Leyva will also be offering a PCRS (Partner Counseling Referral Services) Training en Español, from March 22 to the 25th. Please contact Daniel or Sergio (slindarte@latinoaids.org) for more information.
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Join Poder Latino
Podel Latino is an educational group for HIV positive Latinos/as and their loved
ones, which meets every month at the Commission. Learn more about current treatments,
share information and learn from others, eat a delicious dinner and have a great
time. For more information call Aracelis Quiñones at ext. 416 or via
email at aquinones@latinoaids.org.
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Celebrate at LCOA!
On March 25 we'll get together to celebrate Yadhira Alvarez' birthday at the
LCOA 9th Floor conference room from 3pm to 5pm. Please bring something to share
and be ready to have a good time. For more information call Migdalia at extension
100. All staff and volunteers are invited.
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SOMOS update
SOMOS is looking for gay and bisexual men to take part in a series of focus
groups. We'd like to know your opinion about: religion, "machismo",
family loyalty, homophobia and other socio-cultural factors which influence
your growth as an LGBT person and how these affect sexual behavior. If you're
interested, register now! Call Bolívar Nieto at 212-584-9326 or via email
at bnieto@latinoaids.org <mailto:bnieto@latinoaids.org> . The group will
be conducted in Spanish. You should be available to meet once a week for five
weeks from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the offices of LCOA, 24 W 25th St., 9th Floor.
At each session the participants will get refreshments, Metrocards for transportation
and a $10.00 certificate.
SOMOS is looking for a volunteer to help them with administrative duties. If
you know of anybody please contact Juan at x339 or Francisco at x311.
Courtesy of Francisco Lazala
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National Latino AIDS Awareness Day 2005 Planning
Please contact Wesley Rodríguez, Director of Health Policy, to join this effort that will unite HIV organization from coast to coast in educational, political and cultural activities to raise awareness about the AIDS in our Latino Communities. You may email him at wrodriguez@latinoaids.org or call him at 212-675-3288, ext. 324.
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2nd Annual Summit for Spanish speaking treatment educators
The Commission will be hosting this national event June 16.through 19, 2005
at the Hyatt West Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, California. For more information,
registration and scholarship information, check our website (www.latinoaids.org
<http://www.latinoaids.org/> ) or contact Juan Carlos Sandoval at jsandoval@latinoaids.org
.
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Cielo Latino X, 2005
We continue to furiously plan ahead for what promises to be a very exciting
evening on May 20 at the Copacabana. The Benefit Committee has subdivided in
sub-committees including corporate sponsorship, media and celebrities, commemorative
program, silent auction, and others. The silent auction will include a very
special item this year: a series of celebrity shoe portraits by renowned artist
Alexander Petti, thanks to the efforts of our benefit chair Sylvia Martínez.
So far we'll have portraits of shoes from celebrities like Eddie Palmieri, Roselyn
Sanchez, María Elena Salinas, Lupe Ontiveros and others.
If you're interested in joining the benefit committee or volunteering for this
event please call Yadhira Alvarez at ext. 310 or Juan Méndez at extension
339.
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Congressional Action Committee On Latino AIDS
CACOLA is a steering committee dedicated to HIV/AIDS organizations serving people living with HIV/AIDS in Williamsburg, Bushwick and Greenpoint. The goal is to strengthen North Brooklyn Latino serving organizations that provide AIDS services; expand services to increase access for difficult to reach populations of Latinos, build new services to meet identified need; and to empower local People with AIDS to play a role in strengthening the organizations that serve them in their community. The implementation of capacity building assistance is overseen by a working group of Latino-serving Brooklyn AIDS and health providers, who will work with recipient organizations to initiate capacity building projects, contribute resources and expertise to the capacity building effort, evaluate the implementation of services, and act as a local advisory committee to the project.
For more information contanct Bernice López, Project Coordinator at 212-675-3288 ext 336
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City Latinas live longest, report finds
Hispanic women in New York City have the longest life expectancy - 83.5 years.
But health officials warned that statistics may be misleading.Health Commissioner
Thomas Frieden, who unveiled the new report - "Women at Risk: The Health
of Women in New York City", said he is still concerned about high rates
of obesity and diabetes among Hispanic women.
"Women's health has improved greatly in the past decade, but we can do even better," Frieden said.
The report showed that women in poor neighborhoods have a shorter life expectancy than women in high-income neighborhoods. Black women in the city have a life expectancy of 77.5 years. For white women, it's 82.3 years. Dr. Lorna Thorpe, deputy commissioner at the city Health Department, said no one knows what really causes the so-called "Hispanic Paradox" that also has shown up in national statistics.
For the complete story, visit: http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/288029p-246568c.html <http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/288029p-246568c.html> .
Source: NY Daily News
Courtesy of Andrés Duque
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Australian Scientists Stumble Across HIV Therapy
Australian scientists set out to create a test to analyze how well an animal's
immune system fights HIV, but accidentally developed what they hope may turn
out to be an AIDS treatment.
Stephen Kent, of the University of Melbourne's Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Australian National University colleagues extracted blood from laboratory animals and coated the cells with HIV peptide markers. When they injected the peptide-coated blood back into the animals, they found it triggered a significant immune response. "When we analyzed HIV-specific immunity in the weeks following. a marked enhancement of virus-specific immunity was induced," said Kent.
The research team has successfully tested the method in mice and monkeys; the scientists hope to begin human trials in Sydney and Melbourne within two years. These would involve treating a volunteer's blood with peptides found on the surface of cells infected by HIV, then injecting the treated blood back into the volunteer. Dubbed Overlapping Peptide Autologous Cells (OPAL) by the researchers, the therapy could be administered a few times a year, said Kent. The National Health and Medical Research Council has provided $500,000 Australian (US$391,773) to help develop a human study.
Kent said the discovery raises the hope that HIV infection could be "kept at bay by some sort of immune therapy." In addition, the therapy was effective even against drug- resistant forms of the virus. The full report, "Enhanced Cellular Immunity in Macaques Following a Novel Peptide Immunotherapy," was published in the Journal of Virology.
Source: Australian Associated Press
Courtesy of : Carlos Maldonado
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Crystal Meth Anonymous en Español
The first group of its kind "en español" is already in place every Monday at 7:30pm at GMHC, 119 West 24th St., 2nd Floor. Please pass this information on!!
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Workshops for Latino Gay Men in Oakland
A series of workshops called "Tops and Bottoms" designed for Latino
gay men will take place from April 4 through the 19 at the AIDS Project of the
East Bay, 1755 Broadway, Suite 504 in Oakland, CA. Among the topics to be discussed
are: The culture of the Latino gay man; Roles and risks of tops and bottoms;
STD's and HIV; Relationship issues; Social support and problem solving and others.
Refreshment and food will be served and participants could earn up to $60. For
more information contact Jesús Moreno, Community Outreach Educator, at
510-457-1047.
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Ryan White Funding Community Forum en Español
The City's HIV Planning Council invites you to a community forum en español
about Ryan White Title I HIV/AIDS Services. This will be an opportunity for
people living with HIV/AIDS, service providers and the affected communities
to share information with the Planning Council. The information will be used
to help the Council in planning the necessary services in various communities.
If you're not able to attend, written testimonies will be accepted. Send them
to HIV Health and Human Services Planning Council of New York, 40 Worth St.,
Room 1519, New York, NY 10013 or via fax at 212-788-9360. For more information
call 212-788-2752.
Courtesy of Maria Luisa Hernández
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News from the internet
AIDS patient list e-mailed to hundreds
A confidential list of 4,500 southeast Florida residents with AIDS and 2,000
others who are HIV positive was inadvertently e-mailed to more than 800 county
health workers, officials said. Read the whole story... <http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/02/21/aids.list.ap/index.html>
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Official: AIDS e-mail didn't get out
County officials are "99 percent sure" a confidential list of thousands
of AIDS patients and people with HIV never got outside their control after it
was mistakenly e-mailed to health workers, a spokesman said. Read the whole
story.... <http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/02/22/aids.list.email.ap/index.html>
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AIDS Vaccine Funding Shrinking
U.S. funding for AIDS vaccine research is tightening, the government's top HIV expert warned Monday, even as he said scientists still must overcome a big hurdle in the hunt: how to harness the body's first defenders to repel infection. Read the whole story... <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,148281,00.html>
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Culture may keep Hispanic youth from sex
Hispanic teenagers in the United States who use Spanish as their primary language
are likely to become sexually active later than those who have learned English,
keeping them at less risk for disease and related problems, a study said. Read
the whole story... <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7119769/>
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HIV infection rate among U.S. blacks doubles
BOSTON - The HIV infection rate has doubled among blacks in the United States
over a decade while holding steady among whites — stark evidence of a
widening racial gap in the epidemic, government scientists said. Read the whole
story... <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7032358/>
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U.N.: 80 Million Africans Could Die From AIDS
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — More than 80 million Africans may die from AIDS
by 2025, the United Nations said in a report, and infections could soar to 90
million — or more than 10 percent of the continent's population —
if more isn't done soon to fight the disease. Read the whole story... <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,149384,00.html>
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Study: Experiments helped cancer patients
People with advanced cancers who try experimental treatments are helped more than previously thought, according to the most comprehensive look at government-sponsored tests over a decade. Read the whole story... <http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/03/03/cancer.experiments.ap/index.html>
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FDA seizes diabetes, antidepressant drugs
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday that officials had seized batches of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's diabetes drug Avandamet and the controlled-release antidepressant Paxil CR because of concerns over manufacturing quality. Read the whole story... <http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/03/04/glaxo.drugs.reut/index.html>
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Man survives doctor-assisted suicide attempt
A terminally ill cancer patient who tried to end his life with drugs prescribed
under Oregon's assisted-suicide law awoke three days later, alert and talkative,
his wife said. Read the whole story... <http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/04/assisted.suicide.survivor.ap/index.html>
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Unclear gender: Let children determine own
It's the first question new parents hear: girl or boy? But hundreds of babies are born each year where the gender isn't clear. Prompt surgery to assign one was once the norm. Read the whole story... <http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/parenting/02/18/babies.unclear.gender.ap/index.html>
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Assisted Reproduction Kids Healthy as Naturally Conceived
Babies conceived through assisted reproduction, such as in vitro fertilization,
are just as likely as babies conceived naturally to grow up healthy, says a
new European study. Read the whole story... <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,149621,00.html>