Although the pandemic has affected us in different ways, there seems to be little doubt that the average person’s mental health in the United States has declined. At a time when family and friends are normally the closest, this year, they will be farther away. That's why taking a proactive approach to insuring our mental health is more important than ever as we enter the holiday season. With that in mind, we wanted to share a few tips to keep you feeling the seasonal spirit and ensure you have the best virtual holidays this year!

My name is Nicki Turk and I’m CAP’s Director of Housing & Support Services. I have worked at CAP for 14 years, but this year has been unlike any other in my time here. It has been, and continues to be, so incredibly hard. And yet, I’ve never been prouder of the work CAP does for those living with and affected by HIV, and for the LGBTQ+ community.

My name is Déja Fitzgerald (She/Her) and I am incredibly excited to be CAP’s new Equity and Inclusion Advocate. In the past few weeks, I have been often asked why I chose to pursue this particular role with this particular organization. As a Black queer woman, my lived experience serves as the foundation that guides my work as an equity practitioner, community advocate, and educator…

Did you know that 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ people aren't registered to vote? And that Black and Latinx people are less likely to be registered than whites? As a health-focused organization, we believe that our community's well-being depends not only on our physical and mental health, but also our "civic health": the ability to influence the policies that affect our health and healthcare. That's why CAP is urging all eligible voters to make sure they're registered to vote and cast their ballots in the November 3 election!

We wanted to take a moment to say thank to you all for your incredible support of CAP and AIDS Walk Northwest. AIDS Walk Northwest (formerly AIDS Walk Portland) is a cornerstone event for CAP and helps raise awareness for HIV and AIDS as well as critical funds to support CAP and our Community Partners as we fight to end HIV transmission. Thousands of you rallied over the past few months and helped us exceed our fundraising goal; because of your generous support we raised over $178,000 during this year’s event to support healthcare and HIV services for both CAP and our Community Partners!

Hello Everyone, It’s Tyler TerMeer – CEO of Cascade AIDS Project and Prism Health!

I’m reaching out today with an important update about AIDS WALK Northwest.

As I’m sure you can imagine, we have been keeping a close eye on the wildfires this week and due to the increased smoke and fire safety concerns in our local area, we have made the tough decision that AIDS Walk on September 12th will be a virtual livestream event only.

In our last letter, we shared our commitment to providing you with updates on how our system is adapting in the pandemic, and taking the necessary steps to ensure that you have access to the services you need, while staying safe and healthy. You are always in the forefront of our minds, but in these past few weeks, amid community uprisings it becomes even clearer how important it is for us to stay connected.

Last week, Leaders and Organizations in the Black community sent a letter to Governor Kate Brown, Speaker of the House Tina Kotek, Senate President Peter Courtney and members of the Emergency Board.

As you know, COVID-19 is also highlighting what was already true—while Oregonians are weathering the same storm, we’re not all in the same boat. Black, brown, and Indigenous communities have always been denied the resources we need to be healthy. So, it is absolutely predictable that we are the communities hit hardest by COVID-19—and not just by the virus itself. Nationally, we also know that the CARES Act has already left Black communities behind.

We wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your commitment to supporting CAP and Prism Health during this unprecedented time. Together, we have raised over $250,000 to support CAP and Prism Health’s COVID-19 relief effort. Some of the work we have been able to accomplish includes:

We wrote to you a couple of weeks ago to let you know that all of our HIV organizations remain open and able to provide the services that you need and deserve. We are all available in different capacities and we encourage you to visit our websites, social media pages and call us. Our plan is to remain open during the Stay Home: Save Lives order and to continue to be here for you. We hope that you are finding ways to take care of yourselves during this time.

We are reaching out to you in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to let you know we are here for you. We understand that social distancing, while a necessary part of stopping the spread of coronavirus, has a real impact not only on the services we are able to provide at this time, but also the lives of you and your loved ones.

At CAP, the well-being of our community is a top priority and we are aware that the populations we serve are often the most vulnerable during a public health crisis. We will be staying open with essential services so that our clients can receive the care they need, while also protecting our members, visitors, volunteers, and staff while they are here.

In August of 2019, I released an open letter in The Skanner to acknowledge that CAP’s work with the Black community in Portland has been lacking. At the time, our time for showing up at the table was far overdue.  Today as I reflect back, I realize I should have started the conversation with two simple words.

I’m sorry.

It was fifteen years ago that I participated in my first AIDS Walk. I had only known my status for a few short months and I remember feeling incredibly vulnerable as I had only just begun adjusting to my new life living with the virus. However, looking back, taking that first step towards my future at the walk was a defining moment in my journey.

I’m writing this open letter to our community on behalf of Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) to acknowledge that our work with the black community in Portland has been lacking.  Our time for showing up at the table is far overdue, and I am deeply sorry that CAP has not been historically more responsive to the black community.

World AIDS Day is upon us again. For me, World AIDS Day has always been a time of reflection and remembrance. A time for me to remember those individuals lost along this journey and to reflect on the ways in which HIV has changed the course of my life.

As you know, there has been a lot of uncertainty in recent months about funding for health care, particularly at the national level. Threats of budget cuts for health care and prevention programs, attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and other actions are causing worry among people living with HIV/AIDS who access these federally funded programs and services so they can stay healthy and vibrant.

The devastating and discriminatory actions coming out of our nation’s capital over the last 24 hours have been heartbreaking and difficult to digest. It’s hard to express the increased frustration, outrage, and sadness I am feeling today as I look at the impact that these decisions will have on our community, our friends, and our chosen families.

A year ago today, the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando shook the LGBTQ+ community to its core and left us devastated, angry, and bewildered. Each of us was affected by this tragic action in our own way. Most of us read or watched the news of the horrifying events and thought about how it related to our lives. Others, like our own William McKell, a Bilingual HIV Prevention Specialist at CAP, were more personally affected by the tragedy.

This has never been about bathrooms. It wasn’t about drinking fountains, either. It’s about keeping Trans people out of public spaces. Trans people have existed since the beginning of time. We have been using public accommodations alongside Cisgender people for as long as our society has been developed. There is no known incidence of a Trans person assaulting someone in a bathroom. This is not a safety issue for cisgender women in bathrooms. That is a mirage.