Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) is very pleased to announce a partnership with Gilead Sciences, Inc. for the 2018-2021 Aging Well Program. Gilead is funding the three-year $375,000 program that focuses on supporting the wellbeing of aging adults living with and affected by HIV.

Cascade AIDS Project’s Peer Support Program, led by Program Manager Hannah G., has been a driving force in empowering those affected by HIV in our community. The diverse set of Peer Support Specialists (Peers) are selfless heroes that make this work possible.  Running six years strong and expanding, CAP’s Peer Support Program lives by the unofficial motto “meeting individuals where they are”.

CAP and Kaiser Permanente have kicked off a project aimed at changing both the way individuals disclose their gender identity when enrolling in Kaiser insurance and the way gender non-conforming patients are then routed through the healthcare system.

Prism Health is Oregon’s first and only lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus all other gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQ+) primary care clinic. As of May 2018, Prism has been open for one full year. To commemorate the event, Prism Health is having a One-Year Anniversary Open House Thursday May 24th 4:30 to 6:30 pm at 2236 SE Belmont Street, Portland. No RSVP necessary.

Through the efforts of Laela Wilding, Ambassador of The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) and the 2018 Portland Film Fundraiser “Cleopatra”, over $3000 was raised for CAP’s Camp KC. Camp KC is a summer sleepaway camp that takes place every year on the Oregon coast. It is attended by children infected or affected by HIV.

Ms. Curtis is a Regional Bank President for Wells Fargo & Company. As an Executive Vice President, she is responsible for managing the customer service, sales and community involvement activities of nearly 800 team members at 74 bank branches in northern Oregon and Southwest Washington. A native of England, she began her Wells Fargo career in 1988 as a teller.

The program will establish a Family Mental Health Program for LGBTQ+ individuals and families at Oregon’s first LGBTQ+ primary health care clinic, Prism Health. The program addresses the comprehensive set of mental health needs faced by the LGBTQ+ community, and aims to bring on a mental health specialist with significant experience with the LGBTQ+ community.

The program addresses the comprehensive set of projects and activities aimed at reducing cases of HIV and STI cases across the Portland, Oregon metropolitan region. Specifically, the program is comprised of easily accessible HIV/STI testing clinics, connection to treatment and support services for those testing positive, community education both for those testing positive to prevent further spread of infections and prevention education for the wider community, and one on one health education session for high-risk individuals focused on personalized prevention strategies.

CAP is proud to announce that it has been awarded $113,000 from Meyer Memorial Trust to assess and pursue Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) status for Prism Health. The two-year grant will allow the agency to bring on a consultant to help CAP and Prism leadership explore what it takes to become an FQHC, then make the requisite improvements to systems and processes, and ultimately complete the involved application process.

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.

CAP is proud to announce that it has adopted a paid family leave policy which will provide every qualifying employee with 12-weeks of paid leave to allow them ample time to care for family members including the arrival of a new child or to deal with a serious health condition.

Following repeated legislative defeats to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), President Trump is taking steps to further sabotage the ACA.  This includes ending cost sharing reduction (CSR) payments to issuers and issuing an executive order that would destabilize the health care marketplace and erode patient protections.

The Oregon Health Authority is working on a collaborative project with Portland State University and Cascade AIDS Project called Chime In. The project recruits community members at different venues – bars, clubs, sporting events, social and community events in the Portland and Vancouver area, to take a men’s health survey and HIV test.

Cascade AIDS Project (“CAP”) is proud to announce that it has been awarded $50,000 from Gilead Sciences, Inc. to create a program to work with individuals aged 50 years and over who are are living with HIV.

This allocation of $1M in lottery bonds for Prism Health is a significant statement of support for the LGBTQ+ community from the state legislature and our Governor,” said CAP’s Executive Director, Tyler TerMeer. “We are honored and humbled by this show of trust in the work we are doing to provide safe, affirming, and culturally effective health care to the LGBTQ+ community.

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.

CAP is pleased to announce the appointment of new members of its Board of Directors, as well as the full slate of officers for FY2018. Joining the Board over the past fiscal year are Mikki Gillette, Jenn Klotz, Travis Marker, Dr. John Nusser, and Bil Spigner.

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.

Multnomah County has worked alongside CAP for three decades to serve the LGBTQ community,” said Chair Deborah Kafoury. “We’ve fought stigma together, we’ve fought for equity together, and we are proud to support this effort to further reduce barriers and increase access to health care.