CAP Secures $250,000 Investment from Multnomah County for Older Adults Living with HIV
Following months of advocacy by Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) and allies, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners voted yesterday to allocate $250,000 in the County’s 2021-22 budget toward community-based services for aging adults living with or affected by HIV.
Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran proposed the allocation at CAP’s request. “As this population ages, they encounter unique challenges that accompany being a long-term HIV/AIDS survivor,” Commissioner Meieran said in her remarks on the budget’s adoption. “I’m excited that this budget fully funds an amendment I proposed to support and expand services for aging adults living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.”
Dramatic improvements in the effectiveness of HIV treatment have resulted in people living with HIV longer than ever before. More than half of all Oregonians living with HIV are now age 50 or older. Many of these long-term HIV/AIDS survivors lost much of their support network to the HIV epidemic, so experiences of complex post-traumatic stress disorder and isolation are all too common.
Multnomah County has been a leader in recognizing older adults living with HIV as a growing population in need of special support. The County’s Aging, Disability & Veteran Services Division has identified long-term survivors as a marginalized community since 2017, and it currently contracts with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon to provide nutrition services for this population. The County’s latest investment bolsters its commitment to ensuring that the first generation of aging adults living with HIV have access to HIV-competent, culturally responsive services in their golden years.
For more information about CAP’s Public Policy & Advocacy program, go to capnw.org/ppa.
For more information about Aging Well, CAP’s program for older adults living with and affected by HIV, visit agingwellnw.org.
