PRESS RELEASES
PRESS RELEASES
Here’s the latest from our agency.
CAP, Our House, & Prism Health respond to tragic fatal shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, OR — We are heartbroken to hear of the the senseless violence against members of Colorado Springs’s LGBTQIA+ community at Club Q on Saturday. Saturday’s events were a chilling echo of the tragedy at Pulse in 2016 and serve as stark reminder of the countless ways in which hate and bigotry continue to fuel unimaginable pain on our friends, families, and loved ones. And coming on the heels of Transgender Day of Remembrance, we are reminded that this violence and hate disproportionately impacts our trans and non-binary family members of color.
From national rhetoric and discrimination-based legislation, we know that anti-LGBTQIA+ hate is on the rise. Legislators, institutions, and extremists continue to attack the basic rights of our communities and spread fear and bigotry from their positions of power and influence. And gun-fueled violence is an epidemic that continues to impact communities across America. We must rise against hate in the strongest possible terms, we must stand together in solidarity and love, and we must demand an end to not only this epidemic of gun violence but also to the continued violence against our LGBTQIA+ community. From Pulse to Colorado Springs to so many other lives stolen from us— this has occurred for far too long. And enough is enough.
CAP, Our House, & Prism Health will continue our work to provide safe, affirming, and compassionate care to everyone seeking it in our community. We will continue to push back against anti-LGBTQIA+ hate and bigotry and advocate for the safety, security, and support for all the beautiful, vibrant souls of our community. Our doors are open to you. Our hearts are open to you.
We mourn the lives stolen at Club Q and offer our deepest support, love, and compassion to the families, friends, and communities grappling with such unimaginable loss. We are here for you, and we are here with you.
In Solidarity,
CAP + Our House + Prism Health
If you are seeking support during this time, please consider these resources:
Tips for coping with gun violence and grief:
How to talk to children about gun violence
Here’s one psychologist’s advice for how to cope with the trauma and stress a mass shooting can cause
National Support Resources:
The Trevor Project
Trans LifeLine
Crisis Text Line
Local Support Resources:
CAP Social Support Programs
PDX Q Center
PCC Queer Resource Center
PSU Queer Resource Center
Oregon LGBTQ Resources
Vancouver Queer Resource Center
About Cascade AIDS Project
Founded in 1983 and incorporated in 1985 as the Cascade AIDS Project, CAP is the oldest and largest community-based provider of HIV services, housing, education and advocacy in Oregon and Southwest Washington. We promote well-being and advance equity by providing inclusive health and wellness services for LGBTQ+ people, people affected by HIV, and all those seeking compassionate care. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. And in 2022, Our House of Portland joined the CAP family to further expand our service offerings and allow us to offer a full lifecycle of care to our community. To learn more about CAP, please visit www.capnw.org
In Response to Today's Supreme Court Decision
As a healthcare organization committed to compassionate, affirming care whose core value is bodily autonomy, we are incredibly disheartened by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. We have spent nearly 4 decades on the front lines of the HIV epidemic. We know better than anyone that Silence = Death
Today’s Roe v Wade decision and subsequent concurring opinion were a stark reminder of the individual and systemic biases our community faces. Discrimination happens every day, whether it be through constant microaggressions or overt efforts by lawmakers, school boards, and community leaders to segregate members of the LGBTQ+ community and make them feel lesser. The clear and present message from our judicial system is that our bodies are not our own.
This single ruling has cascading implications for not only cis women seeking reproductive choice, but also for queer, trans, and non-binary folks who also access abortion and reproductive health services. Beyond that, we see the precariousness of our rights to contraception, interracial marriage, and same-sex marriage as partisan judges seek to unravel a half-century of progress with the fell swoop of their pens.
Though Prism Health cannot currently provide abortion care as a FQHC Look-alike, we will explore all of our options for expanding reproductive healthcare services and partner with other organizations to strengthen the network of care needed.
CAP, Our House, and Prism Health will always offer safe, compassionate and equitable access to health and wellness services to support our community, their rights, and their privacy. You are not alone. Today, we take the time to grieve, be angry, and hold space for ourselves and each other. Tomorrow, we fight.
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
United States v. Gilead: Two Year Anniversary Letter
CAP is proud to sign on to the attached letter below, which seeks “to urge [The Honorable Merrick Garland and The Honorable Xavier Becerra] to pledge and to act to ensure that the United States v. Gilead lawsuit serves as a mechanism to increase access to PrEP across the country, as quickly as possible. We ask that [The Honorable Merrick Garland and The Honorable Xavier Becerra] provide an update on the litigation to stakeholders and to the public at large. Any decision that DOJ and HHS make regarding United States v. Gilead, including any licensing agreements or other settlement, should be made in communication with the communities that will be directly impacted by that decision for years to come.
The Honorable Merrick Garland
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
The Honorable Xavier Becerra
Secretary of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Attorney General Garland and Secretary Becerra,
Two years ago, on November 6, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ), on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), filed a complaint against Gilead Sciences (Gilead) seeking damages for Gilead’s infringement of HHS’s patents on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention. The lawsuit brought by DOJ and HHS—United States v. Gilead—was a historic move lauded by many in the HIV and access to medicines movements. However, this lawsuit has yet to make any meaningful impact in the lives of patients living with and vulnerable to HIV. As service providers and advocacy groups fighting to end the HIV epidemic domestically and around the world, we urge you to pledge and to ensure that this lawsuit serves that goal.
PrEP is a highly effective medical technology, and it exists thanks to taxpayer-funded research conducted by constituent agencies of HHS. PrEP was invented by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the 2000s. PrEP was then first proven safe and effective in humans in a clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the late 2000s and early 2010s. This trial and subsequent trials have shown that PrEP is over 99% effective at preventing sexual transmission of HIV.
Gilead relied on this taxpayer-funded research when it sought and received approval from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to market commercial PrEP products. The FDA approved Gilead’s first version of PrEP in 2012, and Gilead has marketed PrEP products continuously since then. Since 2012, Gilead has earned at least $10 billion from PrEP sales in the United States. Gilead’s manufacturing costs on PrEP are low—estimated at less than $6 per bottle—and its profits have been massive. As HHS stated in 2019, when it filed the lawsuit, “Gilead has profited from research funded by hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and reaped billions from PrEP through the sale of Truvada® and Descovy®.”
However, while Gilead profited, there was little progress at curtailing the HIV epidemic in the United States, largely because of a lack of access to PrEP. Despite PrEP’s incredible efficacy, U.S. HIV diagnoses have fallen by less than 10% since 2012. Nearly 40,000 Americans become newly infected with HIV every year. This lack of progress is not because PrEP doesn’t work; it is because PrEP is still grossly underutilized by people who would benefit from it. Fewer than 25% of people indicated for PrEP currently use the drug. Hundreds of thousands of Americans who are indicated for PrEP do not get the drug and remain at risk of HIV. A myriad of barriers inhibit its use among the communities most vulnerable to HIV.
It is clear that these access issues were top of mind when DOJ and HHS brought the United States v. Gilead lawsuit in 2019. In the legal complaint it filed in 2019, DOJ highlighted how the very high price of Truvada—a PrEP product sold by Gilead—created one “critical barrier to increasing access to PrEP in the United States.” The complaint also observed that “[m]any AIDS activists and many in the medical community have criticized Truvada’s price in the United States, particularly in light of HHS’s patents, the government’s funding of clinical research on PrEP, and the relatively low cost at which Gilead apparently makes the product.”
As of 2019, Gilead sold Truvada at a price of $21,600/patient/year. Today, Gilead charges even more for Truvada—$22,500/patient/year. It charges the same price for another PrEP product, Descovy. Lower cost generic versions of Truvada have become available in the United States, but there is no generic version of Descovy available to patients in the United States.
Since 2019, the U.S. government’s leverage over the company seems only to have increased. First, Gilead tried to invalidate HHS’s patents outside of the United States v. Gilead litigation, but Gilead’s efforts failed. Second, the judge presiding over United States v. Gilead denied Gilead’s motions to dismiss. Third, the amount of money that Gilead could owe the U.S. government for infringement of HHS’s patents has increased substantially since 2019. In 2019, an analysis published in the New York Times estimated that Gilead’s potential infringement liability could reach $3 billion. In 2020, an independent article published in JAMA found that Gilead’s liability could exceed $4 billion. Since then, Gilead has earned billions more in revenues from PrEP sales within the United States. With each and every new sale, Gilead’s potential liability increases.
Given the urgency of the ongoing HIV epidemic in the United States and the U.S. government’s strong leverage over Gilead, DOJ and HHS must use the United States v. Gilead lawsuit to benefit patients who have been harmed by lack of access to PrEP, and they should do so as quickly as possible. While we applaud DOJ’s and HHS’s decision to bring the United States v. Gilead lawsuit, two years have passed, and the suit has yet to produce any concrete benefits for people with and vulnerable to HIV. United States v. Gilead is not scheduled to go to trial until 2023. At current infection rates, by mid-2023, over 100,000 Americans will have been newly diagnosed with HIV since DOJ and HHS brought the lawsuit.
It is impossible to ignore the fact that earlier and more aggressive action from the U.S. government would likely have benefited hundreds of thousands of Americans diagnosed with HIV since PrEP was approved in 2012. Almost a decade after PrEP’s first FDA approval, still HHS and CDC have yet to develop and implement a national action plan for universal access to PrEP. HHS has committed to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. It cannot do so without universal access to PrEP for all Americans.
We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to pledge and to act to ensure that the United States v. Gilead lawsuit serves as a mechanism to increase access to PrEP across the country, as quickly as possible. We ask that you provide an update on the litigation to stakeholders and to the public at large. Any decision that DOJ and HHS make regarding United States v. Gilead, including any licensing agreements or other settlement, should be made in communication with the communities that will be directly impacted by that decision for years to come.
Specifically, we ask your agencies to:
Publicly commit to investing any and all royalties received from United States v. Gilead to ending the domestic HIV epidemic and increasing access to PrEP. This includes:
Funding organizations that provide support services to people vulnerable to HIV to connect and maintain them in PrEP care;
Covering the cost of drugs, lab visits, and associated clinical care for uninsured patients; and/or
Establishing a federal program aimed at achieving universal PrEP access
Provide relevant updates to the community regarding the status of United States v. Gilead. Namely, we request answers to the following questions:
How do both of your agencies characterize the goals of this litigation? What remedies do you seek?
How much longer should patients expect to wait before this lawsuit increases access to PrEP?
Have U.S. Government attorneys discussed with Gilead potential settlement and licensing terms? If so, what is the status of those discussions?
Meet with representatives from the undersigned organizations to discuss the U.S. government’s strategy in United States v. Gilead, specifically as it pertains to increasing access to PrEP in the United States.
We look forward to your prompt response and answers to the questions outlined above.
Signed,
AIDS Action Baltimore
AIDS Alabama
African American Health Alliance
Alliance of Families for Justice
American Academy of HIV Medicine
AVAC
Callen Lorde Community Health Center
Cascade AIDS Project
Center for Popular Democracy
Doctors for America
Faith for Justice
Freedom, Inc.
Frontline Legal Services
Georgia AIDS Coalition
Health Care Voices
Health Global Access Project
Housing Works
Latinos Salud
Movement for Black Lives
National Black Justice Coalition
People’s Action
PrEP4ALL
SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change
Treatment Action Group
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines North America
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
About PrEP4All
Founded in March 2018, PrEP4All is an organization of community members, healthcare professionals, lawyers, and academics all dedicated to increasing access to lifesaving HIV medication. Every member of PrEP4All has been personally affected by the HIV epidemic, and most of us rely on HIV medications every day. As patients ourselves, we have all experienced the shortcomings in the domestic HIV response first hand, whether through arguing with insurance companies refusing to cover our medication, encountering doctors unwilling to refill our prescriptions, or receiving an unexpected bill for $1,800 after our copay assistance has run out. Our biggest strength is our personal experience.
Personal Message from Dr. TerMeer Regarding CEO Transition
As a person living with and concerned about HIV, I am enormously grateful to have spent the past 7.5 years of my career nurturing a vibrant and powerful community for social and racial justice at Cascade AIDS Project (CAP). It is therefore with mixed emotions that I announce my plans to step down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to start a new chapter at one of our nation’s oldest and most influential HIV Organizations – San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) - where I have been appointed their next CEO and notably the first BIPOC person to serve in this role in SFAF’s nearly 40-year history. My last day at CAP will be January 28th.
I’ve been a donor and supporter of SFAF for over a decade through my participation in the AIDS/LifeCycle. I couldn’t pass up the amazing opportunity to work with the Foundation in San Francisco as I continue my life’s work to promote health, wellness and social justice for all those impacted by HIV. However, leaving is bittersweet.
It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to be at the helm of CAP over the last 7.5 years. It has truly been rewarding beyond measure. I am proud to have served people affected by HIV, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the bravest and most brilliant colleagues I have ever known, and worked to advance system changes with incalculable positive impact for people and communities that have traditionally been furthest from access and opportunity. My time at CAP has helped me grow as an individual and as a leader and for that I will be eternally grateful and so very proud of all we have accomplished together.
There is never an easy time for a CEO to announce their departure, especially for an organization as innovative as CAP. We are in a time of such great momentum, with so many exciting new initiatives under way and on the horizon. Since that first day that I walked into the doors of CAP in 2014, we have grown from a staff of 55 to 185, from one office in downtown Portland to now post-merger having seven locations across two states, and we have quadrupled the budget of $5.5 million to what will be closer to $24 million post-merger. We are stronger and more resilient. We are more sustainable with greater infrastructure. We are owning the mistakes of our past and investing in critical Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) work. We are further reaching and creating greater impact for all those seeking compassionate care!
With your support we were able to launch Prism Health, Oregon’s premiere LGBTQ+ health center, provide affirming and welcoming primary care. In response to COVID-19, we partnered with Esther’s Pantry to address food insecurity, and increased emergency rental assistance and medical motel vouchers. Recently, we championed the Data Justice Act and made Oregon the first state to require data collection of a patient’s race, ethnicity, language, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity to help address health disparities. And on January 1st the merger with Our House of Portland will be complete, which will consolidate resources and enable us to provide greater assistance to those living with HIV in Oregon and SW Washington.
Emily Gilliland will serve as the interim CEO while the CAP Board of Directors conducts a national search for the next CEO. The search committee will include members of CAP staff, stakeholders and the LGBTQIA+ community. The goal is to hire a new CEO by the Fall of 2022.
CAP is incredibly fortunate to rely on a talented staff and deep bench of stalwart leaders who advance our mission every day through their contributions in and out of our organization. I have the utmost confidence that the amazing work and impact of CAP, Our House of Portland, and Prism Health and all of the exciting new initiatives planned in 2022 and beyond will continue to thrive and move forward during this leadership transition.
CAP is poised to continue its momentum and growth with a clear strategic plan, equity plan, and business growth plan for Prism Health. Although I’ll miss being part of that work, I am confident that you’ll get the job done and exceed all expectations. We’ll hold a gathering before I leave (TBD) and I hope to see you in person.
Thank you for letting me be part of your success.
Dr. Tyler TerMeer
A Note from the CAP Board President, Karol Collymore:
“It's been an honor for me to work with and support Tyler for over seven years at CAP and Prism Health. To watch this organization blossom into a healthcare leader in Oregon and Southwest Washington with Tyler at the helm is incredible and solidifies that care centered around LGBTQIA+ communities can lead to valuable change. I'm sad to see him leave but so proud of his next professional journey.”
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
About Prism Health
Prism Health provides high quality, affordable, and accessible health care for all, with a focus on serving individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus all other gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQ+). All of Prism services aim to reach the most vulnerable – those living below the poverty line, communities of color, homeless or unstably housed individuals, and people experiencing mental health and/or addiction issues.
CAP’s “Data Justice Act” passes out of the Oregon Legislature
The Oregon Legislature has given final approval to House Bill 3159, also known as the Data Justice Act. Championed by Cascade AIDS Project, the bill positions Oregon as a national leader in collecting data on LGBTQ+ health disparities.
The Data Justice Act requires healthcare providers to collect and report to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) data on their patients’ sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as their race, ethnicity, preferred language, and disabilities. Currently, providers are only required to collect some of this data from COVID-19 patients, and are not required by law to collect any sexual orientation or gender identity data. In addition to mandating data collection by providers, the Data Justice Act directs OHA to develop a database for storing and analyzing patient demographic data.
LGBTQ+ people experience many health disparities, including higher rates of tobacco use, cancer, and psychological distress. However, OHA collects little to no information about LGBTQ+ residents. In this, Oregon certainly isn’t alone: Few government agencies collect demographic data on LGBTQ+ people. (Most notably, the U.S. Census Bureau does not ask any questions directly related to sexual orientation or non-binary gender identity.) “As far as we know, Oregon is the first state to pass a requirement that health care providers collect and report sexual orientation and gender identity,” says Sean Cahill, Director of Health Policy Research at Boston’s Fenway Institute. “We commend Oregon legislators and advocates for taking this important step for LGBTQ health equity.”
The Data Justice Act will also dramatically expand collection of data on health inequities related to race, ethnicity, preferred language, and disabilities. The law ensures that patients can decline to provide demographic data.
A coalition of more than 30 community organizations endorsed the Data Justice Act, including Basic Rights Oregon, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, and the SEIU Oregon State Council. The bill’s chief sponsor was Representative Rob Nosse, and its lead advocate in the Oregon Senate was Senator Kate Lieber. For more information about this legislation, please contact CAP’s public-policy manager, Jonathan Frochtzwajg, at jfrochtzwajg@capnw.org.
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
CAP + Our House are Moving in Together!
Dear Friends and Supporters,
After more than 30 years of collaboration and a shared mission, Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) and Our House are finally moving in together. Unifying our two organizations will allow us to better serve and support the needs of our community, while also expanding our vision of care.
We appreciate all your support along our ever-evolving journey to stifle stigma, provide compassionate care and end suffering for individuals with HIV and AIDS.
Together under one roof, we will continue to serve and support our community. This strategic partnership will allow us to reach new communities, restructure our existing services to meet the evolving needs of individuals living with HIV and AIDS and the LGBTQ+ community, and ensure all in our community have access to the help they need at the right time.
Never have our programs, our services and our ability to be flexible in the ways we define and provide care been more important than they are now. We will continue to ensure that our community is receiving the entire spectrum of HIV services such as awareness and prevention education, testing and linkage, housing stability and long-term complex, specialized care. We see this as an opportunity to re-evaluate the ways we provide care and discover new strategies through which we can continue to thrive.
There are many ways to get involved in this exciting next chapter and we hope you will join us as we evolve together under one roof.
With gratitude,
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.
Announcing CAP's New Strategic Plan
We are delighted to share our new strategic plan with you!
Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) and its health program, Prism Health, have developed our strategic plan to inform and guide our important work over the next three years. The plan was developed to prioritize the work that addresses identified community needs within an evolving healthcare and social policy environment.
The process of conducting strategic planning has allowed CAP to proactively assess the external and internal environment for emerging trends, expectations, and issues. The resulting plan builds on and enhances our capacity to nurture a culture that supports health, wellness, and community responsibility for taking care of each other, and the individuals and families we serve.
Our strategy over the next three years will not only focus on increasing access to services but transforming how those services are delivered in order to improve health outcomes, participant satisfaction as well as the efficiency of service delivery. We see our role as working to dismantle barriers to health equity, and our ongoing commitment is to ensure that equity remains an integral part of our internal culture and external mission. We take pride in the initiatives highlighted in this report, and we extend our deepest gratitude to our dedicated staff, Board Members, and community partners for the role they all play in our continued success.
We are excited for what’s to come and look forward to enhancing our services to meet the growing demands of the communities we serve.
In Solidarity,
Tyler TerMeer, PhD Chief Executive Officer
About Cascade AIDS Project
CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017. More information can be found at www.capnw.org.
About Prism Health
Prism Health provides high quality, affordable, and accessible health care for all, with a focus on serving individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus all other gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQ+). All of Prism services aim to reach the most vulnerable – those living below the poverty line, communities of color, homeless or unstably housed individuals, and people experiencing mental health and/or addiction issues.
HIV Organizations Announce Racial Justice Index To Remedy Disconnect Between HIV Leadership And Community Impact
Leading up to National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, AIDS United and its Public Policy Council, composed of 55 of the nation's leading organizations dedicated to ending HIV, are announcing they have launched the Racial Justice Index. AIDS United is working collaboratively with the Black AIDS Institute, a Public Policy Council member, to guide this work. After the summer of 2020 that ushered in a racial reckoning in America, this novel initiative aims to create awareness — and eventually sustainable change — around the misalignment between who holds power and resources in HIV organizations and the epidemic’s disproportionate impact on Black Americans.
The Racial Justice Index is part of a series of outcomes that emerged from more than two years of conversations led by leaders of color among the Public Policy Council and was made more urgent by the national outcry for racial justice. In June 2020, AIDS United, along with 53 members of its Public Policy Council and more than 20 other HIV organizations, issued an open letter to all elected officials calling for all policies to be enacted through a racial justice and equity framework. The Index’s mission is to assess and improve the HIV sector’s commitment to racial equity by creating assessment tools and resources to combat anti-Black racism and other forms of racism that will first be analyzed in PPC organizations and then the HIV sector. This includes hiring practices, leadership, talent retention and decision-making in the HIV movement. The Index’smethodical implementation process will seek to onboard HIV organizations to respond to an online national survey that will inform a publicly-released report, which will facilitate critical leadership conversations among HIV stakeholders.
The initiative will be guided by the Racial Justice Index Committee, a committee formed out of AIDS United’s Public Policy Council and co-chaired by Raniyah Copeland, president and CEO of Black AIDS Institute, and A. Toni Young, CEO, Community Education Group — nationally renowned Black leaders in the HIV community. The PPC and the Index committee are managed by Carl Baloney Jr., AIDS United vice president for policy and advocacy. AIDS United Board members, Dr. Kimberley Jeffries Leonard, president of Links Inc., and Dr. David Holtgrave, Dean of the University at Albany School of Public Health, SUNY, have also been instrumental in assisting in the creation of the Index. The committee includes HIV service and advocacy organizations from across the country. The work of the Racial Justice Index will first assess how leadership in the HIV movement reflects the communities most impacted and will later aim to provide training and capacity building to root out white supremacy in HIV organizations’ work.
As a Black man living with HIV, I am very proud of our diverse coalition of organizations making this commitment to racial justice. Since the start of the HIV epidemic, AIDS United has played an active role to ensure that all who are living with and vulnerable to HIV receive the care they need. We are in a moment where the HIV sector — and the health care sector as a whole — must look inward and ask ourselves if our structures and decisions truly reflect the people and needs of those most impacted by the epidemic. The Public Policy Council has always pushed for responsiveness and inclusiveness across the HIV sector. This carries that work forward in these pressing times when health inequities are at our nation's forefront. We cannot end HIV without ending the systemic racism that is too often embedded in processes that result in the disparities in new infections and lack of access to care. I know it is time for change, and we are eager to put in the required work to end racist inequities and the imprint of systemic racism in our sector.
Jesse Milan Jr., President and CEO, AIDS United
For 21 years, the Black AIDS Institute has led the fight to end HIV from a uniquely and unapologetically Black lens. With Black Empowerment as a central value, our leadership and our staff represent the communities we serve. By partnering with AIDS United and drawing from the intersectional expertise of the 55 Public Policy Council organizations, the Racial Justice Index will catalyze the prioritization of Black leadership, resource allocation, and capacity building. If we are committed to ending HIV within our lifetimes, rectifying the stain of white supremacy in how we do our work must be of the utmost priority.
Raniyah Copeland, President and CEO, Black AIDS Institute, co-chair of AIDS United’s Racial Justice Index Committee
HIV, HCV and Substance Use Disorder rage through Black and poor rural communities across the United States, it is critical the organizations are equipped to address the needs or Black people in the rural and Southern communities. The Racial Index will provide a tool for organizations to better develop staff and meet the growing needs of Black and brown communities.
A. Toni Young, Founder and Executive Director, Community Education Group, co-chair of AIDS United’s Racial Justice Index Committee
We are proud of the AIDS United Public Policy Council for deepening our commitment to racial justice through the important and urgent work to create the racial justice index. This initiative will help us examine the HIV sector's commitment to racial equity and empower us all with the resources needed to end the HIV epidemic, starting with our own organizations.
AIDS United Public Policy Council Co-Chairs Bill Keeton, Vivent Health vice president and chief advocacy officer, and Dr. Tyler TerMeer, Cascade AIDS Project Chief Executive Officer
On National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I join AIDS United’s Public Policy Council to celebrate the launch of the Racial Justice Index, an initiative designed for HIV service organizations to conduct internal reviews aimed at eliminating racist structures, policies, and hiring practices within them. The HIV/AIDS epidemic’s disproportionate impact on Black Americans is rooted in systemic racism and the Racial Justice Index provides a tool for HIV organizations to reassess their internal structures. The Racial Justice Index is a much needed mechanism to center racial equity at the core of the HIV sector’s commitment to ending the HIV epidemic.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Co-Chair of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus
I applaud AIDS United for launching the Racial Justice Index on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a devastating impact uponAfrican Americans and other communities of color. In order for AIDS service and advocacy organizations to effectively address these devastating disparities, they must accurately reflect the demographics of the people who need their services.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
ABOUT AIDS UNITED
AIDS United’s mission is to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. through strategic grant- making, capacity building and policy. AIDS United works to ensure access to life-saving HIV care and prevention services and to advance sound HIV-related policy for populations and communities most impacted by the U.S. epidemic. To date, AIDS United’s strategic grant-making initiatives have directly funded more than $104 million to local communities and have leveraged more than $117 million in additional investments for programs that include, but are not limited to, HIV prevention, access to care, capacity building, harm reduction and advocacy. Learn more at www.aidsunited.org
ABOUT BLACK AIDS INSTITUTE
Founded in 1999, Black AIDS Institute (BAI) is the only uniquely and unapologetically Black think and do tank in America. Our mission is “to stop the AIDS epidemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black institutions and individuals to confront HIV.” Black Empowerment is our central theme and we are led by people who represent the issues we serve. We source our capacity building, mobilization, and advocacy efforts from Black leaders and communities across the country, and provide culturally respectful, high-quality, HIV prevention and care services for Black people in Los Angeles. Learn more at https://blackaids.org
ABOUT AIDS UNITED PUBLIC POLICY COUNCIL
AIDS United’s Public Policy Council is the nation’s largest and longest-running policy coalition of community-based HIV organizations. Supported by the AIDS United Policy Department,
Learn more at www.aidsunited.org
PRESS CONTACT for BLACK AIDS INSTITUTE:
Michelle Huff Elliott | Simone Smalls
Strategic Heights Media media@strategicheights.com 212-634-7176
PRESS CONTACT for AIDS UNITED
Warren Gill
AIDS United wgill@aidsunited.org
Affirming our Commitment to Safe, Compassionate, And High-Quality care for the BIPOC & LGBTQIA+ Community
Historically, during times of great unrest, it is often our most diverse communities that experience compounded hardship. From the stress of overloaded systems rife with inequity to blatant and targeted harassment of people in our community.
Sadly, we’ve seen that Portland is not immune. As a local nonprofit healthcare provider , Prism Health stands firm in our commitment to offer a safe, affirming, and non-judgmental space where all members of the all members of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community can obtain the compassionate and culturally effective health care they need and deserve.
Our facility was designed in strategic partnership with members from our Black Trans community to ensure a level of cultural competence, comfort and functionality that benefits everyone, especially those who the current systems consistently and repeatedly underserve.
We prioritize inclusivity to insure that all members of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community can access affirming and high-quality health care. Patients do not have to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer to receive care, but services will focus on addressing the sensitive issues of sexual and gender minorities and their families and friends.
Our clinic serves all patients regardless of ability to pay. No one will be denied services based on gender identity, sexual orientation, race, nationality, or religious affiliation. We offer a sliding fee for all based on family size and income. Please ask at the reception desk.
Our doors are open. We are committed to your health and safety. We are committed to accountability. We are committed to continuing to build a medical community that is trustworthy, reliable and accessible. And we are committed to you, our community!
It is with these commitments that we move forward into this time of great social and political change with gratitude and intention to be at your service.
About Prism Health
Prism Health is a nonprofit LGBTQIA+ health center in the Pacific Northwest providing comprehensive primary care. As a division of Cascade AIDS Project, Prism Health leverages CAP’s decades of LGBTQIA+ health experience to address the wide range of health issues disproportionately impacting our community. The southeast Portland clinic features primary care, mental health, and pharmacy services—all in a space where queer people can be sure they will feel safe, welcome, and understood from the moment they walk in the door. For more information, please visit www.prismhealth.org.
We Must Choose A New Tomorrow
Today I am tired. Today I am overwhelmed. Today I am sad, anxious, angry, and frustrated. One of the most difficult parts of my role as the CEO of CAP and Prism Health is finding strength to be a light in the dark. I have sat here searching for the right message to send to you, and if I'm honest with myself, I don't have the strength today for eloquence. So many names weigh heavy on my heart and mind -Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Andre Emmett, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and on and on. So many lives taken for no cause, and with no justice.
It has been one week since the unjust murder of George Floyd and in the last 72+ hours an environment of civil unrest has become the reality in communities across our nation and right here in our own backyard. There is a clear difference between the peaceful protest / marches of thousands and the destruction and looting of the few. I know and acknowledge that often the media, our elected officials and beyond don't always make that clear. By doing so they dilute the critical message and intent of these peaceful protests. That Black Lives Matter. That the response we are seeing across the country (peaceful or not) comes from being pushed too far and comes from something that has been stewing in this country for decades. That even if people don’t condone it or understand it, that there is a reason that all of this is happening.
This moment is a culmination of the pain of racism, the fight for justice, dignity, life and human rights.
Our community is not new to this moment. We have been a part of it time and time again - during the civil rights movement, together at stonewall, in the suffrage movement, and during the height of the AIDS Epidemic. Through it all, we have remained strong, steadfast, and resilient. And while we wax nostalgically on these great moments of social progress, we forget all of the blood, sweat, tears, suffering, and pain it took to make those changes a reality. We fail to acknowledge the trauma and violence that so many of our people, specifically our Black and other Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), experience every single day of their lives. We invoke the names of Sylvia, of Marsha, of Miss Majors, but we continue to shy away from the very real work of addressing the systems, including within our own movement, that marginalize and threaten those who have offered everything, including their lives, to bring about lasting change.
But today is not about the past. Today is about the present. It is about each and every one of the millions of Black lives that experience racial injustice on a daily basis. It is about the inequity that exists in jobs, healthcare, and education for our BIPOC communities. It is about the rampant racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia that have cost the lives of thousands of beautiful Black and Brown bodies who had so much to give this world. Today is about action. We can either continue to ignore the responsibility we carry and the work we still need to do to truly move forward to a better future, or we can stop dead in our tracks and acknowledge the truth of our history and its resulting inequities. We can choose a new tomorrow. We MUST choose a new tomorrow.
CAP and Prism Health are committed to identifying and eliminating manifestations of racism across our systems to create a more equitable tomorrow. We are committed to a tomorrow that values all Black and Brown lives. We are building a tomorrow that improves the lived experience of our BIPOC clients and community through health equity and racial justice. And above all, we demand a tomorrow where Black lives aren’t forfeit for simply existing.
This moment is a reminder that we cannot relent in our pursuit of equity and racial justice. I am committed to this pursuit, but I cannot bear that burden alone. We must all work together if we want to dismantle decades of institutionalized racism in our communities and our culture. We must all work together to stop the senseless loss of Black lives. And We MUST ALL work together to create an equitable tomorrow for our friends, families, communities, and our country, because our lives depend on it. As a Black man, my life may depend on it. Together we can create this change. Together we can create a better tomorrow.
I Am With You,
Tyler
CAP Commemorates World AIDS Day With Sixth Annual Heroes of HIV Luncheon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, OR — December 1st marks the 32nd anniversary of World AIDS Day – a time for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV/AIDS, to show their support for people living with HIV and to remember those who have lost their lives in the epidemic.
CAP will commemorate World AIDS Day by honoring the individuals and organizations that have made a significant contribution to fighting the epidemic in our community at third annual Heroes of HIV luncheon. Taking place at the Hilton Portland Downtown on December 5th from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, the event will honor individuals and organizations that have made a significant contribution to the fight against HIV in our community. This year’s honorees are:
Myrna Yvonne-Williams
Ms. Williams’ work with HIV/AIDS began in 2003, with a Memorandum of Understanding between The Portland Chapter of The Links and CAP. The first event was an HIV/AIDS Symposium held at Portland Community College, Cascade Campus. Each year, Ms. Williams has facilitated monthly meetings with The African American AIDS Awareness Alliance (A6) in planning meetings with CAP and other organizations in hosting HIV/AIDS events throughout the year. Those events are: World AIDS Day, The National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, The Balm in Gilead Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, HIV Testing Da and My Friend Who Has AIDS Project, Ms. Williams’ work with A6 has been supported by grants from CAP, The Links Incorporated, the Oregon Health Authority, the NW Health Foundation and Kaiser Hospital Foundation. As a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Ms. Williams has worked within the organization on its HIV/AIDS activities.
Representative Alissa Keny-Guyer
Representative Alissa Keny-Guyer has spent over 30 years working to increase access to health care, reduce poverty, and promote cross-cultural understanding. Advocacy for people living with or impacted by HIV/AIDS is personal for her. In his final months, the Representative cared for her father who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986. He passed 18 months after his diagnosis.
Since she was appointed to the Legislature in 2011, Representative Alissa Keny-Guyer has been a trusted champion for the Cascade AIDS Project. Most recently, she was a chief supporter for two of CAP’s priorities in the 2019 session to modernize Oregon’s HIV/AIDS-related statues to promote accuracy and reduce stigma, and requiring cultural competency continuing education for medical providers in our state. The Cascade AIDS Project is honored to have such a champion for our community in the Legislature and we are grateful for her work to improve the lives the people living with HIV.
Multnomah County Health Services Center
As part of Multnomah County’s Federally Qualified Health Center, the Health Services Center (HSC) has provided high-quality, patient-centered HIV and primary care services in Oregon since 1990. They are the only Ryan White-funded medical provider in Oregon and currently serve approximately 1,400 people living with HIV in Oregon. HSC utilizes a medical home model to provide team-based care and embraces a harm reduction and trauma-informed approach in all that they do. Their services include primary and HIV speciality care, HCV curative care, nurse case management, behavioral health, medical case management, patient navigation, on-site lab services, Medication Assisted Treatment, and art therapy.
HSC is also a preceptorship site for the Mountain West AIDS Education and Training Center to train other healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations to integrate high quality, comprehensive care for those living with or affected by HIV. In March 2019, HSC implemented Rapid ART Start as their annual quality improvement project, aiming to get those newly diagnosed with HIV access to HIV medications within 5 days or less. HSC is honored to work collaboratively with an active Client Advisory Council and many community partners to innovatively and efficiently meet the changing needs of our community.
OnPoint Community Credit Union
OnPoint Community Credit Union is deeply committed to standing with great organizations that serve the community we call home. That’s why they chose to partner with Cascade AIDS Project. In 2019, OnPoint supported CAP through the credit union’s Refer a Friend campaign, resulting in a $44,750 donation to CAP. This generous support covered the cost of a full year’s worth of HIV test kits (over 4500), allowing CAP to continue providing free and confidential HIV testing in our community.
OnPoint and its employees also champion CAP’s work through annual support of our Art Auction, AIDS Walk and Heroes of HIV Luncheon. OnPoint Community Credit Union looks forward to continuing to grow its partnership with Cascade AIDS Project to help advance its mission to empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare.CAP’s mission is achieved through communities and organizations uniting to solve the fight against HIV.
More information about the event can be found at www.heroesofhiv.org.