Volunteers and CAP!

Last fiscal year, CAP volunteers gave over 21,000 hours of their time. This time has been estimated to be worth $550,000! Volunteers serve in our office and programs, and at events. They are an invaluable resource; without volunteers, some of our wonderful programs—like the Oregon AIDS/STD Hotline—wouldn’t even exist.

The state of Oregon has been ranked 11th in the nation for percentage of residents who volunteer for an organization. The city of Portland was ranked 2nd! We are so lucky to benefit from living in a place full of such engaged, active people.

How can YOU help (and win a massage!)?
Volunteer now and make a difference for years to come! CAP is gathering signatures for a petition to be listed on the Charitable Checkoff list that goes out with your Oregon tax return. We need 10,000 valid signatures and AIDS Walk is our best chance to get them. Training is offered for signature gathering volunteers.

There are two chances to help next week:

• Pink Party Bar Crawl, Wednesday, Sept 29 from 6 to 11pm. Meet at CAP at 6pm. Volunteers will get a t-shirt, pink boa & drink ticket.
  
• AIDS Walk Portland, Sunday, Oct 3 from 7:30am to 12:30pm. Meet at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Volunteers will get a t-shirt, pedometer, water bottle and Nike duffel bag.

Anyone who joins us as a Signature Gatherer at the Bar Crawl or AIDS Walk Portland will be entered into a raffle for a $50 gift certificate at Coldwater Creek Spa. We estimate 30 volunteers, so the odds are good!

Want to volunteer, but can’t for the AIDS Walk?
No problem—we’d still love to have you! The first step prospective volunteers should take is to attend a Volunteer Orientation. The next one is Tuesday October 5th—if that date doesn’t work for you, you can find one that will on CAP’s agency calendar.

Contact Volunteer Coordinator Marc Kochanski to sign up at mkochanski@cascadeaids.org.

CAP Program Highlight: Oregon AIDS/STD Hotline

Oregon AIDS/STD hotline

(503) 223-AIDS | (800) 777-AIDS

(800) 449-6940 en espanol

Monday through Friday, 9am - 6pm and Saturday from 12pm - 6pm

Operating since 1987, the Oregon AIDS/STD Hotline is a volunteer-staffed program that provides HIV/STD and viral hepatitis information and referrals by phone and online to youth and adults across Oregon and the Northwest. Compassionate counselors answer questions and provide support to thousands of callers annually.

Though initially created to provide basic information on HIV/AIDS transmission and risk evaluation, the Hotline has been expanded over the years to include other services in response to changing needs in the community. The Hotline has become a statewide information and referral line for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Many callers are unaware that they are at risk for other STIs, some of which do not show symptoms. Hotline counselors help callers identify any possible risks and provide information on testing resources.

Along with the free and confidential hotline, the program has expanded to include:

• Live online chat with trained Hotline counselors
• A statewide training calendar for providers
• Tips and advice for those living with HIV/AIDS
• Frequently Asked Questions
• A list of test sites and needle exchange programs in Oregon
• An easy database search for resources by county

The Hotline provides factual information about HIV, STDs, and viral hepatitis as well as referrals to services such as testing. If needed the Hotline can mail out brochures and fact sheets to callers. Hotline counselors can also provide over the phone support for people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Hotline volunteers maintain a presence in several popular internet chat rooms, providing support around prevention and harm reduction.

Check out the Hotline on Facebook or read the blog!

For more information or for hard copies of HIV/AIDS fact sheets, contact Claire Backenstow, Hotline Coordinator.

CAP Program Highlight: Speakers Bureau

Cascade AIDS Project Speakers Bureau

The mission of CAP’s Speakers Bureau program is to build awareness and understanding of HIV through sharing stories, personal truths, and life experiences in order to mobilize communities to combat the pandemic. Comprised of a diverse group of individuals, CAP’s Speakers Bureau is available to provide a personal perspective of HIV. Whether in a school setting or for a community group, trained speakers will guide audience members through the basics of HIV, share personal stories related to HIV, and inspire participants to actively consider the impact of HIV in their own communities and across the globe.

CAP’s Speakers Bureau seeks to raise awareness and combat stigma, and to that end the Speakers Bureau works with individuals who are either infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. The speakers represent a broad diversity of backgrounds, while also sharing the common thread of knowing the impact of HIV firsthand. Speakers are well trained to deal with difficult questions and have experience talking with a broad array of audiences, from classroom to workplace, from college campus to community-based organization.

The Speakers Bureau was reconstituted in December 2009. In the first seven months, they were able to reach 864 individuals at 31 separate events. Even more impressive, 45% of Speaker audiences were comprised of people of color and 71% were youth under 19.

To request a speaker, go here. To read more about the Speakers available, go here.

What Speakers are saying:

By going to schools, churches and Migrant camps and sharing her story with others, she earned the respect and trust of the community. To this day, Maricela is active in the community promoting HIV prevention/awareness. “For me sharing my story with other has changed my life forever; it has helped me want to live. I have HIV, HIV does not have me. Why? Because I have it under control and I am not allowing it to control me!” --Maricela

“So, I made an appointment and had an HIV antibodies test. A week later, my doctor’s office was trying to contact me. At 6PM that night, the phone rang and it was my doctor. I knew that something was up. He told me that this was not the way he wanted to break the news to me. Then, several days later, I found out that I was his first HIV+ patient.” –Guy

“I've lost many friends to AIDS, but I've been fortunate to have a very supportive HIV negative husband for 25 years who has helped me get through it all. Although HIV is no picnic, it has helped me grow in ways that I don't believe I would have grown if not for the disease. I am a fighter and my first priority is my health.” --Rachel

What people are saying:

“One student went home on Friday after meeting people living with HIV for the first time and asked her mother if she knew anyone living with HIV. Her mother replied ‘Your Uncle.’ The student was shocked that no one ever told her until now. Thank you for opening dialogues and being willing to tell your stories in hopes that we can prevent future HIV cases.” – 7^th Grade Teacher

“To be perfectly honest, I was a bit nervous when I heard people with AIDS were coming to our school. But now I am happy you came. Thank you.” – 7^th Grade Student

“Sorry we missed you but the speaker did a GREAT job. I am sure that he shared my concerns [about condoms], he came around and did a great job!! I felt that the presentation is huge for these students and I truly appreciate your time! I look forward to seeing you next year!” – High School Teacher

CAP Program Highlight: Pivot

Pivot
a space for men into men

Open Wednesday through Saturday 3:00 - 9:00 pm
209 SW 4th Ave
Portland, OR 97204

Pivot is a community space for men into men and was formerly known as the Men’s Wellness Center. The new name and brand reflect the space as central to creating change, building community and a shift in thinking about sexual health. Pivot’s mission is to create a space where community members come together and build a stronger, healthier community free of stigma and shame.

To that end, Pivot holds social and educational events, provides HIV and STD testing, and offers a safe place for men into men to gather.

Pivot is open as a community space Wednesday through Saturday from 3-9pm. Visitors enjoy coffee and tea, computers and free WiFi, board games, a library of great gay/bi/queer/trans books and magazines, and a great spot to meet other men into men. Use the meeting space, attend an event or group (or start your own), pick up condoms (including hard to fit sizes) or lube, get safer sex info or just talk to someone about making sexual health choices that keep you happy and safe.

Additionally, Pivot offers free testing for men who have sex with men 3 times a week. All testing is walk in and first come first served. HIV testing can be done anonymously or confidentially. HIV testing for all youth (not just men) 24 and under occurs at Pivot on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month through CHATpdx’s CHAT(room). CHAT(room) has Wii, access to computers, snacks, and fun times with other youth.

Every Friday at 7pm Pivot holds a film night, with both gay-centric and non gay-centric films.

For more information, check out Pivot's website, call 503.445.7699 or e-mail pivot@pivotpdx.org. You can also check out Pivot on Facebook and Twitter.

CAP Event Highlight: What's New in HIV? Conference

What's New in HIV?
6th Annual Conference
September 11, 2010
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

With 300 participants anticipated to attend, this one-day conference provides an opportunity to learn the latest information about HIV and supports networking among consumers and those working in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention and care services.

Every day – those living with the virus and those working in the HIV/AIDS field are faced with important questions. How do we talk about prevention for those already infected? How does nutrition impact HIV? What does being co-infected with HIV and HEP C mean? What are treatment options? What is it like to live and grow older with HIV? How do I disclose my status to a loved one? These questions and many more will be answered at this conference.

Created to meet the needs of consumers who wanted up-to-date information regarding medical developments in HIV/AIDS, the conference now includes programming for service providers as well as consumers. Over the last five years the conference has expanded, attracting people from across the state of Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Goals of the Conference are:

• To ensure consumers have access to the most-up-to-date information related to HIV/AIDS care and support, empowering them to take an active role in their own care.
• To ensure those caring for people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) (including family, friends, medical providers, social workers and community organizers), have the critical information they need to ensure the best care and support.
• To further develop community networks among consumers, social service agencies, providers and other community resources.

This year’s conference includes some exciting panels, including medical updates for both providers and consumers, a panel on Women, HIV, and Self-Worth, a discussion of naturopathic medicine in relation to the treatment of HIV, a panel on nutrition therapy, and one on stigma.

Sponsors and Presenters:
BMS, Central Pharmacy, Merck, Multnomah County HIV Clinic, Genentech, Gilead, OHSU, HIV Day Center, OHSY, Our House of Portland, Partnership Project, Quest Center for Integrative Health, Cascade AIDS Project

Click here to register. Click here for more information.

If you have questions, feel free to contact Jonathan Thompson, Conference Intern at 503.278.3843 or email intern.jthompson@cascadeaids.org

CAP Program Highlight: CareLink

CareLink is a short-term program (3 to 6 months) that connects people to medical care who are newly diagnosed with HIV as well as those who have not seen an HIV medical provider in more than six months. It is a bridge to more permanent care, such as medical case management and housing support services.

Carelink Client Advocates have small caseloads and are able to commit significant time to each client, attending medical appointments, connecting clients with housing services, and making appropriate referrals. CareLink services are available in both English and Spanish to persons living in Multnomah, Columbia, Yamhill, Washington and Clackamas Counties.

Many EIS/Carelink clients have one or more of the following barriers to care:
• homelessness
• domestic violence
• substance abuse
• non-English speaking
• recent/current incarceration
• mental health issues

Services CareLink provides include:
• accompanying clients to medical and other HIV/AIDS related service appointments
• advocating on behalf of clients with service providers
• teaching clients to advocate for themselves with service providers
• providing rides or bus tickets to medical appointments
• obtaining Honored Citizen cards for public transportation
• obtaining IDs, birth certificates, social security cards, driver’s license or OR Identification
• referring clients to mental health or drug and alcohol treatment services
• referring clients to housing, clothing, and food resources
• advocating for clients with housing providers and assisting with housing applications
• teaching clients about HIV and its effects, as well as providing information about sexual health and the prevention of HIV transmission
• assisting clients with legal issues around residency/documentation, open warrants and probation/parole requirements
• advocating for clients at trials, providing character references, and assisting clients who are releasing from correctional facilities

For more information, contact:
Adam Kutrumbos at 503-278-3835 or akutrumbos@cascadeaids.org
Sye Laird at 503-278-3832 or slaird@cascadeaids.org

CAP Program Highlight: LUES

Latinos Unidos Enfrentando el SIDA (LUES)

LUES is the Spanish language acronym for Latinos United Confronting AIDS. LUES provides culturally driven HIV prevention education in the Latino community. Over the past four years, CAP has seen the number of its Latino clients increase by 31%. Based on the continued disproportionate effects of HIV in the Latino population combined with feedback from the community, CAP secured funding from the United Way to expand its prevention efforts in the Latino community.

The goal of LUES is to reduce stigma and promote healthy behaviors in relation to HIV and STDs through education, training, outreach, and social marketing. Partners include Multnomah County Capacitation Center, the Oregon Council of Hispanic Advancement (OCHA) and Hacienda CDC.

LUES works with Latino youth to develop and produce social marketing materials. Middle school and high school students participate in age appropriate and culturally relevant sessions learning HIV and STD information, as well as information on how to use the media as a tool for educating their communities. With the support and guidance of CAP staff, youth produced six short radio novellas. They were broadcast on the radio in Spanish, reaching thousands of listeners with messages about HIV prevention, and are now available on CD.

In collaboration with the Multnomah County Community Capacitation Center, LUES provides HIV capacity building training to Community Health Workers. Sessions are based on popular education. They also offer two popular education basics trainings per year and will be offering an STD training in the near future. In addition to the trainings for community health workers, shorter trainings are offered for more informal HIV Educators ideal for groups interested in creating HIV experts in their community (church groups, alcohol and drug treatment groups, etc). Some of last year's Educators include Hacienda's parent involvement group.

LUES participates in several community events per year. Events vary from film screenings to health fairs. We usually partner with county health departments to conduct on-site testing at these events.

Cascade AIDS Project conducts outreach and education in migrant camps and with day laborers. These critical services bring HIV education and testing to populations at increased risk for HIV and late detection. In the camps, our long-time partner, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, provides mobile medical care services and Washington County Health Department does rapid testing. At the day labor site, Outside In provides medical services and testing.

For more informations, contact Maricela Berumen at 503.278.3867.

CAP Program Highlight: Teen2Teen

Teen2Teen is a group of passionate, activated youth ages 15-19 who are trained as peer educators in HIV/AIDS and Sexuality education. They make a one year commitment to dedicate their time to learning and educating about HIV/AIDS, sexuality, gender, sexual orientation, healthy relationships, and much more. Throughout their year of volunteering they attend meetings every week and take part in extra training sessions and workshops.

Teen2Teen youth become a resource for their friends, families, and communities on topics ranging from how to get tested for an STD to how to become activated around sexual health. They present in schools and at Agent Trainings, attend and present at conferences like the Oregon Queer Youth Conference and the Adolescent Sexuality Conference, and create amazing outreach projects in our communities. They also have huge amounts of fun, and make incredible friendships.

Teen2Teen's Mission was written by and for the youth in Teen2Teen. It is a statement meant to describe and inspire the work that Teen2Teen does through their outreach, their discussions, their Agent Trainings, and the societal change they make with their program:

"As Teen2Teen we strive to educate our peers and ourselves about HIV and Sexuality. Our goal is to create an empowered, active, and informed community. We aim to provide comprehensive information and end stigma surrounding HIV and Sexuality."

For more information or to find out how to volunteer or get involved, please email Annika Shore, the Youth HIV Education Coordinator, or fill out a Teen2Teen application.

CAP Program Highlight: CHATpdx

Curbing HIV/AIDS Transmission among at-risk and racial/ethnic minority youth (CHATpdx). Funded through the Department of Health and Human Service – Office of Minority Health (OMH), CHATpdx is a new program designed to reduce HIV/AIDS transmission among at-risk and racial/ethnic minority youth in Portland, Oregon. The program is carried out via a coalition of organizations and individuals including Cascade AIDS Project, Outside In, and the African American AIDS Action Awareness Alliance (A6).

CHATpdx uses four main strategies to accomplish this work.
• peer-to-peer education to reach at-risk youth,
• expand HIV testing opportunities for at-risk youth,
• use social media to enhance peer education and extend its reach,
• expand and enhance partnerships among youth serving agencies.

CHATpdx hosts an HIV testing night for youth at Pivot (209 SW 4th Ave; formerly the Men’s Wellness Center) which occurs every 2nd and 4th Mondays from 3 – 7pm. The space and testing are open for all youth 24 and under, and include games, peer education, wii, snacks, and more.

CHATpdx is on Facebook and Twitter! “Like” the Facebook page to get the latest CHATpdx news and events. Additionally, a blog for youth is coming soon. They post information for events relevant to youth 24 and under and also provide free testing for some events. If you’d like to add rapid oral HIV testing for your event please contact us and we will make every attempt to set up free and confidential testing.

While CHATpdx will not turn away any youth 24 and under, there is a special emphasis on reaching and serving racial and ethnic minority youth.

For more information, see the Facebook and Twitter, or contact Ernesto Dominguez or Annika Shore.

CAP Program Highlight: Camp Starlight

Camp Starlight, a program of Cascade AIDS Project, is a residential camp that serves children and youth ages 5 to 14 from across Oregon and Southwestern Washington. The program gives HIV-affected and -infected children the opportunity to enjoy a week at B’nai B’rith Camp. At Camp Starlight, children dealing with HIV themselves or in their family can feel “normal” knowing every other child at camp understands their situation. Camp Starlight partners with another program at Cascade AIDS Project called “Kids Connection” to offer campers and their families activities throughout the year to help maintain friendships and build lasting support networks.

During a typical day at Camp Starlight, campers eat breakfast together at about 8:30 am, then separate into groups based on age for a morning fun, doing such things as archery, canoeing and dance, playing music, and enjoying nature, pool time, and arts and crafts. After lunch, campers have a rest period when the younger children usually take naps. Then another cycle of activities begins, including a “free period” where campers can choose the activity they prefer. Each night, there is a different activity. One evening is movie night- campers bring their sleeping bags to the baseball field to watch a movie and sleep under the stars. On another evening, campers hold a talent show called “Night of a Thousand Stars”. On yet another night, Camp Starlight holds a carnival with games and costumes.

Camp Starlight works to ensure safe space for all attendees. The camper-to-staff ratio is about two to one rather than the eight-to-one ratio in an average camp. This high number of staff promises that each camper is showered with attention and acceptance. Additionally, other than a fun, first-night skit directly addressing HIV, campers are free to talk about HIV—or not—as they choose during the duration of the camp. Attendance is free of charge to the campers, which is the only way most of the campers are able to attend.

Camp Starlight gives children a chance to recover from the stress of living with HIV and to spend time with other children who understand their challenges. This builds resiliency and sense of community, which, in turn, decreases feelings of isolation and improves social satisfaction and well-being. In taking away the fear of talking about HIV, some of the stigma of HIV lifts. It is only by talking about HIV, asking questions about it, learning about it, and understanding that people living with HIV/AIDS are among us as friends, neighbors, and coworkers that we can confront the pandemic head on.

More information is available on the camp brochure. For information about becoming a camper, please contact Angie Raffaele-Burns, Camp Starlight Coordinator, at 503.223.5907 ext 3823.