HIV/AIDS Lobby Day brings crowd to air state budget concerns

02/05/10More than 300 advocates for people with HIV/AIDS and infected individuals gathered at the State House's Grand Staircase Jan. 28 to plead with legislators against further cuts to HIV/AIDS funding in the fiscal 2011 budget.

Facing the continued economic slump, Gov. Deval Patrick cut about $1.5 million from the $37.7 million state HIV/AIDS budget for fiscal year 2009, and $2.1 million more for the fiscal year 2010. An additional cut to the HIV/AIDS funding would cripple the state's ability to prevent new HIV infections and outreach to infected individuals to get them into early treatment, according to Project AIDS Budget Legislative Effort (ABLE), a statewide HIV/AIDS lobbying coalition.

"We know that the state is in a difficult fiscal situation. But, by spending money now on HIV/AIDS services and prevention, we are going to save the money in the long run," said Mary Ann Hart, Project ABLE lobbyist.

Hart said the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Massachusetts increased 38 percent from 1999 to 2007. She added that 21 percent of the 27,000 individuals currently living with HIV/AIDS don't know they are infected. Additionally, every year Massachusetts sees 700 new HIV/AIDS infection cases.

"We really need to change our thinking. Seven hundred is not OK; we should have zero new infections every year," she said.

Hart said the state should maintain at least $35.4 million for HIV/AIDS funding in the Department of Public Health, which provides money to more than 100 organizations and agencies serving people with HIV/AIDS.

John Gatto, executive director of Cambridge Cares About AIDS, said the funding is essential for prevention and support services to be sustained in the system. He said currently most people infected by HIV/AIDS are those who have histories of mental illness, substance use or homelessness, and they need extra support to help erase the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS.

"They are populations that are not politically organized, and aren't so well served in the system," Gatto said. "We try to build communities for them to feel like they have a voice. And we can help them live with dignity if we maintain the services that we have.

John Auerbach, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, stressed that HIV/AIDS is recognized as a "critical top public health priority" throughout the year. He said that priority was demonstrated in the budget released by the governor Jan. 27. "There were no cuts at all in the HIV/AIDS services even though the budget was decreased by billions of dollars," Auerbach said.

State Rep. Carl Sciortino of Medford said that the state government would support people with HIV/AIDS. While the current budget cycle would be difficult, he encouraged people to stand up for their rights.

"Don't feel shy because you are here to ask for the basic services that keep you alive, that keep you healthy, that keep our communities healthy and strong," he said.

Despite sound support, Rachel Auspitz, Cambridge Cares About AIDS advocate said,
"we can't be complacent because there is still plenty to do." She added, "everybody is deserving of care. It's not a question of who's negative and who's positive. But the prevention is for everybody."

Apart from lobbying against further budget cuts, some HIV-infected people see the event as an opportunity for people living with the disease to come out of the closet. Julialene Johnson, case manager of AIDS Project Worcester who has lived with HIV/AIDS for 10 years, said it is the day to affirm the dignity and legitimacy of people with HIV/AIDS.

"I'm not ashamed of what I have," she said. "We all are human beings and we deserve the same lifestyle that someone has that doesn't live with HIV/AIDS," Johnson said.

"For anyone who sits behind a desk, you may not know it now but HIV is in your backyard," she said. "And if you do not continue to fund HIV, eventually it's going to be in your face, in your living room.