HIV / AIDS

Meet the faces behind SAGE’s HIV & Aging Policy Action Coalition

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This article originally appeared on the SAGE blog.

On June 12, SAGE officially announced the formation of the new HIV & Aging Policy Action Coalition (HAPAC). Generously funded by Gilead’s HIV Aging Positively Initiative, the coalition aims to build a dynamic, diverse, and long-term survivor driven group. HAPAC’s mission is focused on publicly acknowledging, drawing much-needed attention to, and meeting the needs of long-term survivors and LGBT older people living with HIV. This coalition is driven by long-term survivors working alongside representatives from some of our country’s leading HIV and aging advocacy organizations and community and grassroots-based organizations. Below, meet the members of the coalition and learn more about their work:

TEZ.... Read More

             

As An HIV Survivor, COVID-19 Stigma Is Sadly Familiar

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by John-Manuel Andriote. This article originally appeared on Next Avenue.

Elizabeth Martucci figured it made perfect sense to share the exciting news that she and her 11-year-old son had recovered from COVID-19. The New Jersey resident even had “COVID-19 Survivor” T-shirts made.

Martucci didn’t anticipate the response she’d get to being a survivor — and the sometimes jarring lengths to which some will go because of their fear. As The New York Times reported in a story about Martucci, “Even now, a month into their recovery, some neighbors see them and run.”

.... Read More
             

With HIV/AIDS, What Does Successful Aging Look Like?

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by Grace Birnstengel. This article originally appeared on Next Avenue.

At 62, Hugo Sapién is seriously considering going back to school to earn a master’s degree in theology. In his younger days, this is something he would have never considered — not for lack of interest, but because he didn’t think he’d live long enough to even finish his undergraduate degree.

“I thought there’s no way I’m going to make it,” Sapién, of San Antonio, says. “I wouldn’t make any long-term plans.”

This was the mid-80s, when Sapién suspects he acquired HIV (he wasn’t diagnosed until 1995). Treatments for the virus were sprouting up with mixed effectiveness. Death was a real — if.... Read More

             

Luis has HIV and is protecting himself against the novel coronavirus, COVID-19

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This article originally appeared on the NHCOA blog. Para leer este artículo en español, haga clic aquí.

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. That is believed to spread primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

It is also possible for a person to become infected by COVID-19 by touching surfaces or objects that have the virus on them and then touch their own mouth, nose or eyes.

Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate.... Read More

             

AIDS Services Know How to Love in a Plague

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by John-Manuel Andriote. This article originally appeared on Next Avenue.

(Editor’s note: This story is part of Still Here, Still Positive: A series on the first generation of Americans aging with HIV/AIDS, with support from The John A. Hartford Foundation.)

Just as we gay and bisexual men measured our personal histories in relation to AIDS — starting in 1981 — everyone now speaks of the world, and our lives, “before” and “after” COVID-19.

Organizations created in the 1980s to serve very ill, homebound people with HIV/AIDS are demonstrating in this “after” that there is a greater-than-ever need for what they know about feeding and caring for people with.... Read More

             

Coronavirus Pandemic Exposes Gap in Mental Health Services for Seniors

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By Dr. Marcy Adelman. This article originally appeared in the San Francisco Bay Times.

The COVID-19 crisis, and with it the need to shelter in place, have exposed gaps in San Francisco’s services for seniors and LGBTQ seniors in particular.

The city has long established partnerships with community nonprofits with whom they have a successful track record for delivering in-person health and wellness services and programs and peer support groups that reduce social isolation and increase opportunities for program participants to engage, connect, and volunteer in their communities. For people who are not comfortable with in-person experiences, the Institute on Aging provides a phone service for older adults who need someone to listen to their concerns..... Read More

             

HIV/AIDS’ Effect on Aging: Still Unclear

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by John-Manuel Andriote. This article originally appeared on Next Avenue.

Craig Washington has never spent a night in the hospital because of HIV. Not even the time in the early ’90s when he got cryptosporidiosis, one of the opportunistic infections that can wreak havoc on someone with a weakened immune system.

The Atlanta-based social worker and therapist’s good health is especially impressive for a 60-year-old man diagnosed with HIV back in 1985 — the year the HIV antibody test first became available.

“For the most part,” said Washington, “I have been very blessed, very fortunate, that my health is pretty good and a lot of the day-to-day energy level I’ve been able to sustain.” He attributes his.... Read More

             

‘We Weren’t Expected to Live This Long’

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by Grace Birnstengel. This article originally appeared on Next Avenue.

(Editor’s note: This story is part of Still Here, Still Positive: A series on the first generation of Americans aging with HIV/AIDS, with support from The John A. Hartford Foundation.)

More than 500,000 people over 50 in the U.S. are growing older with the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) that, if untreated, cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS.

While some have contracted HIV/AIDS in their later years (sparse sexual health promotion for older adults is often to blame), the bulk of these survivors were diagnosed decades ago, back in the throes of the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, when.... Read More

             

The Voices of the Silenced

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by SAGE Communications. This article originally appeared on the SAGE blog.

When asked to think of the predominant challenges facing people as they age today, the common answers may be physical mobility and accessibility, savings and wealth management, or finding safe, affordable housing. These challenges are increased for LGBT older people, who may face maltreatment due to their sexual orientation or live in fear of discrimination. However, due to incredible advancements in medicine and science, many of the Stonewall generation are now experiencing a far less talked about challenge: aging with HIV.

In the late 90’s at the height of the AIDS epidemic, it was inconceivable to imagine that individuals who were diagnosed would live to.... Read More

             

7 HIV/AIDS Myths We Need to Stop Believing

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by Kellee Terrell. This article appears on the Diverse Elders Coalition blog courtesy of Black Health Matters.

I try to live my life by the saying “knowledge is power.”

Knowledge helps us make informed decisions from everything, including who we vote for, what we eat and how we react to our surroundings. This mantra also holds true to our understanding (or lack thereof) of HIV/AIDS. Despite how easily accessible basic information about the epidemic is, there’s still plenty of dangerous misinformation percolating out in the world and our communities.

And I’ve seen it with.... Read More

             
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