(Albany, New York) Advocates delivered a Petition signed by over 400 members of New

York State’s HIV and LGBTQ+ communities to Governor Kathy Hochul this afternoon

calling for concrete action in her Fiscal 26-27 Executive Budget to demonstrate New York

State's ongoing commitment to Ending the HIV Epidemic in the face of unprecedented federal

attacks.

This December 1st, for the first time since the global commemoration was established in

1988, the United States federal government chose not to recognize World AIDS Day–

which for 37 years has provided a critical opportunity to recommit to ending the HIV

epidemic and to remember lives lost.

This follows a series of federal attacks on Medicaid and realized or threatened funding cuts

to the national public health infrastructure and programs key to achieving the end of the

epidemic (healthcare, housing, harm reduction, among others) and federal actions

targeting the LGBTQ+ and other communities disproportionately impacted by the

Epidemic.

New York State, always at the forefront in the fight against AIDS, must meet federal threats

to our national HIV response by demonstrating renewed commitment from leadership to

Ending our New York HIV Epidemic in every community and population.

The Petition calls for concrete action in the Executive Budget to:

• Ensure the critical NYS funding required to sustain the State’s HIV response

and robust Ending the Epidemic efforts. Continued investments by the State in

the programs and services that have driven our progress towards ending our HIV

epidemic have never been more critical during this time of federal attacks on

insurance coverage and the public health system.

• Act to afford all NYS communities the option to provide rental subsidies to

public assistance eligible households with HIV experiencing homelessness or

housing instability. Since the statewide HIV Emergency Shelter Allowance benefit

was established in the 1980s, it has been available only to people with HIV facing

homelessness in NYC. As a result, as many as 2,800 households living with HIV

outside NYC remain homeless or unstably housed—overwhelmingly LGBTQ, Black,

and Hispanic New Yorkers disparately impacted by HIV and poverty.

• Invest in strategies to realize the full potential of HIV prevention by advancing

equity in access and uptake of all PrEP modalities, including new long-acting

injectables. Despite PrEP’s proven effectiveness, access and uptake remain deeply

unequal, with Black and Hispanic New Yorkers representing 76% of new HIV

diagnoses in 2023, but only 22% of PrEP prescriptions. New York must ensure

broad, equitable access to all PrEP options, including one-a-day pills and

bimonthly injections, to strengthen HIV prevention efforts statewide. Ultra-long-

acting injectable PrEP, approved by the FDA this year, holds particularly

transformative promise, requiring only two injections a year for 96% to 100%

effectiveness in preventing HIV infection.

"I am proud to sponsor and champion equitable access to HIV housing assistance in the

New York State Assembly," said Assembly Member Harry Bronson of Rochester. "There

has never been a more important time for New York State to sustain and advance our

efforts to end HIV as an epidemic and to stand with the HIV and LGBTQ communities as we

face unprecedented challenges posed by actual and threatened federal funding cuts and

Attacks."

“Our HIV and LGBTQ communities are facing many-layered threats to Medicaid, systems of

care, and Ryan White and other federal funding sources that have been fundamental to the

U.S. and New York HIV responses—in addition to attacks on the essential rights of

members of our community,” said Charles King, Chief Executive Officer at Housing

Works, and Co-Chair of the NYS AIDS Advisory Council Ending the Epidemic Sub-

Committee. “We urgently need to know that the Governor and the State are committed to

sustained progress towards our Ending the Epidemic goals.”

"At Evergreen Health in Buffalo we know that we can count on the continued commitment from

New York State's leadership to advance our Ending the Epidemic goals," said Mike Lee, Chief

Operating Officer at Evergreen Health. "Our state has made historic progress but much remains

to be done to end this epidemic in every New York population and community."

“While New York has made measurable progress toward Ending the Epidemic, stark

disparities in HIV outcomes persist for Black and Latino New Yorkers,” said Shirley Torho,

President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Black Health Leadership

Commission on Health (Black Health). “In the face of a federal retreat from health equity,

sustained and proactive New York State leadership is essential to advance equitable HIV

prevention, care, and treatment for all affected communities.”

“We have long understood that housing is healthcare for people with HIV, and that without

a safe, stable place to live it’s not possible to fully benefit from HIV treatment, sustain

health, or prevent new infections,” said Perry Junjulas, Executive Director of the Albany

Damien Center. “Continuing to deny this benefit in Albany and other communities outside

NYC is fundamentally unfair, perpetuates HIV health inequities, undermines the State’s

ability to end our HIV epidemic, and costs the State millions in avoidable Medicaid

spending on crisis care and new HIV infections.”

“HIV prevention is an essential component of our plan to end New York’s HIV epidemic,”

said Kimberleigh Smith, Executive Vice President of Public Policy and

Communications at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. “We simply can’t realize

the potential of PrEP – including game-changing long acting injectables – until we invest in

the culturally tailored PrEP education, navigation, and services needed to reach the

communities most vulnerable to HIV infection.”

"In Rochester we are fully committed to ending our HIV epidemic," said Mary Beth Walker,

Trillium Health’s Vice President of Marketing, Government Relations, and Public

Relations. "New York State has long been a leader in our HIV response and we look forward

to sustained New York State funding for the prevention and care efforts critical to our

continued progress."

“Here in Syracuse and across Central New York, we see how sustained state leadership

saves lives and strengthens communities,” said Lisa Alford, Chief Executive Officer at

ACR Health. “As federal support becomes increasingly uncertain, New York must reaffirm

its commitment to Ending the HIV Epidemic by protecting core HIV programs and investing

in innovative prevention strategies like long-acting injectable PrEP, paired with the

education and access needed to reach the communities most impacted.”

The petition was circulated by the End AIDS New York Community Coalition, a group of over

90 health care centers, hospitals, and community-based organizations across the State

committed to realizing the goals of our historic New York State Blueprint for Ending the

Epidemic (EtE), a set of evidence-based recommendations for ending AIDS as an epidemic

in all New York communities and populations.