Last Friday, HIV/AIDS advocates from all over the city convened in mayor-elect Bill De Blasio’s #TalkingTransition tent in Soho, which is hosting open forums on every aspect of NYC going forward under new leadership, to brainstorm HIV/AIDS policy for next year and beyond. NY1 has this video report of the event, where, NY1 said, many advocates not surprisingly expressed anger at the Bloomberg administration for cutting HIV/AIDS funding. Yet the room was also full of optimism that a De Blasio administration would be more open to community input.
We also have this brief report from HW National and International Organizer Felicia Carroll, who was there:
There were about 200 hundred folks in attendance. When you first entered, there were laptop computers on tables where you could send the new mayor ideas and suggestions on housing, healthcare, parks, culture and education. The issues were color-coded. You could either drop your suggestion in a box or just stick it on the wall or a table they provided.
The meeting on HIV/AIDS was great. Jason Walker of VOCAL-NY and Dan Tietz of ACRIA did a wonderful presentation on the End AIDS Initiative. We then broke out into five to six groups to strategize on various topics like HASA, Housing and Accountability; Policy and The Continuum of Care.
Also discussed was assuring the availability of essential services such as affordable and sustainable housing and food security, clean needles, harm reduction and opiate substitution therapy.
There was also talk of getting newly appointed elected officials on board.
Ginny Shubert and Wanda Hernandez facilitated the HASA group. Of course, advocates’ longtime demand to the city to cap rents for HASA clients to 30 percent of their income was reiterated. (De Blasio has said he supports this.) It was noted that some clients are paying 70 percent of their income towards rent.
Several people said that HASA should stop placing HIV-positive clients in medically inappropriate housing in SROs, for which HASA is paying up to $3,000 a month per unit. It was stated that HASA could place such clients in apartments for half that amount.
Above all, there was agreement at the forum that De Blasio should revive the Mayor’s Office of AIDS Policy.
