Dear Friend of ACT UP,
ACT UP and Proyecto Sol are outraged that 8,000 Philadelphians with HIV/AIDS don't have access to safe, affordable housing, and that Mayor Nutter's response is to spend NOTHING on AIDS housing. We know that housing saves lives, because for people with AIDS, being out on the streets or in a shelter is deadly.
We hope you saw this awesome video of our demonstration of our outrage, made by Philadelphia Weekly reporter Joel Mathis.
Now take a few seconds to tell Mayor Nutter how you feel about the fact that in order for a person who's HIV+ in Philadelphia to get a home, they first need to get sick with two opportunistic infections, and then spend two years in shelters or on the streets! Tell him that he can change this unacceptable situation by funding AIDS housing.
In the words of the 100 chanting, bell-ringing AIDS activists, "Mayor Nutter, we insist, end AIDS housing waiting lists!"
Sincerely,
ACT UP & Proyecto Sol
PS -- if the above links aren't working, click here http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5712/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1343 or paste the link into your browser.
AIDS housing waiting lists must go!
PRESS ADVISORY 11/19/09
Press Contacts: Antonio Davis 215.715.8653, Max Ray 215.908.8939
Who- Members of ACT UP Philly, Proyecto SOL and housing activists dressed as Salvation Army bell ringers, complete with santa hats, bells and buckets
What- Will be rallying at LOVE Park and marching to City Hall. The marchers will be dressed as Salvation Army bell-ringers, complete with Santa hats, bells and buckets. But instead of asking for spare change, ACT UP will be giving out zero-dollar bills to let passersby know that Mayor Nutter can make real, life-saving change for homeless Philadelphians living with AIDS by ending the 165-person AIDS housing waiting list.
When/Where- One week before World AIDS Day - Tuesday November 24 @ 12 Noon beginning in LOVE Park and marching to City Hall
Background: People with AIDS need safe, affordable housing. Shelters and streets are deadly places for people with compromised immune systems. Research indicates that housing is as important as medication in positive health outcome for people AIDS, and that people with homes are less likely to transmit HIV. Currently, there are more than 8,000 people with AIDS in Philadelphia who do not have adequate housing. That is higher than anywhere else in the country, except for Puerto Rico. There are also over 160 people and families who have been waiting for more than two years to receive housing subsidies provided through the federal government. Unlike in other cities, the city of Philadelphia does not supplement federal AIDS housing funding with city dollars. ACT UP is demonstrating to demand that Mayor Nutter and the City of Philadelphia make housing for people with AIDS a budget priority, and find the funding to end the wait list. This demonstration will help kick off a wider campaign to win housing for all people with HIV and AIDS. World AIDS Day is December 1st each year and commemorates the lives of those who have passed away due to AIDS. This year, ACT UP Philly is getting ready to “mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living,” in the words of famous activist Mother Jones.
December 1st - World AIDS Day (WAD) – Demonstration in Washington, DC
ACT UP Philly will also be participating in a World AIDS Day action in Washington DC, on Tuesday, December 1st. We will be taking a bus down to DC on Tuesday, leaving at 7:30am. Demonstrators will call for more AIDS housing funding (to help end the waiting list here in Philly and in other cities around the US), an end to the federal funding ban on syringe exchange, and increased global AIDS funding to meet global need and legislative requirement. Contact Kaytee Riek - 267.334.6984 or kaytee@healthgap.org.
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Press Contacts: Antonio Davis 215.715.8653, Max Ray 215.908.8939
**WORLD AIDS DAY-RELATED EVENTS**
AIDS ACTIVISTS DRESSED AS SALVATION ARMY BELL-RINGERS HAND OUT DOLLAR BILLS TO CALL FOR REAL CHANGE FOR HOMELESS PEOPLE WITH AIDS IN PHILADLEPHIA
AIDS ACTIVISTS DRESSED AS SALVATION ARMY BELL-RINGERS HAND OUT DOLLAR BILLS TO CALL FOR REAL CHANGE FOR HOMELESS PEOPLE WITH AIDS IN PHILADLEPHIA
Who- Members of ACT UP Philly, Proyecto SOL and housing activists dressed as Salvation Army bell ringers, complete with santa hats, bells and buckets
What- Will be rallying at LOVE Park and marching to City Hall. The marchers will be dressed as Salvation Army bell-ringers, complete with Santa hats, bells and buckets. But instead of asking for spare change, ACT UP will be giving out zero-dollar bills to let passersby know that Mayor Nutter can make real, life-saving change for homeless Philadelphians living with AIDS by ending the 165-person AIDS housing waiting list.
When/Where- One week before World AIDS Day - Tuesday November 24 @ 12 Noon beginning in LOVE Park and marching to City Hall
Background: People with AIDS need safe, affordable housing. Shelters and streets are deadly places for people with compromised immune systems. Research indicates that housing is as important as medication in positive health outcome for people AIDS, and that people with homes are less likely to transmit HIV. Currently, there are more than 8,000 people with AIDS in Philadelphia who do not have adequate housing. That is higher than anywhere else in the country, except for Puerto Rico. There are also over 160 people and families who have been waiting for more than two years to receive housing subsidies provided through the federal government. Unlike in other cities, the city of Philadelphia does not supplement federal AIDS housing funding with city dollars. ACT UP is demonstrating to demand that Mayor Nutter and the City of Philadelphia make housing for people with AIDS a budget priority, and find the funding to end the wait list. This demonstration will help kick off a wider campaign to win housing for all people with HIV and AIDS. World AIDS Day is December 1st each year and commemorates the lives of those who have passed away due to AIDS. This year, ACT UP Philly is getting ready to “mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living,” in the words of famous activist Mother Jones.
UPCOMING EVENT
December 1st - World AIDS Day (WAD) – Demonstration in Washington, DC
ACT UP Philly will also be participating in a World AIDS Day action in Washington DC, on Tuesday, December 1st. We will be taking a bus down to DC on Tuesday, leaving at 7:30am. Demonstrators will call for more AIDS housing funding (to help end the waiting list here in Philly and in other cities around the US), an end to the federal funding ban on syringe exchange, and increased global AIDS funding to meet global need and legislative requirement. Contact Kaytee Riek - 267.334.6984 or kaytee@healthgap.org.
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Tell Pease to stop picking our pockets!
Email State AIDS Director Joseph Pease
People living with HIV and AIDS in Pennsylvania have lost more that fifteen million dollars under State AIDS Director Joseph Pease's watch. Pease's office did not apply for a four million dollar National Minority AIDS Initiative grant (because they would have had to work over the weekend). His office also returned eleven million dollars of AIDS Drug Assistance Program funding to the federal government because they failed to spend the money. Returning federal money means that, for the next several years, our award will be eleven million dollars less than it should be, because the government thinks we don't need the money. So that's $15 million that people with HIV in Pennsylvania need and will never get back!
Check out our YouTube video of our trip to Harrisburg here:
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