Since we're all busy, let me get to the point... I'm writing to ask you to make a donation to ACT UP today, specifically for two projects ACT UP is taking on.
I'm sure you saw the big news a few months ago that a member of ACT UP Philly, Leon, joined with our friends and allies and got naked in John Boehner's office to protest proposed cuts to domestic and global AIDS funding -- it was all over the news. The civil disobedience really shook things up and drew much-needed attention on the fact that people with AIDS will be in serious trouble if the Republic proposals to slash spending go through.
Now, because of his bravery, Leon (and the rest of the naked seven) has to trek back and forth to DC for court date after court date. It's getting pretty expensive, so we're hoping you -- a big fan of ACT UP -- can help pitch in a few bucks to cover his travel. Other groups have been kind enough to cover him so far, and we want to do our share too.
Next month, ACT UP is convening a meeting of case managers in the city. We've won massive victories from the city to expand eligibility to housing for people with HIV. Most notably, you no longer have to have an AIDS diagnosis to get housing! Instead, simply having one of a long list of opportunistic infections is enough. Of course, there's more work to be done, but this is huge!
Now for the bad news -- it's come to our attention that case managers mostly aren't aware of these changes. AACO hasn't done a fabulous job spreading the news, and frankly, who reads those memos anyway? That means that people who are technically eligible aren't getting on the waiting list and aren't getting into housing.
In order for us to really win, we need case managers to know what changed. That's why, on March 20th, we are going to bring together case managers from every agency in the city towalk through the changes, and make sure case managers know everything that's changed to make it easier to get their clients housing.
This meeting will cost some cash -- since we're unwilling to let some drug company come in and use an hour of our precious time to shill for their drugs to get breakfast paid for, we'll need to pay for that ourselves. Coffee and donuts/bagels for 40 people will cost $200, and we'd like to make a small donation to the facilitator who's kindly committed to making sure we accomplish our goals in the meeting.
Beyond this, ACT UP continues to kick ass as we work locally, state-wide, and federally to end the AIDS crisis. We have some exciting new ideas for ways the city can fund housing for people with HIV, and we'd like to stay involved in actions in DC to win a "Robin Hood Tax" on Wall Street that would fund AIDS programs. But we can't do this without your help.
Thanks for donating what you can to ACT UP so we can keep winning victories for people with and at risk of HIV. You rock!
