Clergy Can Fight HIV On Faith-friendly Terms

by D Gregory Smith

An excellent article from Science Daily:

In the United States, where blacks bear a disproportionate burden of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, black religious institutions could help turn the tide. In a new study in PLoS ONE based on dozens of interviews and focus groups with 38 of Philadelphia’s most influential black clergy, physicians and public health researchers find that traditional barriers to preaching about HIV prevention could give way to faith-friendly messages about getting tested and staying on treatment.

The public health community has long struggled with how best to reduce HIV infection rates among black Americans, which is seven times that of whites. In a new paper in the journal PLoS ONE, a team of physicians and public health researchers report that African-American clergy say they are ready to join the fight against the disease by focusing on HIV testing, treatment, and social justice, a strategy that is compatible with religious teaching.

“We in public health have done a poor job of engaging African-American community leaders and particularly black clergy members in HIV prevention,” said Amy Nunn, lead author of the study and assistant professor of medicine in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. “There is a common misperception that African American churches are unwilling to address the AIDS epidemic. This paper highlights some of the historical barriers to effectively engaging African American clergy in HIV prevention and provides recommendations from clergy for how to move forward.”

The paper analyzes and distills dozens of interviews and focus group data among 38 African-Amereican pastors and imams in Philadelphia, where racial disparities in HIV infection are especially stark. Seven in 10 new infections in the city are among black residents. With uniquely deep influence in their communities, nearly all of the 27 male and 11 female clergy said they could and would preach and promote HIV testing and treatment.

That message, delivered by clergy or other influential figures, would provide a needed complement to decades of public health efforts that have emphasized risk behaviors, Nunn said. Research published and widely reported last year, for example, suggests that testing and then maintaining people on treatment could dramatically reduce new infections because treatment can give people a 96-percent lower chance of transmitting HIV.

“For decades, we’ve focused many HIV prevention efforts on reducing risky behavior,” said Nunn, who is also based at The Miriam Hospital. “Focusing on HIV testing and treatment should be the backbone of HIV prevention strategies and efforts to reduce racial disparities in HIV infection. Making HIV testing routine is the gateway to getting more individuals on treatment. African American clergy have an important role to play in routinizing HIV testing.”

The barriers clergy members face

Many religious leaders acknowledged that they’ve struggled with how best to combat the epidemic, particularly with challenges related to discussing human sexuality in church or mosque, according to the analysis in the paper.

“One time my pastor spoke to young people about sex, mentioning using protection,” the paper quotes a clergy member as saying in one example. “I was sitting in the clergy row; you could feel the heat! I was surprised he said that. Comments from the clergy highlighted they were opposed to that. It’s a tightrope walk.”

Many clergy members also said they face significant barriers to preaching about risk behaviors without still emphasizing abstinence.

“It’s my duty as a preacher to tell people to abstain,” one pastor told the research team, “but if they’re still having sex and they’re getting HIV, there has to be another way to handle this.”

What clergy can do

Many clergy members suggested couching the HIV/AIDS epidemic in social justice rather than behavioral terms, Nunn said. They also recommended focusing on HIV testing as an important means to help stem the spread of the disease and reduce the stigma.

“We need to standardize testing,” one pastor told the researchers. “One thing that we could do immediately is to encourage our congregations — everybody — to get tested. … We’re not dealing with risk factors. And we’re all going to get tested once a year. That’s the one thing that we could do that doesn’t get into our doctrine about sexuality.”

In general, many of the religious leaders said they could encourage discussion of HIV not only in main worship services, but also in ministries and community outreach activities.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

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True Story

by D Gregory Smith

From my friends at the True Stories Project:

Last week President Obama “evolved” on marriage equality, coming to the conclusion that, personally, he supported the right to marry for gay and lesbian couples.

We couldn’t be any happier or prouder – after all, we’re in the evolution business, nudging along hearts and minds one audience at a time.

500 Screenings!

In fact, last month, we reached our 500th community screening of Inlaws & Outlaws with a very special screening to raise money for our new partners, Washington United for Marriage.

As wonderful as that evening was, we are no less proud of our 499th screening, put together by two churches and a PFLAG chapter in a small town in southwestern Washington. They got over a hundred folks to turn out on a Tuesday night and got a wonderful article in the local paper. The 501st was presented by students at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana as part of Diversity Week. A Virginia chapter of Integrity,the LGBT Episcopal organization put on the 502nd.  And Number 503 kicked off the first Pride Week at Salish-Kootenai College, a small tribal school in rural Montana – the first of three screenings this month in that state.  

We could go on — and we’d love to!  But we can’t do it without you.

With marriage equality finally center stage on the national agenda, we wanted to make it even easier for schools, congregations, and non-profits to host our next 500 screenings.

Introducing our Equality Deal, an easy way to host a screening of Inlaws & Outlaws for free, raise money for your local organization and help more folks evolve in your community.

Here’s how it works:

Equality Deal!

  • First, you pick an Equality Deal package that’s the right size for you.   The screening license is free when you purchase a package of DVDs with the Equality Deal.
  • Next, register your event with us, and we’ll make you a nice event page and give you access to lots of free tools to help promote it.
  • Then, at your film showing, you sell the DVDs at full price, making back your money and, keeping the extra for you or your cause.

We designed it to be win-win, and a great way for us to helping folks in our community evolve. Check out the Equality Deal.  We are so ready to welcome you to our Outlaws Posse.

We all know that the fight for equality is truly about love, family, belonging, the pursuit of happiness – something all Americans can relate to.   That’s been the idea behind Inlaws & Outlawsfrom the start. All we have to do is share our stories, and that truth becomes eviden to our friends and neighbors. And that’s how you build support for equality.
With gratitude and pride,
Drew Emery

PS  If you’re not up for hosting a screening, consider making a donation to our Hearts + Minds Campaign. Every $100 of support helps us offer a free screening to a community organization to help create change.

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Anne Rice Reviews “Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage”

by D Gregory Smith

One of the most contentious issues of our time, marriage has been “claimed” by Christians (and others) as an unchanging “institution”, “sacrament”, “contract”, etc. This is far from historically accurate. Author and- I would argue- theologian Anne Rice weighs in with a recommendation from her Facebook page yesterday:

The nation’s talking about marriage, Same Sex Marriage, definitions of marriage, who owns marriage, etc. Well, here is a link to an excellent History of Marriage written by Stephanie Coontz that I reviewed for Amazon a while back. I recommend this book to all who have strong feelings about the institution of marriage and how it has been viewed over the millennia. Comments welcome. (I’ve linked to my review, but there are a lot of others posted on the site).

From the book description: Marriage has never been more fragile. But the same things that have made it so have also made a good marriage more fulfilling than ever before. In this enlightening and hugely entertaining book, historian and marriage expert Stephanie Coontz takes readers from the marital intrigues of ancient Babylon to the sexual torments of Victorian couples to demonstrate how recent the idea of marrying for love is-and how absurd it would have seemed to most of our ancestors. It was only 200 years ago that marriage began to be about love and emotional commitment, and since then the very things that have strengthened marriage as a personal relationship have steadily weakened it as a social institution. Marriage, A History brings intelligence, wit, and some badly needed perspective to today’s marital debates and dilemmas.

Her Review: This is an extremely well researched investigation of the institution of marriage from earliest times to the present. It may prove shocking to some readers to discover how recent our concept of “traditional marriage” may be. But information such as this book provides is essential for those concerned about marital values. History provides us with immensely important lessons regarding the attitudes and feelings of human beings over the centuries; and we must not shrink from the observations made here as we seek to understand the social and economic and even religious crises of our times. The scope of the book is incredibly ambitious yet it is clearly and at times entertainingly written, and always inviting. It can point the way for further research in many areas. On all counts, a fine and important book.

Agreed. To have this information in one place is important- and the scholarship is undeniable. Click book to see more reviews on Amazon and get a sample of the book.

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Dave Strohmaier’s Ad- Equality At The Forefront

by D Gregory Smith

If you haven’t seen the ad yet, you’ll see what I mean:

Send this to everyone you know.

Montana ADAP Waiting List: Tuesday: 0, Wednesday: 1

by D Gregory Smith

That’s right. From a memo by Judy Nielsen, State HIV Programs Coordinator at Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services:

All persons waiting to be enrolled into Montana ADAP have been authorized for enrollment. As of Tuesday morning, May 15, 2012, the Montana ADAP waiting list is zero.

As of Wednesday morning, however, that wait list again had 1 person- a sign that people are still being infected and still in need of drug assistance. Montana, and 8 other states, have struggled to enroll low-income persons ( 200% of the US Poverty level, currently $22340.00 adjusted gross income) and non-insured HIV-infected persons into the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

“Wait lists aren’t a bad thing as long as you can assure that everyone is getting medicine- it draws attention to the need”, Nielsen said.  “Some states have lowered  income eligibility for ADAP, but that just hides the need.”

From NASTAD: Six ADAPs have previously lowered their financial eligibility thresholds as part of their cost-containment plans since September 2009, (disqualifying hundreds of lower income persons). Illinois, North Dakota, Ohio and South Carolina lowered their eligibility level to 300 % FPL. Utah lowered their eligibility level to 250% FPL, and Arkansas lowered their eligibility level to 200% FPL. Previously, all states had FPLs of 400% and above. As a result of these measures, a total of 445 individuals in three states, Arkansas (99), Ohio (257), and Utah (89), were disenrolled. Illinois, North Dakota, and South Carolina grandfathered their clients that fell within the income levels into their programs. No other ADAPs,(including Montana) currently anticipate further changes to their financial eligibility. (Italics and emphasis mine)

“Montana has a high average among all ADAPS in the nation for eligibility”, Nielsen said. “It’s in the lower third of cost-per-client, mostly in our low administration cost and low markup for our drugs- all the antiretrovirals are offered- all. And we have a complete formulary for HIV-related medications. Through compassionate use programs from pharmaceutical companies and other programs, everyone in HIV care in Montana has access to medications. And with the federal dollars released by the Obama administration, I expect to continue to keep the wait list low through the end of the year.”

Montana has had a wait list off and on since 2002, the high mark was 35 persons in 2010. The ADAP program in Montana currently serves 130 persons- not much in the grand scheme of things- but for a low population state, we’re doing a pretty good job of taking care of our people.

We could do even better if all at-risk persons were tested regularly, and if all HIV-infected persons were linked to care. Remember, Treatment is prevention.

But I’m still very proud of the work we’re doing in Montana.

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Tester’s Working. Rehberg’s On “Vacation”.

by D Gregory Smith

Where is Dennis Rehberg? Jon Tester’s been seen all over Montana- and heard all over tv and radio. Dennis Rehberg has yet- to my limited knowledge- to even appear off the cuff in an ad for himself. I find that suspicious. Where is he?

From The Montana Democrats:

Two maps* of the same state represented by two members of Congress tell a very different tale about their respective commitments to Montana:

Jon Tester’s 94 Events in 2012

Congressman Dennis Rehberg’s 14 Public Meetings in 2012

Montana Democratic Party Executive Director Ted Dick says Congressman Rehberg simply can’t live up to the standard of transparency and accountability Jon Tester has set in the U.S. Senate.

“The longer Congressman Rehberg stays in Washington, the more he forgets about his responsibility to Montana,” said Dick. “Congressman Rehberg won’t meet with Montanans in public because, after decades in politics, he is incabable of holding himself accountable to the people he’s supposed to serve.”

Tester’s meetings with Montanans focused on making college more affordable, creating small business jobs, and protecting clean air and water — all issues Tester has championed in the U.S. Senate.

Meanwhile, Congressman Rehberg has been at the center of a number of controversies in Congress — his Homeland Security land grab, a vote to raise middle class taxes, and attempts to end funding for Planned Parenthood.  He has held public listening sessions on NONE of these issues.

* These maps indicate Tester’s busy 2012 schedule in Montana, not including press interviews or political events, contrasted with Congressman Dennis Rehberg’s not-so-busy schedule.

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Montana Pride Announces: Jessie And The Toy Boys

by D Gregory Smith

 

From MontanaPride.org :

We are stoked to announce another awesome add to our weekend line-up for 2012 Pride.
Check out  Jessie and The Toy Boys … performing live on Friday night, June 15th at Montana Pride!
She’s toured with Britney and Nicki Minaj, and in just a month will be right here in Bozeman. (Share it!)

 And don’t forget to get your tickets early- they’re going fast! Click logo for site.
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Sullivan In Newsweek:

by D Gregory Smith

If you haven’t read Andrew Sullivan’s cover story in this week’s Newsweek, you must. It’s an authoritative synopsis of Obama’s civil rights policy evolution on behalf of the gays. Excerpt:

This, by any measure, is an astonishing pace of change in one presidential term. In four years Obama went from being JFK on civil rights to being LBJ: from giving uplifting speeches to acting in ways to make the inspiring words a reality. And he did so by co-opting the forces of resistance—like the military leadership. He fooled most of us much of the time, our outbursts often intemperate—I went on CNN at one point to say that the president had betrayed the gay community on the military ban. We snarked about the “fierce urgency of whenever.” Our anger built. And sometimes I wonder if he goaded us into “making him do it.” If he did, it worked.

Click the cover for the full essay.

Inlaws And Outlaws Heads To Montana!

by D Gregory Smith

This month, Inlaws & Outlaws heads to Big Sky Country, with three community screenings in Montana!

Salish Kootenai College’s Spirit of Many Colors Gay-Straight Alliance is holding their first annual PRIDE Week and the film kicks it off with a free community screening on Monday, May 14 at 2 pm in the college library.

Later in the month, Montana Pride 2012 and the Montana Human Rights Network team up to present two screenings of the film with a special appearance by filmmaker Drew Emery at each.

On Wednesday, May 23, the film will screen at Plymouth Congregational Church in Helena. On Friday, May 25, the film screens at the Bozeman Public Library. Both screenings are free and open to the general public and a Q&A and discussion with the filmmaker will follow.

The screenings happen as the battle for LGBT rights in the state heats up, including the upcoming vote on Helena’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance. If the city passes the law, it will be the second city in Montana to offer civil rights protections for LGBT Montanans. Missoula became the first in 2010.

D Gregory Smith of Montana Pride shared his excitement over the film’s timeliness. “A basic understanding of the humanity of LGBT relationships is often what’s missing from our discussion of LGBT rights. This film helps remedy that. No one will walk away wondering about differences – the shared humanity is obvious, and celebrated.”

Montana Outlaws Tour
Mon, May 14
2 pm		 Salish Kootenai College
Pablo, MT
Wed, May 23
7 pm		 Montana Human Rights Network
and Montana Pride 2012
Pilgrim Congregational Church, Helena, MT
Fri, May 25
7 pm		 Montana Human Rights Network
and Montana Pride 2012
Bozeman Public Library, Bozeman, MT
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FDA Panel Recommends Approval Of Preventative HIV Med

by D Gregory Smith

From CBS News:

In a landmark decision, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend approval of Truvada to prevent HIV infection. The FDA is not required to the follow the panel of experts’ advice, though it typically does.

In a series of votes, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended approval of the daily pill Truvada for healthy people who are at high risk of contracting HIV, including gay and bisexual men and heterosexual couples with one HIV-positive partner.

A final decision on Truvada is expected by June 15, but the FDA doesn’t confirm such action dates and says the review of the application is ongoing, a spokesperson told CBS News.

“I think this is a huge milestone,” Dr. Robert Grant, associate director of the Center for AIDS Research at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the panel’s research, told CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook. “I think we are in an era for the first time when we can see the end of the AIDS epidemic.”

Gilead Sciences Inc., based in Foster City, Calif., has marketed Truvada since 2004 as a treatment for people who are infected with the virus. The medication is a combination of two older HIV drugs, Emtriva and Viread. Doctors usually prescribe it as part of a drug cocktail to repress the virus.

Since Truvada is already on the market to manage HIV, some doctors have prescribed it as a preventive measure. FDA approval would allow Gilead Sciences to formally market its drug for that use.

While panelists ultimately backed Truvada for prevention, Thursday’s 12-hour meeting highlighted concerns created by the first drug to prevent HIV. In particular, the panel debated whether Truvada might lead to reduced use of condoms, the most reliable defense against HIV. The experts also questioned the drug’s effectiveness in women, who have shown much lower rates of protection in studies.

The panel struggled to outline steps that would ensure patients take the pill every day. In clinical trials, patients who didn’t take their medication diligently were not protected, and patients in the real world are even more likely to forget than those in studies.

“The trouble is adherence, but I don’t think it’s our charge to judge whether people will take the medicine,” said Dr. Tom Giordano of Baylor College of Medicine, who voted in favor of the drug. “I think our charge is to judge whether it works when it’s taken and whether the risks outweigh the benefits.”

My view: This also allows sero-discordant couples- one HIV+, one not- an extra layer of protection. It may also help adherence if two persons are taking the same meds (or at least having to share a daily regimen) in the same household. That in itself is worth it….

 Full story here

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