"Let's Talk About Sex"

IV Drug Use (Heroin!), HIV & AIDS

EVERYDAY IS WORLD HIV DAY! Living With HIV IS Not Dying of AIDS:
Many people living with HIV in America today face a unique set of structural and lifestyle challenges, including, but not limited to: poverty, hunger, under- or unemployment, illiteracy, racism, discrimination, immigration issues, homelessness, stigma, previous or current incarceration, sexual or domestic violence, homophobia, substance use, criminalization, addiction, and childcare and mental health issues. Much of what we have learned about fighting HIV has to be reconsidered in light of who is contracting the virus today and why...

 

A Northern Kentucky Symposium on Where We Stand on HIV & AIDS since the Development & Release by President Obama of The United States "NATIONAL HIV/AIDS STRATEGY" in July of 2010.

This portion of our Memorial will be held at The Loft Nightclub @ 100 W 6th Street in Covington, Ky (across the street from Mother of God Church) at 2:00 pm. We are gathering to Come OUT & Stand Up! To MOVE Our CommUNITY FORWARD and KEEP THE PROMISES! We look forward to your participation and Support of Our Local Memorial. Volunteer help, Donations, Questions and Feedback are Always APPRECIATED and WELCOMEd Friendly! Just give @SoBankQueenBee a buzzz at
859-261-HIVe1 (4481).

In 1981, HIV showed up in the United States announcing its arrival via gay men. At the onset we didn't know how or why oppurtunistic infections like Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) had occurred amongst young gay men.  In July 1981 Dr Curran of the CDC was quoted as follows:

"There was no apparent danger to non homosexuals from contagion. 'The best evidence against contagion', he said, 'is that no cases have been reported to date outside the homosexual community or in women.

Just five months later, in December 1981, it was clear that the disease affected other population groups, when the first cases of PCP were reported in injecting drug users. Around the same time it became clear the cause was a new retro-virus, society had come to the conclusion that it was "Gay Plague, "Gay Cancer" and ultimately "GRID", or "Gay Related Immune Deficiency.
Unfortunately; preceding the actual discovery and naming of the Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) the Disease it caused was named Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS, to relax the Stigma & Discrimination that came with all the "Gay" related labels. Today, more than 30 years later "AIDS" is irrevocably linked to the LGBT Community and DEATH.

Advocacy-Education-Support-Outreach-Prevention

The biggest expenditure for our current operations are the costs associated with our online services; the websites, FB Pages and online support groups. To date, the set-up, funding, operation and maintenance of these services have been funded through The Michael W. Connett Living Trust.
 

The pertinent accounts payable of the Trust that support this venture are: Cincinnati Bell for our Broadband connection-Zoomtown and our Internet Service Provider-FUSE, Rent which inludes Utilities, and AllWebNow for web hosting services (Ella.net which is the Web Host for The Trust website where the South Bank Hive was born, has done so gratus for some time now). Due to the unexpected costs of the recent re-location, we are now in need of outside financial assistance to maintain our online presence and continue providing online support and social services assistance. All of our accounts are set-up to be paid automatically or through our Online Banking service to assure that no checks are bounced. Up until the recent move, Rent was the only thing that wasn't. In March, the automatic payments & purchases to replace items we couldn't bring from the "Bismarck BedBug Palace" came through before Joyce had deposited the check and I'm now in debt to My Mom which isn't pretty. The Rent situation has since been rectified and is now included on the Online Banking Payee list.

Adobe's charge for our monthly Creative Cloud subscription didn't go through this month ($49.95) so it's important that it's made ASAP when I get Mays' SSDI benefits. In addition, there's also a quarterly payment to AllWebNow due and I've fallen behind on the Cincy Bell acct, have received a disconnect notice and need to pay the past due amount of at least $105.68, not to mention my Acct Payable to Mom.

In answer to the inevitable "Well, No One/Who asked you to..." This has always been a labor of Love in Gratitude for the extended Life Span I've experienced and undertaken because the established "Powers that Be" can't, don't or won't. Furthermore, it's what we've all been asked to do by President Obama when he presented OUR "National HIV/AIDS Strategy" in July, 2010 and IT'S the RIGHT Thing TO DO! That is the basis for the Decision to establish A Transparent, Stronger, Louder, Prouder and More Respected 501(c)3; "Friends of The HIVe".

Monthly Budgeting sheet 

MWCLT Regular Monthly INCOME

Social Security Disability Income (SSDI): +$907.00
Food Stamps: +$ 16.00
 

Regular Monthly Fixed EXPENSES
Housing/Fixed Costs -
*Rent $440.00 (Utilities included)
*Cincinnati Bell (*Landline & Zoomtown priced for life Bundle):  $72.33

Regular Monthly Variable Expenses
*Food: $16.00 (SNAP)
*Groceries: $
*Household Maint/Supplies: $
*Transportation: $
*Household Improvement: $
*Health Maintenance: $
*Out of Pocket Medical Care: $

MWCLT for SouthBankHIVe
Office/Internet:
Telecommunications - Cinti Bell - Fuse & Zoomtown:
www.mwcltonline.org Hosting/EllaNet
www.southbankHIVe.com Hosting/AllWebNow

Current/Ongoing Projects:
Endowment FUNdRaising(T-Shirts, Events, Direct Mail):
___ Pkgs T-Shirt Transfers
___ White T-Shirts @ 2.50
___ Color T-Shirts @ $3.00
___ Postage @ $2.45 ea.
___Frames - Steel Magnolia Awards

Gifts to MWCLT:

 

 







Our Pressing Needs:

HIV- Chat: "I have a question for everyone. Would you ask people to gift you money, gift cards etc?"

Absolutely! However, it wouldn't be for me personally, it would be directed to my Living Trust through which I fund and operate all my Online HIV/AIDS Advocacy, Education, Support, OUTreach and Prevention services. I'm in the process of setting up a 501(c)3 that would do fundraising and grant making, but since I established the Trust it has been the sole funder of what I've been doing. At this stage of the game, I can no longer be the one man Red Ribbon Army, LOL.

Advocacy-Education-Support-Outreach-Prevention

The biggest expenditure for our current operations are the costs associated with our online services; the websites, FB Pages and online support groups. To date, the set-up, funding, operation and maintenance of these services have been funded through The Michael W. Connett Living Trust. The pertinent accounts payable of the Trust that support this venture are: Cincinnati Bell for our Broadband connection-Zoomtown and our Internet Service Provider-FUSE, Rent which inludes Utilities, and AllWebNow for web hosting services (Ella.net which is the Web Host for The Trust website where the South Bank Hive was born, has done so gratus for some time now). Due to the unexpected costs of the recent re-location, we are now in need of outside financial assistance to maintain our online presence and continue providing online support and social services assistance. All of our accounts are set-up to be paid automatically or through our Online Banking service to assure that no checks are bounced. Up until the recent move, Rent was the only thing that wasn't. In March, the automatic payments & purchases to replace items we couldn't bring from the "Bismarck BedBug Palace" came through before Joyce had deposited the check and I'm now in debt to My Mom which isn't pretty. The Rent situation has since been rectified and is now included on the Online Banking Payee list.

 

Mother has kept me chained to my past mistakes and has no clue what my life and dedication is now and doesn't even want to hear about it :-( . When I asked for her help, she relented and then cracked, "I guess I'll just have to consider it a gift, cause you'll never pay it back". Now it's a toss-up for what she has said to me that hurts the most; that or back in '78 when she said, "I wish you'd never been born than be that" followed by "You can't live in my house being that way". Like everything elso so far, I've survived and am Still Here!

 

Adobe's charge for our monthly Creative Cloud subscription didn't go through this month ($49.95) so it's important that it's made ASAP when I get Mays' SSDI benefits. In addition, there's also a quarterly payment to AllWebNow due and I've fallen behind on the Cincy Bell acct, have received a disconnect notice and need to pay at least $105.68 by this Friday 04/26, not to mention my Acct Payable to Mom.

 

In answer to the inevitable "Well, No One/Who asked you to..." This has always been a labor of Love in Gratitude for the extended Life Span I've experienced and undertaken because the established "Powers that Be" can't, don't or won't. Furthermore, it's what we've all been asked to do by President Obama when he presented OUR "National HIV/AIDS Strategy" in July, 2010 and IT'S the RIGHT Thing TO DO!  That is the basis for the Decision to establish A Stronger, Louder, Prouder and More Respected 501(c)3; "Friends of The HIVe".

 

2013 Charter/Lifetime Membership

"Friends of The HIVe"

The South Bank HIVe Proudly extends an Invitation to join our grass-roots, CommUNITY-Based Network of Friends to demonstrate that speaking up about HIV and Aids is a point of pride, not a source of shame. –Our strength comes from the members we represent and the alliances we build with other progressive groups, individuals and organizations. We will approach our work by representing the interests of our members and will not engage in back room politics or power brokering that compromises these principles.

10 W 10th Street – Suite #7 * Covington, Kentucky 41011

(859) 261-HIVe1 (4481) * SoBankHIVe@zoomtown.com





Where Things Stand: HIV in the United States

Vision: Our vision for a national strategy is a concise plan for moving the country forward. Predicated on building on what we are currently doing, it will identify a small number of high payoff action steps that need to be taken to achieve each of the President’s goals. We envision the strategy being a document that provides a roadmap for policymakers and the general public. We anticipate that the strategy will clearly describe the areas that require the most immediate change, the specific action steps that must be taken by the Federal Government and a variety of stakeholders, and specific targets for measuring our progress toward achieving the President’s goals.

 

Reducing New HIV Infections

MORE must be done to ensure that new prevention methods are identified and that prevention resources are more strategically concentrated in specific communities at high risk for HIV infection. Almost half of all Americans know someone living with HIV (43% in 2009) Our national commitment to ending the HIV epidemic, however, cannot be tied only to our own perception of how closely HIV affects us personally. Just as we mobilize the country to support cancer prevention and research whether or not we believe that we are at high risk of cancer, or just as we support investments in public education whether or not we have children, success at fighting HIV calls on all Americans to help us sustain a long-term effort against HIV. While anyone can become infected with HIV,, some Americans are at greater risk than others. This includes gay and bisexual men of all races and ethnicities, Black men and women, Latinos and Latinas, people struggling with addiction, including injection drug users, and people in geographic hot spots, including the United States South and Northeast, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. By focusing our efforts in communities where HIV is concentrated, we can have the biggest impact in lowering all communities' collective risk of acquiring HIV.

We must also move away from thinking that one approach to HIV prevention will work, whether it is condoms, pills, or information. Instead, we need to develop, evaluate, and implement effective prevention strategies and combinations of approaches including efforts such as expanded HIV testing (since people who know their status are less likely to transmit HIV), education and support to encourage people to reduce risky behaviors, the strategic use of medications and biomedical interventions (which have allowed us, for example, to nearly eliminate HIV transmission to newborns), the development of vaccines and microbicides, and the expansion of evidence-based mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment programs. It is essential that all Americans have access to a shared base of factual information about HIV. The Strategy also provides an opportunity for working together to advance a public health approach to sexual health that includes HIV prevention as one component. To successfully reduce the number of new HIV infections, there must be a concerted effort by the public and private sectors, including government at all levels, individuals, and communities to:

• Intensify HIV prevention efforts in communities where HIV is most heavily concentrated.
• Expand targeted efforts to prevent HIV infection using a combination of effective, evidence-based approaches.
• Educate all Americans about the threat of HIV and how to prevent it.

Where Things Stand: HIV in the United States

Although the United States has accomplished many successes in fighting HIV, much more needs to be done to curb the epidemic. Research has produced a wealth of information about HIV disease, including a number of critical tools and interventions to diagnose, prevent, and treat HIV infection. HIV transmission rates have been dramatically reduced in the United States and people with HIV are living healthier and more productive lives than ever before. Nevertheless, much more needs to be done. With more than one million Americans living with HIV, there are more people in need of testing, prevention, and treatment services than at any point in history, and ongoing research efforts are needed to find a cure for HIV/AIDS and continue to develop improved prevention tools and effective treatments. The Strategy cannot succeed without continued and sustained progress in biomedical and behavioral research.

 

The challenges we face are sobering:

• Approximately one in five people living with HIV are unaware of their status, placing them at greater risk for spreading the virus to others.
• Roughly three-fourths of HIV/AIDS cases in the United States are among men, the majority of whom are gay and bisexual men.
• One-fourth of Americans living with HIV are women, and the disease disproportionately impacts women of color. The HIV diagnosis rate for Black women is more than 19 times the rate for White women.
• Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in the HIV epidemic and die sooner than Whites.
• The South and Northeast, along with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are disproportionately impacted by HIV.
• One quarter of new HIV infections occur among adolescents and young adults (ages 13 to 29).
• Twenty-four percent of people living with HIV are 50 or older, and 15% of new HIV/AIDS cases occur among people in this age group.

 



WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE Between HIV & AIDS!?

Is there a cure?

Worryingly, surveys show that many people think that there’s a ‘cure’ for AIDS – which makes them feel safer, and perhaps take risks that they otherwise shouldn’t. These people are wrong, though - there is still no cure for AIDS.

There is antiretroviral medication which slows the progression from HIV+ to AIDS, and which can keep some people healthy for many years. In some cases, the antiretroviral medication seems to stop working after a number of years, in other cases people can recover from AIDS and live with HIV for decades. But they have to take powerful medication every day of their lives, sometimes with very unpleasant side-effects.



 

The Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+) is the global network for and by people living with HIV; Improving the quality of life of people living with HIV through Advocacy, Community Strengthening and Knowledge Management.

On Sunday 19 May 2013, for the 30th time, grassroots organisations worldwide will commemorate International AIDS Candlelight Memorial. Our South Bank HIVe will gather to raise awareness around HIV, stand together with people living with HIV and remember the loved ones lost to HIV and AIDS. We look forward to your Participation and Support of Our Local memorial. Your support is essential to stop stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and to help with the commemoration of the millions of people who passed away since the beginning of the HIV epidemic.

What is the difference between HIV and AIDS?

HIV is the virus that causes the disease AIDS. Although HIV causes AIDS, a person can be infected with HIV for many years before AIDS develops.

When HIV enters your body, it infects specific c...ells in your immune system. These cells are called CD4 cells or helper T cells. They are important parts of your immune system and help your body fight infection and disease. When your CD4 cells are not working well, you are more likely to get sick.

Usually, CD4 cell counts in someone with a healthy immune system range from 500 to 1,800 per cubic millimeter of blood. AIDS is diagnosed when your CD4 cell count goes below 200. Even if your CD4 cell count is over 200, AIDS can be diagnosed if you have HIV and certain diseases such as tuberculosis or Pneumocystis carinii [NEW-mo-SIS-tis CA-RIN-nee-eye] pneumonia (PCP).

There are general stages of HIV infection that you may go through before AIDS develops.

Infection. The earliest stage is right after you are infected. HIV can infect cells and copy itself before your immune system has started to respond. You may have felt flu-like symptoms during this time.

Response. The next stage is when your body responds to the virus. Even if you don’t feel any different, your body is trying to fight the virus by making antibodies against it. This is called seroconversion, when you go from being HIV negative to HIV positive.
No symptoms. You may enter a stage in which you have no symptoms. This is called asymptomatic infection. You still have HIV and it may be causing damage that you can’t feel.

Symptoms. Symptomatic HIV infection is when you develop symptoms, such as certain infections, including PCP.

AIDS. AIDS is diagnosed when you have a variety of symptoms, infections, and specific test results. There is no single test to diagnose AIDS.

How long does it take to go from HIV infection to a diagnosis of AIDS?

See More

Living with HIV/AIDS | Brochures | CDC HIV/AIDS

www.cdc.gov

This brochure covers many of the topics a newly diagnosed person may be interested in. Today, thousands of people are living with HIV or AIDS. Many are leading full, happy, and productive lives. You can too if you work with your doctor and others and take the steps outlined in this booklet to stay healthy.

 



Subject: Re: [RainbowNews] Digest -AVOC "Rollin' On The River.8/29
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 19:18:02 -0400
From: "Michael W. Connett"
Organization: "The Michael W. Connett-'LIVING' Trust"

How fortuitous that these two items appeared together!
One of the things that I have come to realize along my Journey is that the talents with which I was blessed (an ability to write/communicate) were given to facilitate my purpose or "calling" in this life to teach/educate. That was a real and truthful motivation for my decision to join The Christian Brothers upon my graduation from Newport Catholic High School. The real but less truthful motivation was my attempt to escape the intolerance of my family and society by finding a "Respectable" closet to reside in. That being said, here is the lesson I want to share with you:

"THE TRUTH ABOUT 'AIDS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS'

IN GREATER CINCINNATI"

(ASO's-both professional and Community Based Organizations/CBO's)

In a nutshell it is this: that the same kind of very real TENSION (although largely unspoken) that exists between a smaller/less known organization and a larger/very well known one as cited in the article by Doug Ireland, exists between the Three major players in AIDS Services here. AVOC is the larger and more well known organization that like the HRC, operates primarily in one area/state, gets all the recognition and manages to raise the great majority of Community Based Funding. However, they have evolved into a Professional ASO under contract with the State of Ohio to administer case management, education and prevention activities - thereby trying to wear two hats at once as both a Professional ASO and a Volunteer-driven CBO. Conversely in the same geographic area yet another state, we have two existing organizations (AVNK-the CBO & NKIDHD AIDS Care Management Program-the ASO) that like the Oregon group are smaller and less well known, each wear only one hat and struggle to meet their clients needs in the shadow of AVOC who like the HRC only dispenses to them the scraps from their bountiful table. Case in point: For the last three years I have been trying to get assistance from the PAWS program for my faithful canine companion-Moses. This last Sunday, through the perseverance of my Case Manager-Vicki Simon and the defiance to AVOC's exclusionary preferences by the VOLUNTEERS that run the PAWS program, I was able to participate in the free Vet Care Event at the SCPA and get Moses caught up on the shots that he was a year overdue for. I am deeply grateful to all involved in making this event and my participation in it possible!!!

As Olympic Gold Medalist Greg Louganis says in his recent book - "For The Life Of Your Dog": "Dogs have always been important players in my life. Sometimes I think I may even owe them my life. Living with HIV, I have come to know personally and intimately the exquisite power of the human/animal bond. I don't need scientific research studies to tell me that when you share a special relationship with animals-in my case dogs-your outlook improves, you enjoy a more fulfilling life, and most significantly, you are better equipped to heal and fight off disease. There seems to be a direct link between the human/animal bond and the human immune system, and I have been a beneficiary of that link."

There is no doubt in my mind as well, that having Moses by my side the last 5 years is a major reason why I have been able to survive living with HIV. In talking to several of the PAWS volunteers, I learned that last Sundays Vet Care Day was made possible and organized solely through their efforts and the generosity of the Veterinary professionals who donated their time as well as the necessary vaccines and supplies. To my complete surprise and chagrin I learned that although the PAWS Program operates as a service under the AVOC umbrella, they receive no budget or direct financial assistance from them for their operation. Except in the case where a donation is made to AVOC specifically designated for the PAWS Program. Over the last eight years that I have been living with HIV, from the beginning in CincinNASTY and now in my native No. Ky., I have come to realize the inequities that currently exist. Although there exits this great disproportion between the amount of Community Based fundraisng received by AVOC from Northern Kentucky and the amount of programs and services then returned by AVOC to the Northern Kentucky clients, I have been ignored, muzzled or discredited when I have tried to be vocal and raise awareness about it. But AIDS is FAR FROM Being Over...Although there is no cure or vaccine in sight, people continue to be infected and then are living longer putting a strain on all the available resources. IT IS TIME for unnecessary strains on our resources like the one presented here, to be recognized and rectified!

 

Fast Forward to the Present:

We now have, on both sides of the river; 2 Non-Profit AIDS Service/Community Based Organizations that have NO State Dept of Health designation, get no Ryan White Federal Funding and have no responsibility for any particular Programs or Services. StopAIDS (formerly AVOC) OWNS & Benefits from the Annual "Greater Cincinnati" AIDS Walk while AVNK is a designated 501(c)3 designated "Charity" of the I.S.Q.C.C.B.E, and BOTH have substantial bank balances!? WTF!?

At last year's International AIDS Conference that returned to the United States after 20+ years and was held in conjunction with the 25th Anniversary of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in our Nation's Capitol; the Goal of an AIDS-Free Generation by 2015 was announced.

Phil Wilson, President of the Black AIDS Institute gave a plenary address that outlined the steps and things we in America need to do to ensure we don't miss the boat. Of particular interest to me was his admonition to our established ASOs & CBOs:

"Finally, the fifth thing we need to do is that AIDS organizations need to retool themselves to the rapidly evolving AIDS Landscape. Communities will always remain central to our ability to end AIDS. But most of  organizations have focused rtise on behavioral interventions only.  FEW have meaningful scientific expertise and fewer still actually deliver healthcare services.edical tools rapidly becoming a critical part of our (HIV) AIDS response and with the Affordabler Care Act poised to dramatically alter the terrain for health and social services, many ASOs/CBOs risk becoming wholly irrelevant."  IMHO, the two cited above already have...