MAP Advocate
AIDS Advocacy Update
Vol. 7, No. 14
October 23, 2001
In this issue:
Take Action! Lunch Out Loud!
House Passes Moderate HIV Funding Increases; Senate
Action Pending
Sexual Health Advocates Defeat Abstinence-Only Amendment
Plans for World AIDS Day? Let's do Lunch Out Loud!
Are you living with HIV? Do you have a story to tell about how HIV has impacted your life? Join us for Lunch Out Loud on November 30. In addition to the Twin Cities, Lunch Out Loud will be held in over a dozen communities across MN.
Call MAP community affairs at 612-373-9162 or toll-free at 1-800-243-7321 or email at mappub@mnaidsproject.org to get involved in a Lunch Out Loud near you. You have to eat lunch that day anyway, so why not "Lunch Out Loud?"
Communities preparing to host Lunch Out Loud are Willmar, St. Cloud,
Brainerd, Alexandria, Cambridge, Fairmont, Mankato, Crookston, Moorhead,
Detroit Lakes, Bemidji/Park Rapids, Duluth, Grand Rapids, Winona, Rochester,
Albert Lea, Northfield/Faribault
HIV programs received modest increases from Congress in the House version of the Labor, Health and Human Services bill passed on October 11. This bill contains funding for the Ryan White CARE Act, HIV prevention and AIDS research programs. Advocates were relieved that their fears that HIV programs would receive no funding increase did not materialize, but remain concerned because the small increases are not enough to respond to growing needs. Advocates are hoping the Senate will act to close the gap between funding and need. Ask Senators Wellstone and Dayton to do their part to ensure the highest possible level of funding for HIV programs. Contact the Capitol switchboard at 1-800-648-3516 and ask to be transferred to their offices.
An amendment from Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK) that would have increased funding of abstinence-only until marriage education programs by $33 million, on top of the $20 million increase already in the federal budget was soundly defeated. A broad coalition of lawmakers voted against the amendment, including some who normally would have supported these programs, citing that this item was in conflict with other fiscal demands on the budget. Research shows that a comprehensive sexual health education message including information on both abstinence and contraception is most effective in postponing sexual activity among young people. There is no solid research supporting the abstinence-only until marriage approach.
Lunch Out Loud is a World AIDS Day event that brings people living with HIV together in conversation with state lawmakers. With no agenda on the table, it's an opportunity for an open and free-flowing conversation about today's realities of living with HIV. The event has been held at the State Capitol for the past two years, but this year is going statewide, with approximately 15 communities hosting their own lunch. Advocates, care providers, people living with HIV and their families across the state will be inviting legislators to their local Lunch Out Loud to dispel the notion that HIV is a "big city" problem. In the Twin Cities area, lawmakers venture away from the Capitol and come to MAP's offices in Minneapolis for this, the third annual World AIDS Day Lunch Out Loud.
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Last Updated:
Friday, March 30, 2007
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