Commemorate World AIDS Day 2011. A Message of Hope!

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!


This Today is World AIDS Day 2011 

After 30 Years, The End Remains Elusive

June 2011 marked the 30th anniversary of the first clinical description of AIDS, a report that uncovered what would become one of history’s worst pandemics.
And now, 30 years later, the theme of World AIDS Day 2011 is “Getting to Zero”: zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.
“Heading into the fourth decade of AIDS, we are finally in a position to end the epidemic. The progress we have made so far is proof that we can realize our vision [of getting to zero],” said UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon in a press release for World AIDS Day.

Earlier this year, the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS created goals to reach by 2015: a 50% reduction in the sexual transmission of HIV, no new infections in children, antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 15 million people living with HIV, ending stigma and discrimination and closing the AIDS funding gap.
Although policymakers have echoed these optimistic sentiments, such as U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s vision for an AIDS-free generation, current data indicate that there still is much work to be done. Disparities in funding and the disproportionate impact of HIV among certain demographics and regions continue to plague those involved in the fight.

An estimated 2.7 million new infections occurred in 2010, which represented a 21% decrease in the incidence of HIV since 1997. However, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that 1 in 5 people infected with HIV in the United States (approximately 240,000) are unaware that they have the virus.

The results of recent preexposure prophylaxis trials for HIV have provided a measure of hope in the prevention of new infections. But incidence rates high across certain geographic settings and patient types due to the stigma and discrimination that remain prevalent.
In 2010, an estimated 34 million people were living with HIV worldwide, a 17% increase since 2001. The increase is a direct result of both improved ART agents and patients’ access to care, which have led to HIV becoming a chronic, manageable condition for many patients.

The annual cost for HIV drugs also has significantly decreased over the past few years. Recent data from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief reported that the annual cost to cover a patient’s ART was $335 in 2011 compared with $1,100 in 2004.
But with the current economic downturn in the United States, both society and its elected officials may turn their attention and funding elsewhere.
But there certainly are many reasons for the current optimism being spread in anticipation of World AIDS Day 2011. For example, a 2009 report from the CDC showed that HIV no longer was one of the 15 leading causes of mortality in the United States.
With all of the renewed hope in the battle against HIV, the key is for society to continue its altruism and vigilance toward HIV despite this progress.


A song dedicated to those who have passed and are presently living with HIV/AIDS
Janet Jackson "Together Again"

And for People of Color

To coincide with tomorrow's World AIDS Day, the Centers for Disease Control has launched a new national campaign urging gay and bisexual black men to get tested.
You may already know that gay and bisexual men are the population most affected by HIV in the U.S. Black gay and bisexual men are getting hit particularly hard by the epidemic. Studies in major cities have found that, in those cities, nearly one in three black gay and bisexual men is infected with HIV, and the majority (59%) don’t even know it because they’ve never been tested or aren’t testing enough.

Dr. Kevin Fenton is director of the National Center For HIV/AIDS and is the CDC's frontman on the new campaign. 
You can follow Dr. Fenton's important work and words on Twitter

For more information on World AIDS Day, which is observed each year on December 1st, visit http://www.worldaidscampaign.org 

TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TILL ONE DAY WE WILL SEE A WORLD THAT WILL NO LONGER HAVE HIV/AIDS!!!

Read more...

Tyler Perry's Open Letter to Penn State 11-Year-Old

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!

Tyler Perry's Open Letter to Penn State 11-Year-Old

Hollywood’s Tyler Perry writes to a young boy involved in the Penn State scandal to tell him he isn’t a victim at all—he’s a survivor. Perry himself being a victim wanted to reach out to the individual. 

Read his letter below.

From Tyler
I don’t know your name, but I know your face. I don’t know your journey, but I know where you are. I am your brother!
I must tell you, what you have done is so courageous. The strength that it must have taken for your 11-year-old voice to speak out about such a horrible act is something that I didn’t have the strength or courage to do at that age.

I was a very poor young black boy in New Orleans, just a face without a name, swimming in a sea of poverty trying to survive. Forget about living, I was just trying to exist. I was enduring a lot of the same things that you’ve come forward and said happened to you, and it was awful. I felt so powerless. I knew what was happening to me, but unlike you, I couldn’t speak about it because no one saw me. I was invisible and my voice was inaudible.
So to think that you, when you were only 11 years old, spoke up—you are my hero! I’m so proud of you. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I want you to know you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not your fault. Please know that you were chosen by a monster. You didn’t choose him. You didn’t ask for it and, most of all, you didn’t deserve it. What a huge lesson that was for me to learn. Your 11-year-old self was no match for wicked, evil tactics of this kind. You were hunted like prey. A pedophile looks for the young boys he thinks he can manipulate. The ones who have daddy or mommy issues, the ones who are broken, and the ones who are in need. But this wasn’t you.

Do you know that at the young age of 11 you had more courage than all the adults who let you down? All of the ones who didn’t go to the proper authorities, all of the ones who were worried about their careers, reputations, or livelihoods. All of the ones who didn’t want to get involved. Or even the ones who tried to convince your mother not to fight. You are stronger than them all! I wonder what they would have done if it were their own child.
I had a few of those adults in my life, too. They knew and did nothing. One of them even said to me that it was my fault, because I allowed myself to spend time with the molesters. And yes, this was someone who was in power and could have called the police, but instead this person allowed this criminal to go on molesting other young boys for many years. When I did tell a family member, I wasn’t believed. I suffered in silence. But not you, my young strong hero, you have done what many of us wish we could have done. You used your voice!
You know, now that you’re older you need to be aware that the aftermath of abuse may affect you for a very long time. But that’s OK; just know that the strength it took for you to talk about it then will help you get through it now. I often tell myself that if I made it through that experience as a child, then surely as a man I should be able to get past it. It still may take you a while, but that’s OK too. I have known people who have gone through the same things that we have, but unfortunately they were never able to admit it, and it destroyed them. They never went for help, and they let the abuse defeat them. Some of them went to prison for crimes, some are addicted to drugs, and some have even committed suicide. I know that none of these things will happen to you. You are too strong for that!

No matter what happens next, just know that the hardest part is over. I wish the coward and very sick individual who hurt you would have the courage to admit his wrong and not put you through a trial. But he will most likely profess his innocence until the bitter end. And probably, all the while, yelling at the top of his lungs about all he has done to help troubled young boys.
You may have to go through with that trial, and you may feel all alone when you’re on that witness stand, but just know that there are millions of young boys and grown men who are standing with you—including me. If every man who has ever been molested would speak up, you would see that we’re all around you. You may not know all of our faces and names, but my prayer is that you feel our strength holding you up. You will get through this; you’ve already endured the worst part at age 11. Now fight on, my young friend, fight on! We are all with you.

All of this is coming on the heels from the former Asst Coach at Penn St Jerry Sandusky who has been charged with 40 counts of criminal acts involving sexual abuse toward eight young boys between the ages of 10 and 15. Prosecutors have revealed that police were never alerted despite eyewitness accounts of the sexual abuse. Also with the new allegations of molestation from Asst basketball coach Bernie Fine of Syracuse University. This is really becoming pathetic. But good for Tyler maybe he can really inspire this young man to survive.

Read more...

Cyndi Lauper: LGBTQ Advocate helping homeless LGBT youth!

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!

She's so FABULOUSLY UNUSUAL: Cyndi Lauper on helping homeless LGBT youth: “My commitment to doing what I can is just beginning”

Cyndi Lauper is a tremendous talent who always gives 150 percent in her concerts.

 

But Cyndi is so much more than a big music star, she is a woman who gives a damn about the LGBT community and has committed herself to helping out the youth who have been made homeless by cold-hearted parents who can’t deal.

 

“As a mother, I could never imagine throwing my kid away for any reason, let alone over something like their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Lauper wrote in a Huffington Post column this week. “It would be like ripping out a piece of my very own soul. For far too long, dogma and fear have torn apart too many families. It is a time when the heart must lead the way when your child shares this personal and life-changing moment with you.”
Cyndi points out that 20-40 percent of homeless youth identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender while only 3-5 percent of the general population does the same.

 

She has this advice for parents: “If you are a parent and you have a child who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or just questioning, or whom you think might be, the most important thing you can do is let them know that you love them first and foremost. Do not let fear and long-held beliefs interfere with the most important relationship you will have in your life. Lead with your heart and with the love that you have for your child. Just a little bit of acceptance can make a huge difference, and that little bit will grow over time.”

Cyndi has joined with the West End Intergenerational Residence in New York City to open the True Colors Residence in Harlem. It is the first permanent housing facility in New York state specifically for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth ages 18 to 24. This low-income housing building will provide 30 young people with a permanent roof over their heads and supportive services as they go after the future they have been dreaming about and deserve.

 

She also started the Give a Damn Campaign last year in part to educate straight people about this issue and to help gay and transgender people use the information to spread the message.

 

Thanks Cyndi for all you do!

Read more...

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!


EFREM IS KEEPING YOU IN "THE KNOW"
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Did you know that breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, aside from skin cancer?According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), an estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed among women in the United States this year. Today, there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.

If you’re worried about developing breast cancer, or if you know someone who has been diagnosed with the disease, one way to deal with your concerns is to get as much information as possible, another way is to get tested. Breast Cancer can happen to any0ne, no matter how rich or how poor. These are some celebrities who have suffered from Breast Cancer.

Actress Ruby Dee is a 36-year breast cancer survivor. She has worked with various charities to create awareness.

Breast cancer is a tumor that grows in one or both of the breasts. Breast cancer usually develops in the ducts or lobules, also known as the milk-producing areas of the breast.

Comedian/Actress Wanda Sykes admits to having undergone a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2011.

The world’s first Black supermodel, Naomi Sims, died in 2009 after battling breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women (after lung cancer). However, African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer at any age than any other race. Breast cancer is much less common in males, the disease is about 100 times more common among women.

Are you a survivor of Breast Cancer? Do you know anyone going through Breast Cancer? October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Wear pink, support the cause. It could be you or your loved one. 


What are you doing to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

Read more...