#lgbtq-health

#lgbtq-health

Black people account for almost 40% of people living with HIV in the U.S., despite only representing 12% of the population. To address this disparity, Emil Wilbekin - the founder of Native Son, a platform created to inspire and empower Black gay men - assembled a panel of Black HIV activists and health experts during the last World AIDS Day to discuss how the medical, media, and queer communities can engage the topic of HIV among Black people with greater effectiveness.

By the mid-1980s, the AIDS epidemic had completely gripped the nation. Its victims, primarily queer men, were dying by the thousands. Fear and misinformation reigned supreme, and our government refused to respond to the crisis. Reverend Charles Angel, a community leader and activist who was living with HIV himself, recognized that queer men of color faced additional disparities due to cultural norms and societal inequities.

According to the 2018 AARP Loneliness and Social Connections Survey study, LGBTQ+ males are at an increased risk for chronic loneliness and commonly usetechnology to socialize with friends. Those participants said they spent too much time alone and engaged in more risky or unhealthy behaviors when lonely. Heterosexuals more often socialize with friends in person. Why is this a difference?

Queer spaces have long been tied to nightlife culture, born from necessity in bars and clubs where safety and community were first found. But what started as a sanctuary has, for some, become a source of harm. As rates of addiction, relapse, and overdose climb across the LGBTQ+ population, we must reckon with an uncomfortable truth: celebration shouldn't come at the cost of our lives.

"We are honored to share the name and event details of Cycle to Zero with our community, so many who have been supporters of SFAF, long-time participants of AIDS/LifeCycle, and champions for our HIV and LGBTQ communities," said Tyler TerMeer, Ph.D., CEO of SFAF. "As our systems of public health care and funding for HIV and LGBTQ+ services continue to come under attack, now is the time for our communities to come together to protect and prioritize the health care and services we need."

Harm reduction is a proven public health intervention that acknowledges that incremental steps toward healthy decision-making can save lives and prevent the spread of disease.

Hospitals worried that their federal funding for Medicaid and Medicare may be jeopardized are rapidly withdrawing support from this small, vulnerable group of young people.