Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center is a health services, education, research and policy organization dedicated to educating, supporting, empowering and advocating for Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities-particularly A&PIs living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS.

CLINIC NOW OPEN ON SELECTED WEDNESDAYS

We are pleased to announce that our Wellness Clinic will start serving clients every other Wednesday, starting January 11. "Each Friday we've been 75% booked, reserving the additional room for walk-ins and add-ons," says Robby Wallace, our Clinic Administrator. "By opening on Wednesdays, we will be able increase our patient service rate by 25-40%."

We opened the doors of the Wellness Clinic in March as a free primary health clinic serving the unmet needs of San Francisco's diverse communities. The Wellness Clinic has been able to increase its capacity for doing lab work and imaging, and maintaining clinicians and medical support staff through new grants, such as the Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit Grant.

The Wellness Clinic continues to offer its current menu of services, with specialization in providing care for A&PIs, LGBTs, and the under- and uninsured. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE WELLNESS CLINIC'S SERVICES or call 415.292.3400 to schedule an appointment.

A Year-End Message from Lance Toma

As 2011 comes to a close and we reflect on our year, we have lots to be proud about.  While the year was fraught with challenges, it also held many important successes.

We launched our free medical clinic in March, specializing in providing care for the Asian, Pacific Islander and LGBT communities. We expanded our TRANS:THRIVE programming through leading a partnership with other local organizations to deliver services to San Francisco's dynamic transgender communities. We fought for (and won!) the inclusion of Asians & Pacific Islanders in HIV prevention programming at the local and national levels, and we continue to work with our allies to make sure that A&PIs across the country get the services they deserve.

2012 will be an incredible milestone for us as we celebrate our 25th anniversary.  We look forward to celebrating and sharing stories with all of you over the course of the year.  The past quarter of a century holds so many stories that are important, and we will look to all of you to help us to honor our history.  For this past year, please look forward to our reading about 2011 Agency Accomplishments, and we hope to see you at some of the special events that we are planning for the coming year! We'll always make sure to let you about our events and services in our enews. Thanks so much for reading.

Kaiser Awards $20,000 to support Wellness Clinic

On Tuesday, December 6, Kaiser Permanente celebrated its partnership with A&PI Wellness Center, presenting us with an award of $20,000 to support our Wellness Clinic, a free community health clinic serving the unmet needs of the city's A&PI community.

"There is a clear need for the kind of culturally-sensitive and linguistically-accessible health services Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center provides, even with the changes to the health care system brought on by the Affordable Care Act," said Frank Sclafani, sub-chief, Behavioral Medicine, Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco Area. "Without the Wellness Clinic, many A&PIs would simply fall through the cracks."

Calvin Yan, of SF District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim's office talked about the importance of community clinics for his family. "We were among the many low-income families that utilized community clinics for all our health and medical needs," he said. "I remember when my younger sister had a 104°F fever. My mother did not once consider taking my sister to the hospital, because she didn't speak a word of English—and frankly, she thought hospitals were too complicated and expensive."

Calvin's mother had to wait until morning to take his sister to a nearby health clinic with doctors fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin. Unfortunately, the barriers experienced by Calvin's family are all too common. Navigating the complexities of the health care system can be daunting to native English speakers and virtually impossible for monolingual or limited English proficient individuals. "That's why neighborhood clinics like A&PI Wellness Center are so crucial to our community, especially to communities of color," said Calvin Yan.

PAINTING THE CASTRO RED FOR WORLD AIDS DAY

A&PI Wellness Center joined with 15 other San Francisco AIDS service organizations to mark the 30th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic on World AIDS Day, December 1. The collaboration, called 30AIDS, helped Paint the Castro Red and commemorated World AIDS Day with a candlelight vigil at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro. 30 participating Castro District businesses, restaurants, and bars adorned with red light ribbons, donated 10-15% of their day's sales to the 30AIDS. The proceeds from the day will be shared among all the participating AIDS service organizations to help the entire San Francisco community affected by HIV.

As one of the lead organizers, A&PI Wellness Center built many new relationships with restaurants, bars, and retailers in the Castro District. Many businesses are interested in helping make next year's event bigger.

As part of our Paint the Castro Red activities, Q Bar graciously donated space within the club to do HIV testing during Happy Hour. Ben Cabangun, Health Education Program Manager took the lead in running the testing. "We had an outreach team in front of the bar talking to people in the streets to come in and get tested. We also let people know that were at the bar and candlelight vigil," said Ben. "We tested 6 men who have sex with men, 2 of whom were A&PI, and 1 had never been tested for HIV."

How hard was it to do HIV testing in a bar? "It was not as challenging as we thought it was. We were there when it wasn't too crowded or loud, and the backroom is private and secluded from the rest of the bar." Ben hopes to partner with more Castro bars to provide HIV testing on-site. "I definitely think this is a great strategy. I think we should try it again but maybe during peak hours--we could double the number of people testing."

American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Asian & Pacific Islander Come Together to Protest Exclusion in HIV Prevention

During the Opening Plenary at this year's United States Conference on AIDS, attendees from American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Islander communities came together to protest their exclusion from HIV prevention planning at state and local levels nationwide.

Before Health &aamp; Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius delivered the conference's open remarks, demonstrators marched through the audience holding signs reading "Your data is the problem," "We are not invisible," and "Our lives matter, our lives are sacred".  Sharon Day of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force and Lance Toma, Executive Director of A&PI Wellness Center took to the stage to deliver remarks on behalf of the community. WATCH THE VIDEO FROM THE PROTEST or READ ABOUT THE PROTEST IN THE WINDY CITY TIMES.

After the plenary, A&PI Wellness Center together with the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum held the A&PI Institute. The Institute included a presentation on the current state of HIV prevention for A&PIs in relation to health care reform, the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the 12-Cities Enhanced Comprehensive HIV Prevention Planning (ECHPP) Project, and the CDC's "High-Impact HIV Prevention" policy document, which includes both the Test & Treat and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) models.

The question on everyone's minds was "Where do A&PIs fit in the mix?" While A&PI men who have sex with men are prioritized within the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, exclusion is already happening on the ground, as evidenced here in San Francisco this past summer. Many cities with sizable A&PI populations also have high HIV incidence but will see funding reductions as priorities shift to areas with higher overall rates of new HIV infections, forcing contract consolidation and changes to A&PI-specific services.

"As the National HIV/AIDS Strategy gets implemented at the state and local levels, it will be even more important for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities to speak up about their needs," says Ed Tepporn, HIV Program Director at APIAHF. "We need to engage with our local and state health departments during their planning efforts, especially where the 12 Cities ECHPP Project is being rolled out." WATCH THE AIDS.GOV VIDEO INTERVIEW OF ED TEPPORN AND LINA SHETH.

A&PI Wellness Center continues to work with the San Francisco Department of Public Health to make sure that A&PIs are included in HIV prevention and care at the local level in a concrete and meaningful way. We are currently working with SFDPH to develop an A&PI HIV Health Task Force to ensure that long-term solutions are found as HIV services continue to transform and as health care reform changes take place. We are also working with other A&PI-serving AIDS service organizations nationally to make sure A&PIs are included in HIV prevention in those localities. We will continue to provide updates on our advocacy and policy efforts in our monthly enews.

After I was diagnosed as HIV-positive at the San Rafael General Hospital, I was placed into care at Gift of Love with Sister John Marie. I stayed there for two years after my diagnosis, and it helped my rehabilitation after a mild stroke I suffered due to my illness. But because Gift of Love is a hospice home and for the poorest of the poor, I could not stay; I had to look for housing elsewhere.

My move from San Mateo County to San Francisco was a source of worry and stress, and I was constantly thinking about my living situation. Around this time I was referred to the A&PI Wellness Center. I was warmly greeted by the staff and immediately assigned to a social worker.

I learned a great deal working with my social worker. The Care staff are always courteous and ready to assist in every possible way to help make my life more manageable and easier. The services that are offered at A&PI Wellness Center also help with my specific needs too. I've been able to talk about my suicide attempts and other mental health issues with Dr. Tsui, Dr. Gamez and in group sessions.

I also get to see a doctor regularly and get help with my AIDS Drug Assistance Program paperwork. I also got to sign up with other agencies like Project Open Hand and other services that have helped me continue to stay in San Francisco. I was also homeless for two years in San Francisco after being on housing waiting lists and being rejected, my social worker Dennis Mallilin helped me secure a single occupancy room at the Hotel Parkview.

I have received a wealth of information and resources at A&PI Wellness Center that have helped my transition from a hopeless future to a bright one.

SAVING FACE CAN'T MAKE YOU SAFE. TALK ABOUT HIV—FOR ME, FOR YOU, FOR EVERYONE.

In April, the Banyan Tree Project unveiled the 2011 public service announcement commercial, the first of its kind to focus on HIV and STD prevention for young Asian and Pacific Islander women. A&PI women are often overlooked in HIV prevention messaging, despite the fact that their rate of increase in new HIV infections are higher than women of other races and ethnicities.

In 2009, we produced a short film describing who we are and what we do, from the perspective of our clients and community members. We are honored that a few very special people agreed to be in the film, speaking on our behalf. Thank you: Cecilia, Adam, Mark, Wylie, and Tri. A big thanks goes out to Paul Wood and David Valentin from Monolithworks Corpcomm, who directed the video. Let us know what you think!