The Impact of the State Budget Cuts on Communities of Color
August 4, 2009

We’ve been talking a lot about the grim economy and the ways Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center is working to protect the health and wellness of our communities—both Asians and Pacific Islanders as well as all people of color. In the current climate, we’re working hard to remain vital, relevant and connected. With reduced funding, we’ve had to think of creative ways to maintain our services and programs while expanding our voice and influence. We’ve made difficult decisions and reduced our staffing. We’re working within the larger economic framework in hopes of minimizing the impact on our communities.

But there’s a time for creative problem-solving and a time to take a stand. Right now we must, as a people, come together to protest the severe “slash and burn’ cuts to the California budget imposed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. After months of bipartisan negotiations, legislative leaders finally proposed a budget plan to address California’s deficit. Gov. Schwarzenegger wasted no time cutting it to pieces, line by line, using his veto power to impose almost $500 million in additional cuts.

These drastic cuts affect our health and human services infrastructure and will have a devastating impact on the lives of children, the elderly and the most vulnerable Californians. Even worse, the resulting outcome is not short-term, but will adversely alter the future of our communities, a future we hope to safeguard.

Former client and board member Cecilia Chung speaks out against HIV funding reductions in a rally at the State Capitol in Sacramento. Photo: Robert Raney

Included in Schwarzenegger’s cuts was an additional $52 million (beyond the $30 million already proposed) to HIV/AIDS funding. Combined with significant reductions to Medi-Cal, these cuts will cripple A&PI Wellness Center’s ability to prevent new HIV infections and provide adequate HIV care services.

On a larger scale, the quality of HIV prevention and treatment services will be compromised across the state as provider trainings are eliminated. Without effective training and information, communities of colors and people in rural regions cannot be assured access to culturally competent services. The Governor is single-handedly unraveling California’s health care safety net.

A&PI Wellness Center staff and clients protest the budget cuts in Sacramento. Photo: Robert Raney

The HIV-related budget cuts are particularly problematic for communities of color, especially Asians and Pacific Islanders (San Francisco’s largest minority community). HIV stigma in A&PI communities—in addition to the lack of culturally and linguistically competent HIV testing and treatment services—lead to dire predictions.

Currently, 1 in 5 people who are living with HIV do not realize they are HIV-positive. Over half of Pacific Islanders and two-thirds of Asians have never been tested for HIV. Limiting access to quality services will only increase these numbers.

Our transgender sisters and brothers—so often ignored and marginalized—will also bear the burden of these cuts. Current estimates indicate that, nationally, as many as 27% of transwomen are HIV-positive. In San Francisco, that number is as high as 48%.

As Californians, we pride ourselves on our values. At the national level, we are seen as leaders, providing a strong safety net of culturally competent health services to our most vulnerable populations. These cuts destroy our health care infrastructure—a system that has taken decades to build—in a single, callous stroke.

We are shocked at the Governor’s choices and call on the legislature to do everything to restore the Office of AIDS funding. Please join us on Wednesday, August 5 on the steps of the California State Building to make our voices heard. We must restore this funding. We must protect our communities.

Peace and Joy,

Lance Toma, LCSW
Executive Director