A&PI Wellness Center host HIV activists from Japan!

SAN FRANCISCO - November 16, 2004 — A&PI Wellness Center hosted visitors from OCCUR, a gay and lesbian organization working on queer rights issues and HIV prevention among gay men and non-gay identified men. Our three day exchange was illuminating and humbling for us at A&PI Wellness Center.

We learned that the Japanese government is forward thinking in allowing racy, sexy and sex positivite images in HIV prevention education materials. We learned the struggle of trying to fund gay and lesbian support services in Japan is similar to ours in the A&PI queer community. We learned that working as activists in our communities means fighting for human rights. We shared our personal stories, we shared our stories of how we supported major transitions in our respective agencies to sustain our work and we shared how we could partner in our work on gay and lesbiain issues and HIV/AIDS issues across the Pacific in the future. For more information, contact Lina Sheth, Director of Research & Technical Assistance at 415.292.3420 x320 or lina@apiwellness.org.

---