Our mission is to educate, support, empower and advocate for Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities—particularly A&PIs living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS.
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Remember, any first-time sponsorship or ticket purchase for Bloom of $100 or more, or increase over your past sponsorship of $100 or more, will be matched dollar for dollar. For more information visit www.apiwellness.org or contact Sara Kunitake, Development & Events Coordinator at sara@apiwellness.org or 415-292-3420 x373.
PRESS CONFERENCE: National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
May 19 is the 6th Annual National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day as well as World Hepatitis Day. For Asians and Pacific Islanders, both HIV and Hep B are of growing concern, despite the prevailing myths and misconceptions.
In San Francisco, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center’s Banyan Tree Project is hosting a press conference to raise awareness about the impact of HIV and Hep B on A&PI communities. Join us to learn the facts and find out what you can do to stop stigma in your community! Joining us for the press conference are:
- Ongina from RuPaul’s Drag Race: Ongina is an outspoken community leader living with HIV.
- Dr. Tri Do: Dr. Do is an epidemiologist and researcher at University of California San Francisco. Dr. Do’s has expertise in HIV data in the A&PI community.
- Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, Speaker pro Tempore: Assemblywoman Ma represents California’s 12th Assembly District and is a leading voice in the A&PI community on Hepatitis B
WHEN: Wednesday, May 19th at 10 am
WHERE: 730 Polk Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco
CONTACT: David Stupplebeen, 415-292-3420 ext.361 or email das@apiwellness.org
BANYAN TREE PROJECT LAUNCHES NEW PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
The Banyan Tree Project, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center’s national anti-stigma partnership, has wrapped production on its social marketing materials! Check out our new public service announcement, poster and fact sheets. This year’s campaign slogan is “Saving face can’t make you safe. Talk about HIV.”
“Saving face’ is a common cultural concept shared by many A&PI communities, where individuals attempt to protect their families from external shame and disgrace. In practice, “saving face” contributes to silence about sex, HIV, and safe sex practices. Saving face and stigma also contribute to increasing HIV rates and a lack of knowledge of one’s HIV status:
- 1 in 3 A&PIs living with HIV don’t know it
- Over half of Pacific Islanders have never been tested for HIV
- Over two-thirds of Asians have never been tested for HIV
There are many events happening nationwide to raise awareness about HIV in the A&PI community. Check out our Events Page on the Banyan Tree Project website for an event in your area to commemorate National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
STATE OF ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICA HOUSE PARTY
On Sunday, May 2, staff from A&PI Wellness Center held a gathering to listen in on the State of Asian Pacific America House Party conference call. On the line were Kalpen Modi, Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement; Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Congressman Mike Honda, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair and Representative from the 15th District of California; and, Judy Chu, Representative from the 32nd District of California. We heard about the state of legislation as it pertains to A&PIs nationally, including health reform and immigration, and also announced a week of blog posts with Asian Pacific Americans for Progress blog to commemorate National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Visit APAP’s web site for more information on house parties across the nation.
ASIAN AMERICAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER CONSULTATION AT THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Last week, A&PI Wellness Center and Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) coordinated an historic meeting with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. This meeting marked the very first CDC Community Consultation focused on emerging the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities. A&PI Wellness Center and APIAHF led over 35 organizations, community leaders, health department representatives and researchers during the two-day meeting on April 29th and 30th, 2010 in Atlanta, GA.
We are extremely pleased with the CDC's response to developing a deeper understanding of HIV/AIDS issues in AA and NHPI communities. They are committed to developing an epidemiological profile across HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis to draw a clearer picture of current health and funding disparities. This alone is a huge win for our communities, as data drives resources for research and programs, a key focus of ongoing collaboration with the CDC. In the Pacific Island Jurisdictions, the CDC has committed to assess the current funding structure for health departments and Ministries of Health across HIV, STDs, TB and viral hepatitis.
These commitments are truly historic and after almost 30 years into the epidemic, AA and NHPIs are finally receiving the attention that we deserve! Look for more ground breaking updates on our website in the near future.
A&PI WELLNESS CENTER RECEIVES COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD
A&PI Wellness Center was honored on May 3 with the Community Impact Award at the Asian Pacific American Heritage Awards at Herbst Theater in San Francisco. The purpose of the award is to honor an organization that has achieved distinct impact in its contribution to the APA community in San Francisco. Other awardees included Dr. Edward Chow for Lifetime Achievement and Thomas Li for Emerging Leadership. To find out more about the awards, please visit the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month website.
THE CANDY SHOP: A&PI WELLNESS CENTER'S MOBILE TESTING UNIT
The Candy Shop is open! A&PI Wellness Center’s new mobile testing project, The Candy Shop, offers free HIV testing to Black and/or Latino/a transgender youth at various sites in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties. Services are available in Spanish and English and Black and Latino/a transgender youth receive a $20 stipend for participating. Not Black, Latino/a, or Trans? Don’t worry—you won’t be turned away!
We test at bars, community organizations, clubs and even your own home. That’s right—we do home visits! In addition to our mobile test sites, we can be found every second Friday of the month at EL/LA at (2940 16th Street) from 6 – 9pm and every 4th Thursday at Instituto Familiar de la Raza (2919 Mission Street) from 2 – 5pm. Testing is also always available at A&PI Wellness Center (730 Polk Street) every Wednesday from 1 – 7pm and Friday from 12 – 5pm.
Contact Ilanito at 415-292-3420 x339 or email Ilanito@apiwellness.org for more information.
730 Polk Street, Fourth Floor, San Francisco, CA 94109 USA | (415) 292-3400 | www.apiwellness.org