Each week the AIDS Walk Boston Blog will profile one of our programs at AIDS Action Committee. The money raised by the Walk is crucial for supporting these vital programs. 

This week we spoke with Deb Fournier, Associate Director of Public Policy:

Since its founding, the Public Policy and Legal Affairs Program at AIDS Action Committee has provided counseling and referrals to people living with HIV. Shortly after its start, it became clear that there were many problems best solved through litigation. To meet the clients’ needs, AAC now offers direct legal representation to clients. “Our goal is to help clients maintain a stable life that promotes safety and wellness,” says Deb. 

Last year, Legal Affairs worked directly with 131 clients. “Most of our cases involved housing,” an issue which has intensified because of the recent mortgage crisis. “Many clients are tenants whose landlord has been forced to foreclose. As a result they are facing eviction and these clients need to know their rights.” Other clients are, themselves, facing foreclosure and AAC’s Legal Affairs staff, along with a 25 member task force of pro-bono lawyers, can help these clients deal with their lenders.

Other issues that legal assistance address range from delays in social security or disability benefits, drawing of wills for clients in poor health, and even discrimination in the workplace or other settings, like a dentist’s office, where the client has revealed his or her status. “We can assist in discrimination issues by contacting the offender and reminding them of their legal and moral obligations. Our clients deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity.” 

The program also focuses on public policy in Massachusetts. “Out goal is to ensure that HIV-positive individuals are afforded effective and fair policy that is scientifically, not ideologically, based.” The AAC Public Policy staff carefully monitors proposals made in the State House such as healthcare reform in Massachusetts. “Recent proposals that would redefine basic insurance as not including prescription coverage would be detrimental to most individuals infected with HIV/AIDS and could lead to more frequent hospital stays for clients who are not able to afford medication. This could actually cost the government more money in the long-run,” notes Deb.  In the past year AAC staff members have submitted oral and/or written testimony on 15 bills before the MA legislature.

Funds raised through AIDS Walk Boston support programs like Public Policy and Legal Affairs, please register or donate today to help us continue these vital services.

The Extra Mile Club (EMC) was formed to thank those AIDS Walk Boston participants who have truly ”gone the extra mile” to support AIDS Action by individually raising $1,000 or more for the Walk. Last year, 204 EMC’s raised an incredible $383,000!

In honor of AIDS Action Committee’s 25th anniversary, we have set an ambituous goal of 250 Extra Mile Club members this year. We hope to make 2008 the biggest and best year yet for the Extra Mile Club, and we can’t reach this goal without your help!

So what do EMC’s get? Well, Extra Mile Club participants are entitled to plenty of incentives to thank them for all of their hard work and dedication. All EMC’s are invited to the VIP Breakfast on the morning of the Walk. They will also be given an embroidered “Extra Mile Club” hooded rain jacket, along with an AIDS Walk Boston t-shirt and tote bag, and will receive dedicated phone and email support throughout Walk season. And of course, they enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that they are among the Walk’s top fundraisers.

To date, there are already 23 EMC’s this year, who you can see here. Help us reach our goal of 250 EMC members by joining them!

You will automatically become an EMC when you individually raise $1,000 for the Walk. Need help fundraising? AIDS Walk Boston staff and the EMC Coordinator, Erica Sebastian, are here to support you every step of the way. For tips, help with your fundraising letter, ideas to customize your personal page, or for any kind of support to help you reach your goals, contact Erica at 617-450-1538 or esebastian@aac.org.

PS. You can recognize EMC’s by the rainbow crowns they will be wearing on Walk day. If you see one, be sure to thank them for going the “extra mile!”

Today, Kristen Lascoe is a Housing Advocate in Client Services at AIDS Action Committee, and the co-captain of Larry’s Team, AAC’s Walk Team, but her interest in making a difference the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS began many years ago.

When Kristen was a college freshman at Brandeis University, she was invited to attend a conference organized by the Student Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC), a national, Washington DC based organization working on college campuses throughout the country. During just one short weekend, her knowledge of issues surrounding the global HIV/AIDS epidemic sky-rocketed, and she couldn’t help but get involved. Kristen went on to become a chapter leader of SGAC, working to increase the level of discussion and understanding of HIV/AIDS on her campus, while also assisting on other projects such as fundraising to support AIDS orphans in Kenya, and successfully lobbying for HIV testing at her campus health center.

Eager to continue supporting those infected and affected by HIV after college, she began volunteering in the Meals Program at the Boston Living Center. Years later, you can still find Kristen there at brunch almost every Saturday, doing her part to help out in any way she can.

It is no wonder that her compassion for and interest in AIDS-related issues brought her to AIDS Action Committee. Beginning as an intern in the HIV Health Library, she was so drawn to the sense of acceptance that she experienced at AAC that she continued to volunteer after her internship ended, and went on to become a Housing Advocate in 2007.

Kristen has been a Walk team captain for 4 years, and this year she has taken on a new challenge, as co-captain of Larry’s Team. She is so inspired by the work that AIDS Action Committee does that she continues to rally friends, family, co-workers, SGAC members, and any other acquaintances she can find to participate in this cause that is so close to her heart. And her enthusiasm is contagious!

“Now, more than ever,” Kristen explains, “I am directly connected to those who benefit from the services of AIDS Action. Because I know them, I am honored to help lead an effort to support them through Larry’s Team.”

To visit Larry’s Team’s website, click here.

Everyday, AIDS Action Committee takes steps to provide vital prevention, advocacy and client services in our community. Twenty-Five days from today, on Sunday June 1st, we hope that you will join us and over 12,000 participants to take steps to raise funds and awareness and work towards ending HIV/AIDS.

You have 25 days before the Walk; sign up TODAY to ensure that you are able to take advantage of our valuable fundraising resources. Visit www.aidswalkboston.org and register to Walk, Run or Volunteer. After registering, you will receive a personal webpage, user-friendly, online participant center, and packet with pledge sheets, buttons and magnets to help you in your fundraising efforts. We are looking forward to seeing you in 25 days, on June 1st, as we don our walking shoes and join together to support AIDS Action Committee’s 25 years providing vital programs and services to the community.

We are thrilled to have Whole Foods Market return for the fourth year as our Wellness Festival Sponsor. Be sure to visit their tent at the Wellness Festival after the Walk and sample some tasty treats from over 15 of their vendors.

Whole Foods has shown its support for the Walk through sponsorship and also through the fundraising and participation of employees. This year, fifteen Whole Foods Stores in the Greater Boston area are supporting AIDS Action Committee through their coupon program. Throughout the month of May, you can make a donation to AIDS Walk Boston and AIDS Action Committee when you check out.  All of the registers will carry coupons to add a $2 or $5 donation to your total and 100% of the funds received go to the Walk.

Next time you visit your local Whole Foods store; please consider adding a coupon at the checkout!

Each week the AIDS Walk Boston Blog will profile one of our programs at AIDS Action Committee. The money raised by the Walk is crucial for supporting these vital programs. 

This week we spoke with Mark Forry, Program Manager at The MALE Center:

Three years ago, the MALE Center was born out of community dialogues lead by members of the AIDS Action Committee Board of Directors. During those conversations, the most resonant need identified was a place for men to gather that felt safe and particularly their own. 

In June of 2005, The MALE Center opened its doors at 571 Columbus Ave. Since opening, The MALE Center has evolved into a diverse mix of programming aimed at the many causal factors involved with HIV and STD transmission.  A staff of six and an army of twenty-six volunteers address these factors through several programs: free rapid HIV testing and counseling services, HIV prevention specialists, and sex life coaching.

The central program at the MALE Center is called Community PROMISE. Staff or volunteers head out to the bars and clubs to distribute safer sex kits and information to help countless men access HIV counseling and testing services offered at the Center.

Resist Meth, our Crystal Methamphetamine prevention program, is an innovative collaboration between AIDS Action, Latino Health Institute and Fenway Community Health. Through this program men are trained to be peer educators called New Champions. The New Champions go out into their social networks to disseminate information about around reducing substance use and abuse and offer support to their peers.

In addition to our commitment to reducing the number of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men, The MALE Center is dedicated to strengthening the ties that bind Gay and Bisexual men.  Social programs are offered as a space for men to connect; feeling part of the larger community is just one more way men can learn to advocate for their own health needs. Examples of these programs are the Gay and Bi Men’s monthly reading group as well as GAyME night, a monthly game night for guys. The biggest event, called Bridging the Gap is a social night held one Friday a month where men gather for drinks and light fare served in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere; a place for men to meet up aside from crowded and noisy bars.

Funds raised through AIDS Walk Boston support programs like The MALE Center, please register or donate today to help us continue these vital services.

Jonathan McIntyre has been walking since the very first Walk in 1986, which took place only 4 weeks after his big brother, Jimmy “Mack” McIntyre, lost his battle with AIDS. Over the years, Jon has participated with his mother, with his friends, or even on his own, and has run in the Larry Kessler 5K Run each year since it began in 2001. He has missed only 2 Walks in 23 years.

When Jimmy was first diagnosed with HIV, he began to volunteer as a spokesperson for AIDS Action Committee and became very involved in the cause. So, after his death, the AIDS Walk came at just the right time for Jon and his mother, Paula, to honor Jimmy and deal with their sadness by making a difference.

“If not for the Walk, I wouldn’t have had an outlet for the energy coming from the frustration at not having been able to prevent my brother’s death,” he says. “That frustration could have eaten me up, but the Walk gave me a way to express and channel all that energy toward something positive.”

For Jon, Walk day is a time to honor and remember those we have lost, and to connect with others for a common cause.  “[The Walk] creates a feeling of family with all the diverse people around you… On that day, you are united in a single purpose, like a single family.”

What inspires you to Walk?