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Get Tested at Pride!
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It's Better to Know!
AIDGwinnett is offering Rapid HIV testing at the Atlanta Pride Event at the Atlanta Civic Center on Saturday July 5th and Sunday July 6th from 11 am to 4 pm. Look for us inside in the Market Place, Booths 49 & 50. No needles are used, the OraQuick rapid testing device pad is rubbed against the persons gums and gives results in just 20 minutes.
For people who are positive knowing is extremely important because they can greatly benefit from HIV care and treatment, remaining much healthier and living much longer.
Youth, African-American gay and bisexual men of all ages and persons over 50 can be tested for free. Others will be asked to pay $15.00. Donations are gladly accepted.
For a map to the Atlanta Pride Festival, please click here.
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| Volunteer with HIV Testing at the 2008 Atlanta Pride Festival! | | Recent statistics on HIV/AIDS in Georgia are sobering. For too long, the epidemic of HIV has been devastating communities throughout the entire metro Atlanta region and,
tragically, the trend of new infections is not slowing down. For this reason, AIDGwinnett will serve more than 400 people with HIV awareness, rapid testing, counseling and support services at the 2008 Atlanta Pride Festival.  Can you please help? With HIV awareness at the annual gay pride festival, we make a real difference . Since 2006, our gay pride outreach program has helped dozens of young adults learn their HIV-positive status (and linked them to medical care) in the convenience and
comfort of the Atlanta Pride Festival (July 4-6) and also the Atlanta Black Pride festival (August 27-September 1). Volunteers just like you are the cornerstone of this outreach program. At the Atlanta Pride Festival, you can... - Feel proud knowing that you are making a tangible difference and saving lives.
- Learn about proven public health strategies for encouraging risk reduction.
- Be part of a professional, spirited team of trained
volunteers. - Help erase myths by spreading facts -- not fear
- ...and best of all, you can meet great new friends and have FUN at the same time!
To become a volunteer, please call AIDGwinnett at 678-990-6421 or send an email to volunteer@aidgwinnett.org PS: Even if you are not able to volunteer with AIDGwinnett at the Atlanta Pride Festival, please consider helping in other ways. You can help volunteer with us at
community health fairs throughout the year and also help us distribute safer sex kits at gay clubs and other bars. Call today for complete details! | |
| | Hats Off to Sean Crigger: Volunteer Extraordinaire! |  We are delighted to announce that the AIDGwinnett Volunteer of the Monthfor May 2008 is Sean Crigger. Sean is a dedicated member of the AIDGwinnett team of Client Navigators which is comprised of twelve trained volunteers. As a Client Navigator, Sean helps ensure continuous communication between clients living with HIV and AIDGwinnett staff members. Sean conducts periodic telephone calls
to remind clients of their upcoming appointments and also conducts follow-up calls to check the status of outpatient referrals to outside medical care providers. A Client Navigator can also help deliver a message from a client directly to a social worker at AIDGwinnett. "I can help clients get counseling services if they need it," Sean explained. "Recently, one of my clients was feeling very depressed so we helped him get mental health
therapy and he is now much more upbeat." "I love volunteering at AIDGwinnett," Sean explained. "It's a fun place to help make a difference, and you can really see that your help is needed."
| | Georgia HIV Community Planning Group Meeting on May 12 | |  Members of the general public will have an opportunity to give input on the development of Georgia's official plan for HIV prevention. The Georgia Community Planning Group (GCPG)
for HIV Prevention will discuss and continue developing Georgia's current HIV prevention plan (and strategies for funding organizations to implement this plan) on Monday, May 12
at 9:00 AM. The meeting will be held at the Doubletree Hotel, 2651 Perimeter Parkway in Augusta, Georgia. The Georgia HIV Community Planning Group is a collaborative body of diverse individuals and representatives of state, local or territorial health departments charged with planning
strategies for preventing the spread of HIV in Georgia's urban and rural areas. In order to receive CDC funding for HIV prevention, every state health department is required to implement a community-based, participatory process of planning which is known as
"HIV Prevention Community Planning." According to the CDC web site, HIV prevention community planning is "a collaborative process by which [state] health departments work in
partnership with the community to implement a CPG(s) to develop a comprehensive HIV prevention plan that best represents the needs of populations infected with or at risk for
HIV."  From 2000 to 2007 Georgia received CDC grant awards for HIV prevention totaling more than $58 million according to the online TAGGS database of the US Department of Health and
Human Services. The average annual grant award from the CDC has been approximately $7.5 million. By participating in the Georgia HIV/AIDS Community Planning Group,
volunteers like yourself can help to ensure accountability, transparency, efficiency and good stewardship of CDC funding which is invested for HIV prevention in our state. For more information on the community planning process for HIV prevention, contact Stephon Collins, Community Planning Coordinator, Georgia Department of Human Resources at 404-
657-3100. Additional resources: | | HIV Vaccine Awareness Day: May 14, 2008 | |  | | Save the Date: Womens Summit June 6, 2008 | |  | | FREE Training on HIV Care Issues, New HIV Drugs | | The National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project (NATAP) is offering a free training titled "Update on HIV Care Issues, New HIV Drugs & Hepatitis C Treatment" on Friday June
13th, 2008 from 10AM to 1:30PM at the Loudermilk Center in downtown Atlanta. This training will include 40 Courtland St. Atlanta GA 30303. Free Breakfast, Raffle & Contact Hours for Nurses & Addiction Professionals. Breakfast and Registration begin promptly at 8:30AM
Topics to be covered include: -
 Epidemiology -
What is Hepatitis C (HCV) and its impact? -
Transmission routes of HCV & prevention -
Stages of HCV progression -
Special co-infection treatment issues -
How does HIV & HCV therapy affect the liver? -
When to begin HCV therapy? - Update on New HCV Drugs
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New HIV Drugs: CCR5, Antagonist Maraviroc, integrase inhibitor, Raltegravir, NNRTI, TMC125, protease inhibitor, Darunavir -
What are Metabolics & Lipodystrophy? -
Treatment strategies for HIV infection -
What medications to begin therapy? -
Diabetes, hypertension and bone disease -
What is treatment failure & what to do next? -
Treatment side effects & management Email us and register now: register@natap.org Seating for this event is limited. To reserve your seat call 1-888-266-2827 or register@natap.org This event is sponsored by AIDGwinnett, Atlanta Alliance, Alliance Recovery Center, Georgia AIDS Coalition, Georgia Department of Human Resources, Grady Health System & Our Common
Welfare. | | Donate Your Stimulus Check to AIDGwinnett | |  This week, it's time for Uncle Sam's spending spree to begin. The first round of economic stimulus money will hit mailboxes or bank accounts this week. Will you receive an Economic Stimulus Payment from the federal government this year? After you have filed your 2007 federal tax return or returned the necessary documents for retirees or those on disability, you will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment if you
qualify. Depending on your income level, individuals could receive between $300 and $600, while married couples could receive between $600 and $1200. Your friends at AIDGwinnett are asking that you donate a portion of your Economic Stimulus Payment to help support our HIV prevention efforts. Your donation and support will
help to save lives in our community. Our need for support never diminishes due to the ongoing increase in HIV infections in our area. We all make up a warm caring community concerned about the quality of life; Please help us to care for all of the people in it
Sincerely,
Larry M. Lehman
Executive Director
AIDGwinnett You can mail your donation to AIDGwinnett, 3075 Breckinridge Blvd. Ste 415, Duluth, GA 30096 or visit aidgwinnett.org to donate online and to learn more about our
programs and volunteer opportunities. | |  |
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