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Bay Area observes TDOR
Honeymoon in Hawaii
ARTS
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Holiday theatre
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Vol. 43 • No.48 • November 28-December 4, 2013
Focus turns Bay Area set to mark World AIDS Day to aging with AIDS by Matthew S. Bajko
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s the global AIDS epidemic continues to age, greater focus is being paid to older adults living with HIV. AIDS advocates are calling on service providers and health departments to tailor HIV prevention services, including HIV testing, to meat the needs of people aged 50 and above. And new guidelines for doctors with patients who have HIV are being released that highlight the need to focus on preventive care. The issue of an aging HIV and AIDS population has been a growing focus for local health officials for several years now, with new programs being developed to address the specific needs older adults are confronting due to the AIDS epidemic. A 2011 Bay Area Reporter story noted that for the first time people 50 years of age or older accounted for the majority of people living with an AIDS diagnosis in San Francisco. The 2012 HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Report released by the Department of Public Health demonstrated the aging of persons living with HIV, with decreasing proportions in the 30-39 and 40-49 years age groups accompanied by persons aged 50 years or above rising from 42 to 51 percent between 2009 and 2012. The number of people living with HIV in the city age 50 or older last year was 8,063. The second highest age bracket was among 40-49 year olds, who accounted for 5,150 people living with HIV. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 31 percent of people living with HIV nationwide are over the age of 50. As of 2010, the most recent year for federal data due to delays in reporting, an estimated 872,990 persons in the U.S. were living with a diagnosed HIV infection, according to the CDC. By 2015, the federal agency predicts that more than 50 percent of people living with HIV will be over the age of 50. “That is a pretty daunting statistic in terms of the rise in folks with an increased prevalence for HIV disease because of longevity,” said University of Washington at Tacoma professor of social work Charles A. Emlet. “But guess what? Older people have sex and are at risk for HIV regardless of sexual orientation.” During the Gerontological Society of America’s annual scientific meeting held last week in New Orleans Emlet presented a paper titled “The Impact of HIV on the Lives of LGBT Older Adults.” The paper is based on data from the Caring and Aging with Pride project, a national study of more than 2,500 LGBT older adults that issued a groundbreaking report in 2011. The paper’s co-authors were Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Washington and director of the Institute for Multigenerational Health, and Hyun-Jun Kim, a research scientist and director of Caring and Aging with Pride at the University of Washington School of Social Work. Fredriksen-Goldsen oversaw the national LGBT study and was hired to conduct a similar study this year for the San Francisco LGBT Aging Policy Task Force. The researchers reviewed the survey responses and estimated that 9 percent of the 2,560 LGBT older adults were living with HIV or AIDS. They found that the average age was 66 with 58 percent gay men. About half were living at or below 200 percent of the See page 13 >>
World AIDS Day activities on December 1, 2002 attracted two men to the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park. This year’s observances take place Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1. Rick Gerharter
by Seth Hemmelgarn
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vents are planned around the Bay Area this weekend to mark the 25th annual World AIDS Day, which commemorates the lives lost and the work that remains in the battle against HIV and AIDS. Globally, there are 33.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS, while more than 25 mil-
lion have died of the disease since the first cases were reported in 1981 in San Francisco and other cities, according to aids.gov. “I think more than ever as we look back to the past it informs the way we have to look at the future,” said John Cunningham, executive director of the National AIDS Memorial Grove. “... We’ve had great advances, but we’re still losing far too many people.” He added, “I
look to the future with hope.” The AIDS grove will hold its annual Light in the Grove fundraising gala from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, November 30. The grove is located in the eastern end of Golden Gate Park at the intersection of Bowling Green and Middle Drive East, across from the tennis courts. Tim Hanlon, president of the Wells Fargo Foundation, will receive the 2013 Lifetime of Commitment Award during the Light in the Grove event, which brings together more than 500 volunteers, supporters, and others. According to event organizers, Hanlon has helped lead Wells Fargo to provide more than $17.8 million to AIDS-related causes around the country during the last decade, with more than $575,000 donated to the grove. The banking company and its employees have also contributed more than 5,000 volunteer hours to support the grove. In a statement that the National AIDS Memorial Grove provided, John Stumpf, chairman, president and CEO of Wells Fargo and Company, said Hanlon “has been a driving force advocating for HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness programs, helping Wells Fargo and other corporations dedicate critical resources to raise awareness and help individuals, families and communities impacted by the disease across the country.” Hanlon said in an email that he’s “incredSee page 25 >>
Queer youth hack for social good
by David-Elijah Nahmod
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he San Francisco LGBT Community Center’s website could soon be more user-friendly for queer youth, after a group of young hackers took the grand prize in an inaugural hackathon. Dubbed Hack 4 Queer Youth, the event, sponsored by Maven, a company that works to bridge the tech gap, included a diverse gathering of young people who met November 22-24, with a showcase before judges on the final day. They were there to learn and share ideas so that queer kids from all walks of life could embrace computer technology in order to make it easier for them to find safe spaces, connect with the larger community, and to generally improve their lives. There were a number of transgender youth in attendance, and so the issue of helping trans people to find employment was raised several times, as underemployment and unemployment are big issues in the trans community. Figures have varied at different times, but it’s generally been acknowledged that more than 50 percent of transgender people are unemployed or underemployed. The weekend’s final event was a contest in which five youth teams presented web programs they had developed. Each group showed how their program could be used to make the websites of their chosen queer youth nonprofit more user-friendly. Tech professionals and representatives from the nonprofit organizations were present, some of whom served as judges. As each team took to the podium, their presentation was seen on giant TV monitors. The final group ended up winning the grand prize, a gift bag filled with $1,200 worth of prepaid gift cards and other items. The group’s winning program, done for the LGBT Community Center, could help youth find places to sleep, hang out, or other options in one online venue. They wanted to make the information easy to access, all in one central database. Each group’s program was judged according to their tech skills, innovation, whether the program advances the message of the organization it was designed for, and for it’s user friendliness. The first group had developed a program that
Courtesy Maven
Hackers Serena Wales and Rutie BenDor were both part of the grand prize-winning team at Maven’s inaugural Hack 4 Queer Youth hackathon.
would allow Out Loud Radio, an online radio network for LGBTQ youth, to offer color-coordinated subtitles. The intertitles could be enlarged if needed, so that the hearing impaired could tune in to the programming. The second group wanted the website for the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center, a networking organization for LGBTQA youth, to be able to provide quick, easily accessible information on where young people can go for whatever they might need: such as a place to sleep, or a gender-neutral restroom. Group members displayed the mapping system they developed that would quickly show users where such places were located, and how to get to them from wherever they might be traveling. Group three wanted LYRIC’s website to offer badges so that its staff would have instant access to the organization’s donor database, including breakdowns of where donations come from. The idea was that this would help LYRIC to market itself toward “soft” donation areas. Digital badges are the validated indicator of accomplishment, skill, quality, or interest that can be earned in various learning environments.
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Another group created historical badges for Maven’s website so that users could have easy access to information regarding significant events like the Stonewall and Compton’s Cafeteria riots. The Stonewall Riots occurred in June 1969 in New York City. Lasting for three days, the event is credited with launching the modern gay rights movement when patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar, fought back against police harassment. The Compton’s riots predated Stonewall and took place in 1966 in San Francisco. Transgender patrons of Compton’s Cafeteria in the Tenderloin said no to repeated attempts by police to push them out of the cafe, which sometimes included trumped up prostitution charges. Participants in the group said that learning about and sharing such events would help users feel more engaged in the community. They hope to create future badges, which would offer information on employment possibilities. “The importance of hackathons and tech conferences is to demonstrate the importance of technology and social media as a vehicle for soSee page 22 >>