HIV/AIDS

Gathering of the Evergreens Annual Awards Luncheon

The AIDS Coalition of Tulsa held its annual potluck luncheon and awards ceremony on Tuesday, December 18^th at Noon in the Collins Room, United Way Building, 1430 South Boulder. Participants shared lunch, enjoyed music from Rebecca Ungerman and John Sawyer, and heard wishes for the New Year from Steve Eberle, Milton Harris, and Linda Jenkins.

This year, eight Evergreen Spirits Awards recognized colleagues and volunteers who have gone the extra mile in AIDS Work. In addition, there were two special awards presented for outstanding service in HIV prevention and care.

Tulsa Welcomes the 14th National AIDS Fund AmeriCorps Team

The Team began work in HIV prevention and care services on August 20th.

Meet the 2007 Team!

Worldwide

People living with AIDS – 40 million

Newly infected in 2003 – 5 million

AIDS deaths in 2003 – 3 million

Children living with AIDS – 2.9 million

At the end of 2003, an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons in the United States were living with HIV/AIDS, with 24-27% undiagnosed and unaware of their HIV infection.

Oklahoma and Tulsa

Oklahomans with HIV/AIDS in 2005 – 4,442*

Tulsans with HIV/AIDS – 1,648**

Population of people living with HIV in Tulsa grows by 100 people per year

Almost 3,000 Oklahomans who have been diagnosed with HIV infection did not seek medical care or treatment last year for HIV/AIDS; Oklahoma has one of highest percentages of people who have tested HIV positive who are not receiving medical care or treatment in the United States

*Oklahoma State Department of Health revised statistics as of 12/31/05

**AIDS Coalition of Tulsa estimate including out-of-state cases as of 12/31/05

HIV/AIDS in Tulsa

New HIV infections continue to increase in Oklahoma and in Tulsa at a steady pace. The population of persons living with HIV and AIDS in Tulsa is growing by approximately 100 persons per year. According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), there are now nearly 4,500 Oklahomans who are currently living with an HIV or AIDS diagnosis.(HIV/AIDS statistical report, OSDH, December 31, 2005). Approximately 1,650 persons are currently living with HIV/AIDS in the metropolitan Tulsa area. (This includes cases in two counties, Pawnee and Okmulgee that were added to the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area in June 2003 and out-of-state cases now residing in the Tulsa area). Hundreds of other Tulsa area residents are infected with the virus and have not been tested.

Community resources to prevent new HIV infections and to promote health for persons who are already infected have not kept pace with the growing need for Tulsa HIV/AIDS services. Scarce resources and funding shortfalls often serve as access barriers for clients and promote competition between community groups trying to respond to client needs. Community planning leadership is still needed to coordinate Tulsa’s response to the AIDS epidemic. Collaboration among health and human service providers, physicians, volunteers, representatives of state and local government, legal services, schools, and the religious community is needed now more than ever to address the needs of the growing population of people living with HIV/AIDS and those who are at risk for HIV infection.

New advances in HIV treatment have extended the quality and length of life for persons with HIV/AIDS. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends combination prescription drug therapy for all persons diagnosed with HIV infection. Effective prescription drug therapy costs at a minimum $10,000 per person per year, and primary medical care costs approximately $2,000 per year. However, more than half of the persons in Tulsa needing HIV treatment are not in regular medical care (HIV/AIDS Out-of-Care Special Report, OSDH, May 2003), and the majority of clients are indigent without personal sources of support. The majority of HIV/AIDS clients need help with basic needs, and HIV infection is only one of the many problems they face on a daily basis. When HIV/AIDS clients are connected to medical care and other supportive services, there is an opportunity to work with them on personal responsibility issues and risk reduction behavior in an effort to stop new HIV infections.

Additional community resources are greatly needed in Tulsa to address the medical, social service, and prevention case management needs of the more than 800 individuals who are aware of their HIV diagnosis and not in care. HIV prevention programs still lack adequate funding to reach many of the high-risk populations to offer them HIV education, counseling and testing, and referral for care. Private sector funding is critically needed to expand and fill in the gaps in HIV/AIDS services in a severely strained service delivery system.

Tulsa Community AIDS Partnership (TCAP)

The Tulsa Community AIDS Partnership (TCAP) was formed in l993 to administer a multi-year challenge grant from the National AIDS Fund, to develop resources for HIV prevention and care, and to promote awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS in our community. TCAP is convened by the Tulsa Area United Way with the Community Service Council serving as co-convener. T

TCAP raises money and makes grants for top priority HIV/AIDS prevention and care needs in the Tulsa metropolitan area. A 32-member Advisory Council composed of representatives from corporations, foundations, the medical community, volunteers, and persons living with HIV and AIDS oversees TCAP’s fundraising and grantmaking program. TCAP assesses local HIV/AIDS needs, selects priority concerns for funding, invites local organizations to submit proposals, and awards grants to Tulsa programs. TCAP has granted 1.6 million dollars to Tulsa HIV/AIDS programs in the past ten years.

In 2005, TCAP will provide funding for 15 HIV prevention and care grants totaling $126,376 in Tulsa. In addition, TCAP has sponsored a National AIDS Fund AmeriCorps team working in Tulsa HIV prevention and care services for the past ten years. In 2005, AmeriCorps members contributed 8,200 hours of service to Tulsa HIV/AIDS programs. This year’s five-member team is assigned to Tulsa organizations providing HIV prevention education for youth and women, HIV counseling and testing, transportation, support groups, and referrals for basic needs services including food, housing and medical care for persons living with HIV/AIDS.

TCAP will apply for an 13th challenge grant from the National AIDS Fund in April 2006 and anticipates raising approximately $80,000 in local matching dollars for Tulsa programs before December 31, 2006. In addition, TCAP has been awarded an 13th National AIDS Fund AmeriCorps Team to begin working in Tulsa HIV prevention and care services in September 2006. Recruitment of the new AmeriCorps team members is currently underway.

The program is focused on investing in, enhancing, and expanding an effective system of community supports and services addressing HIV/AIDS. The part-time director is a Masters level social worker/planner with over 17 years experience in addressing HIV/AIDS and has been recognized at the local, state and national levels for her outstanding contributions to area of work. CSC board members, TAUW volunteers, and other concerned individuals serve on the Partnership and assist in decisionmaking.

The ten 2003 TCAP-funded HIV prevention programs reach populations at high risk for acquiring or transmitting HIV including youth, women, men at high risk for HIV, Hispanics, incarcerated men and women, and HIV positive individuals. In 2003:
- 3,000 incarcerated women received HIV prevention education in 5 Oklahoma prisons
- 900 high-risk teenagers and young adults were reached through presentations at alternative schools, group homes, youth shelters, and college campuses, and 134 requested HIV testing
- 200 Native Americans at high risk for HIV were reached with prevention education and risk assessment programs funded by TCAP grants
- 3,000 individuals received testing from The HOPE Testing Clinic.
        .   Of the 142 Hispanics receiving services, two tested HIV positive.
        .   More than 200 high-risk men were reached through TCAP funding, and five tested positive for HIV.
        .   Approximately 95%of the new positive cases were directed into Tulsa HIV care services.

The six 2003 TCAP-funded HIV care and treatment services assist persons who are living with HIV and AIDS, and affected family members. In 2003, TCAP-funded grants provided rent and utility deposits for 30 low income HIV positive individuals, food and nutritional supplements on a monthly basis for 62 persons living with HIV/AIDS, transportation (585 rides to medical appointments), insurance assistance for 2 individuals who were unable to pay their private health insurance premiums, antiretroviral prescription drug therapy for 12 individuals, and a weekend retreat for long-term survivors and family members who are coping with the daily stresses of living with HIV. 540 clients benefited from a grant to Tulsa CARES for a resource development staff member and her successful efforts in raising new funds and volunteers to address client needs in 2003.

TCAP continues to work toward outcomes including:
- TCAP-funded HIV prevention programs will offer effective services for at risk populations including youth, women, men at high risk for HIV, Hispanics, HIV positive persons, and incarcerated populations
- TCAP-funded HIV care grants will provide food and hot meals, transportation, prescription drugs, insurance assistance, and mental health counseling for persons living with HIV and AIDS

TCAP works closely with the AIDS Coalition of Tulsa’s network of HIV prevention and care services and the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

AIDS Coalition of Tulsa (ACT)

The Community Service Council sponsors the AIDS Coalition of Tulsa, which provides community planning and leadership to coordinate Tulsa’s response to the AIDS epidemic. The AIDS Coalition provides a forum in which clients, health and human service providers, physicians, volunteers, representatives of state and local government, legal services, schools, and the religious community can work together to identify and develop the core services that are needed for a strong service delivery system. The Coalition promotes collaboration among community programs, the sharing of resources, and the reduction of access barriers for clients in a time of growing requests by HIV positive individuals for help.

The AIDS Coalition of Tulsa publishes a monthly newsletter to keep the 200 members updated on upcoming funding opportunities, and new developments in HIV prevention, care, and treatment. The AIDS Coalition’s coordinator provides community planning leadership for HIV/AIDS needs assessments, special reports on demographic trends, and inventories of current services and resources related to HIV/AIDS.

Staffing is provided through the same individual who staffs TCAP, and many volunteers from the community concerned with HIV/AIDS participate as well as representatives of the many participating groups and organizations. Education forums, planning sessions, and research projects of the Coalition help guide the work of TCAP, the State Health Department, TAUW, and an array of other funders and policymakers related to their actions on HIV/AIDS.

More than 1,648 Tulsa area HIV/AIDS clients who are aware of their HIV infection benefit from the work of the AIDS Coalition of Tulsa. More than 50 local and state programs are members of the AIDS Coalition and benefit from the coordination and resource development work of the Coalition. Resources are not available at this time to collect and compile client demographics from the multitude of Tulsa agencies and programs serving people at risk for HIV infection and those serving clients already infected with HIV.

The Coalition continues to work toward outcomes which include:
- Community programs participating in AIDS Coalition-sponsored activities will be better informed about client needs and prepared to provide effective services for clients at risk for HIV infection and those who are already living with HIV/AIDS
- Clients needing HIV prevention and care will benefit from better access and an expansion of HIV/AIDS services in our community
- Number of HIV positive individuals who enter care after testing positive seeking basic needs and supportive services

There are no other organizations in eastern Oklahoma that provide coordination for HIV/AIDS services. The AIDS Coalition of Tulsa works closely with the Tulsa Community AIDS Partnership (TCAP) and state health department sponsored planning groups.

Tulsa appreciates the National AIDS Fund AmeriCorps Teams

Five new National AIDS Fund AmeriCorps members completed five days of training in Washington, D.C. in July and began work in their host agencies on August 20th. Our community is very fortunate to have such a dynamic group of young adults joining us in HIV prevention and care this year. They will each complete 1700 hours of national service.

If you would like the Team to help with service projects at your agency, please call Janice Nicklas at 585-5551.

Special Event: Thanks to all who helped make this year's walk such a success!

The sanctuary at All Souls Unitarian Church was filled on Friday evening, January 5th for Tulsa’s rescheduled World AIDS Day Service. The lighting of candles in remembrance of those we have lost to HIV/AIDS was followed by featured speakers Tommy Chesbro and Tamara Lebak using the global theme – “Keep the Promise: Stop AIDS” in their presentations. Wonderful additions to the service were music by Sisters in Song directed by Rebecca Ungerman, and Bishop Carlton Pearson (singing “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”).

A special thank you to Committee members: Tamara Lebak, Stephen Eberle, Natalie Ingraham, Melanie Spector, Jamie Baker, Sallie Godwin, Tommy Chesbro, Lizette Merchan, J.R. Hall, Rick Fortner, Lindy Kroenert, Patrick Prough, Kristy Seymour, Audra Farrow, Jessica Brent, and Janice Nicklas. We appreciate Ray Chance making it possible to have the NAMES Project Quilt Panels at the Service.

For more information: Janice Nicklas - 918-585-5551 - jnicklas@csctulsa.org - Community Service Council, 16 East 16th Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119.