Racing the Updates Ahead and More

Wow! What a hell of few weeks its been for COP 24/7! As its Executive Producer I've been burning the candle at both ends with what appears to be no end in sight. With that said, I'm still perplexed at those of you whom keep waxing on that you "have nothing to do or are bored." REALLY? Just what is this all about and why are so many folks not doing something to be about the change that they wish to see! There's plenty of stuff to do all over the place and many of us are doing double duty to just keep matters flowing. Enough already from the legions of you who are sitting around engaging television reruns, whining about your lack of involvement, Facebook addicts or those who keep bitching about "what life should be." Life is beautiful and there's so many choices to made about the next chapter of our lives individually and collectively. Stop the insanity of "I'm bored" and come join those of us who are trying to make a difference for us all! Got it, then do something about it!!


Smoking in the LGBTQ Community

This forum has posted about the ongoing strategy sessions on developing a coalition to deal with
smoking in the LGBTQ community. The next meeting will be held May 20, 6pm at the Center for Artistic Revolution offices, 800 Scott Street inside the Presbyterian Church. Last week, The Tobacco Prevention & Cessation Program hosted another in a series of strategic planning sessions geared toward defining their way forward in establishing such a coalition. The meet up was facilitated by Mr. Toney Bailey, TCP Health Program Specialist and Dr. Gustavo Torrez (pictured) of the Fenway Health Institute. During the session it was discussed to the  lack of health data on the LGBT community as well as defining assessments concerning health issues seen as priorities. Highlighted in the session was the fact that the organizing table lacked full participation from various factions of the LGBTQ community including people of color, transgendered, gay youth and advocates. As this group has been in an organizing mode, STRILITE, affiliate of The Living Affected Corporation has partnered with Future Builders, Inc to move forward to with producing public forums as well as in-house training meetings concerning LGBT smoking cessation strategies. According to co-facilitator Kevin Holmes, "we feel good about the turn out so far and the progress of our efforts to start discussions about smoking cessation." He continued, "I hope that we will be able to build on this momentum and continue to raise awareness about this important health issues." COP 24/7 vows to stay on point as these projects develop and encourages the movers and shakers in the community to become engaged with these initiatives. If you've got observations, comments, stories or concerns, hit us up to get the dialog flowing!

Community Building: LA Corp Sponsors Pinnacle Mountain Climb

The Living Affected Corporation is planning a Community Pinnacle Mountain Climb, May 18, at 1pm, located across from the Pinnacle Mountain Visitor's Center. Organizers Max C. and John P. Jones state that they are excited about the response thus far and hopes that this enthusiasm follows through to the event including two bar outreaches beginning May 1 at 610  and Friday May 3rd at TRAXs.

The idea is a follow up to a series of community building exercises being promoted by the agency in an attempt to address a multitude of issues and challenges presented by participants. Organizers Max Caberra and PJ Jones expressed that they wanted to volunteer for the organization while desiring that their first activity be something "outdoorsy" as well as decidedly community minded.

Therefore, the two developed the idea to also include a small community forum with guest speakers from area agencies such as Lucie's Place, Center for Artistic Revolution and Arkansans for Equality, plus a mini cookout and a day of promoting "each one helping one" up the mountain trail.

"We plan also to share our adventure on Facebook, maybe upload some video's on YouTube while informing others as to this team building event," said Caberra. "I hope that this will be one of several ideas that we've talked about as new volunteers of LA Corp." Currently the duo are seeking donations, contributions, gifts, volunteers and supporters for the event. If you are interested in being apart of the community forum or volunteering call 379.8203 for more info. Check out the new Facebook event page for updates!!

 

 

Diversity ToolboxLGBT stories need ethnic, gender diversity

By Sherri Williams
The Supreme Court hearing cases this year on same-sex marriage have thrust gay rights issues to the forefront again. One dominant voice continues to reflect the perspective of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in news: the white male.

“Mainstream (media) organizations will go to the one or two white organizations they know about,” said Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, a statewide gay rights organization based in Atlanta.

The absence of the voices of people of color, women and transgender people from news stories about LGBT issues implies that they don’t exist, said Daryl C. Hannah, director of media and community partnerships for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

“Because of the lack of representation in media, a lot of the concerns that the community has have been left out,” Hannah said.

News stories about the same-sex marriage hearings and their impact and outcome provide an opportunity for reporters to add a variety of LGBT voices to their stories and reflect how diverse communities are affected.

Here are some resources that can help reporters add different LGBT perspectives into stories:

CONTACT NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONSThe National Black Justice Coalition has a team of black LGBT experts who are willing to talk to the press, said Kimberley McLeod, communications director for the coalition.

McLeod says her group has worked closely with national magazines to find LGBT people of color for news stories.

Diverse voices in LGBT stories are crucial because media images have an impact on lawmakers, McLeod said.

“I see the national conversation is not inclusive of people at the intersections of racial equality and LGBT equality,” she said. “These multiple ‘isms’ that affect us are not being addressed in policy.”

Kylar W. Broadus, executive director of the Trans People of Color Coalition, said reporters must stop looking in the same places for LGBT sources because they’re missing nuances and important story angles.

“If you’re only capturing a gay white man’s voice, you’re missing a huge part of American culture and the many issues that people of color face,” Broadus said.

It’s also important for reporters to have gender diversity in their stories. Such voices can illuminate ways that issues including sexual harassment, sexual violence and job discrimination disproportionately affect lesbians and transgender people, McLeod said.

McLeod also suggests that reporters reach out to groups such as the National Association of Black Journalists’ LGBT Task Force and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.

UTILIZE GLAAD’S NATIONAL PEOPLE OF COLOR MEDIA INSTITUTE
The institute was formed in 2011 to change the face of LGBT sources reflected in news stories.

GLAAD has trained 52 people across the country through the institute. “We have a robust database of people who are interested in doing media and have interesting stories that can make your stories better,” Hannah said.

Hannah said GLAAD’s experts can also help reporters contextualize stories and have their LGBT diversity stories go beyond the stereotypical black versus gay story and write about people who are black and gay.

CONNECT WITH LOCAL CENTERS
An LGBT community center is a good place for reporters to look for diverse voices because they will have an idea of the range of organizations in the community, Graham said. His organization, Georgia Equality, and the Health Initiative run the Phillip Rush Center, an LGBT community center in Atlanta.

LGBT centers can especially assist deadline reporters. But when journalists know that important stories such as the same-sex Supreme Court hearings are coming up, they should develop relationships with gay leaders and activists of color to prepare for their news coverage, Graham said.

But journalists don’t have to wait for gay issues to include diverse LGBT voices into stories, Graham said. They can incorporate them into issues they already cover.

“Do some human interest stories and profiles on members of the LGBT community,” Graham said. “Highlight some of the other stories and experiences that are out there in the LGBT community. There are a lot of rich stories.”

USE ONLINE MEDIA
Online media outlets can help direct reporters to fresh diverse LGBT voices. Follow bloggers, activists and online community groups on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe to their blogs to stay updated on LGBT issues and how they affect different groups.

Spectra Speaks, founder of the media publishing and advocacy organization Queer Women of Color Media Wire, says multiple identities manifest in the lives of LGBT people of color. When reporters leave them out of stories, “They’re leaving out layers of oppressions.”

 

A TGIF Streaming and Trending

HAIR AFFAIR REPORTS

According to organizers of last month's The HAIR Affair co-fundraising event for Lucie's Place and The Living Affected Corporation netted $1,839.92. The proceeds were to be divided between the two entities with LA Corp also receiving a gift of $174.00 from tips from performers during the after show held at Miss Kitty's. "It was a good time and success," said Kevin Holmes of LA Corp. "I was glad to be apart of it and hope that we will consider doing it again in 2014." The evening included a local vendors presenting their crafts, fashion showcase on a catwalk with a special appearance from the show cast of Miss Kitty's in a "big hair" walk off. Each community based organization will use the proceeds to facilitate their respective programming. For the Lucie's Place concept spearheaded by Penelope Poppers (pictured), will use the funds to continue its capital building campaign to address homelessness among gay youth, meanwhile The Living Affected Corporation will use its portion to increase it community building programming  such as the impending Pinnacle Mountain Climb, HIV/AIDS education and general operating expenses. For more info on each organization check out their websites at: www.luciesplace.org or www.livingaffected.org 


Substance Abuse & Mental Health in Arkansas' LGBT Community
Presented by CAR (Center for Artistic Revolution) and Arkansas Department of Human Services
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
6:00pm-9:00pm
Clarion Hotel - 925 South University Avenue
Substance Abuse and Mental Health are two key issues that face LGBTQ Arkansans. Join us for a presentation on the climate of substance abuse and mental health in the state, as well as more important information on how we can all make a difference in this community. The presentation is free. Dinner will be provided.

RSVP is REQUIRED! Contact Katrina Crisp at kat.n.crisp@gmail.com  to reserve your space.

 

Frankly Speaking Part Two

COP 24/7 Special
Its All About the Benjamin's and Then some

On yesterday I posted an item which spoke to fundraising as activism in our communities in support of local community based organizations. Sourced from POZ magazine, the article raised several issues that I've waxed on about in not only previous post but offered many scenarios as to how funding streams are vital to establishing the needed infrastructure that would support our interest.

The article cited the critical situation of competitive foundation dollars that are now in short supply despite an ever growing need to address issues from health disparities to dealing with "kitchen table" issues such as housing, employment and food justice.

On a local front, even though there's been a sincere attempt at fundraising based on good intentions, the efforts will eventually cause a fatigue among donors whom feel that they given all that they possibly can. Although all fundraising is certainly appreciated there has to be a more concentrated approach that will include a variety of "streams" of funding to capture.

In other words local organizations and those whom wish to help have to use their "out of the box" thinking capacity to add to the donation mix. Here are some quick mash up ideas for your consideration:

1. Donate frequent flier miles for possible travel.

2. Offer gift cards either for cash or products that you may not have used.

3. Make a monthly commitment to your favorite organization. If you don't see it, you want miss it!

4. Check to see if your company participates in matching gift giving to local organizations.

5. Use your birthday to raise funds for a organization.

6.  Ask if the organization has a wish list registry and fulfill a request.

7. Make a community based group a pet project of your fraternity or sorority.

8. If you own office space, vehicles or items that could be of use, find a way to donate them.

9. Don't forget year end giving that offers tax advantages.

10. Consider leaving a legacy gift to an agency that will serve as your eternal support.

Frankly Speaking Part One

COP 24/7 Special

Fundraising as Activism as a Means for Survival

by Megan Kate Mulholland & Cassidy Gardner

The codirectors of Queerocracy, a grassroots social justice group, on the need for finding nontraditional support.

Over the past few years, small nonprofits and grassroots organizations that are struggling to find enough funding to keep their doors open are increasingly coming across this or similarly discouraging messages from private foundations: “Due to the financial crisis we are no longer accepting new grantees.”

The reality is that traditional fundraising through private, grant-giving foundations just isn’t cutting it for some of the newer, smaller and more radical organizations around. Larger foundations that haven’t taken as big of a hit from the state of the economy tend to prioritize funding for larger organizations with mainstream agendas and/or deeper roots. Many smaller foundations that are willing to take on the “risk” of funding grantees that are still laying a groundwork, developing their trajectory and possibly carrying out their work through more radical means have slashed their grant-giving budgets.

A recent study published by The Foundation Center finds that small foundations (with less than $50 million in assets) have and will continue to struggle the most to recover from the economic crisis of 2008, having to spend less in grant-making to avoid depleting their assets.

Of course, a successful nonprofit fundraising model is one that includes a variety of tactics for generating income—from developing and cultivating private donors, to implementing membership dues, to holding special events. Meanwhile, it is often one or a few large grants (“large” being relative) that give new and small groups the ability to get the structures in place to diversify their fundraising model while also building out a staff and developing programs.

For groups like Queerocracy—a New York City–based queer social justice organization that facilitates its work through direct action, community engagement, education and art—the radical nature of our work and the complex, sometimes controversial issues we work on have made it very difficult for us to fit into the traditional fundraising model of grant-giving that is put forth by most foundations. We are fortunate to have found some small, local foundations that are passionate about our work to combat HIV criminalization, but we are increasingly finding that paving a new path for fundraising is necessary in order to sustain our work.

As we sadly know, due to the sequestration, we are facing across-the-board cuts to spending for health care and social services for those who need it most. At a time when cuts to programs like the Ryan White CARE Act and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) are looming—and knowing that cuts to these domestic programs will inevitably make their way down to the budgets for local and statewide HIV/AIDS programs and services—it is essential that small, community-based queer and AIDS service organizations find creative ways to fundraise to sustain the important work they are doing.

It is no secret that programs that serve our most vulnerable populations are often the first to go in the wake of cuts to local, state and nationwide budgets. This reality makes the work being done to find new funding streams for AIDS (like the “Robin Hood” tax) to confront HIV criminalization and practices like “Condoms as Evidence”—both of which fuel stigma and disproportionately put queer and trans people of color and HIV-positive people behind bars—particularly important right now. The growth and sustainability of these small, grassroots organizations is essential, and thus the need for new and creative means for fundraising is urgent.

Often unlike more traditional modes of fundraising, creative opportunities allow for much more than extra earnings. They can push the boundaries on the ways people consider community building, activism and organizing and open the doors for people to get involved in ways that include the things they already enjoy doing. A well thought out creative fundraising plan can achieve all of that.

An important step towards finding a unique fundraising model that works for your particular group or organization is to identify where conversations around the issue are occurring. Take Queerocracy for example. Our work heavily focuses on HIV stigma and discrimination within the queer community. For us, an obvious space for these conversations to occur was in nightlife. Nightlife spaces are places where queer folks often meet each other under sexual pretenses and they are the site of where decisions are made about going home together or not. These spaces can have direct impact on whether people feel comfortable disclosing their status and therefore we have pinpointed it as a crucial environment to engage folks in AIDS activism—and that activism can be done through fundraising.

Queerocracy seeks to achieve a successful creative activist fundraising model through our current Community Fundraising Challenge. The challenge participants consist of queer bars and parties throughout NYC to raise money for Queerocracy whilst engaging their communities in the issues that directly affect them in those spaces, in particular HIV/AIDS-related stigma. Additionally, they are competing to win the Building Community through Nightlife Award that will be presented at our first ever QROC Awards Benefit this summer. It is the attendees of the challenge fundraising events who will vote on which party and bar they thought was the best in terms of its efforts, creativity and community engagement.

Ultimately, Queerocracy is issuing this challenge to the queer nightlife community in an attempt to pave a new path for small organizations to work within their communities to fundraise in fun, sexy, nontraditional ways, not only to raise money, but also to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and rid stigma where its often needed most to do so. In order for small grassroots groups like Queerocracy to be successful in our fundraising, it is crucial to lift up and work together with the spaces that contribute to community building in alternative ways, showcasing the support system that can exist and in this case from the streets to the bar or club.

A COP 24/7 Treking and Trending

ALICIA KEYS IN WASHINGTON, DC WITH KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION TO INTRODUCE EMPOWERED CAMPAIGN TO REACH WOMEN IN THE U.S. ABOUT HIV/AIDS

Fourteen-time Grammy Award-winning artist and HIV advocate Alicia Keys took part in a briefing at the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Washington, D.C. offices on Monday morning to introduce EMPOWERED, a new campaign to reach women in the U.S. about HIV — developed in partnership with the Foundation as part of the Greater Than AIDS initiative. Ms. Keys leads the campaign and is featured in conversations with women living with HIV.

Of the more than 1.1 million people living with HIV in the U.S. today, one in four is a woman. Black women have been disproportionately affected, accounting for majority of new infections among women. COP 24/7 has been a staunch supported and ally in this health dilemma and continues to encourage local health officials to further raise awareness around this issue. Unfortunately the issues surrounding this chronic disease has prevented some women from stepping forward to take a more bolder as well as a necessary visible presence. COP 24/7 urges all women, especially women of color to become more engaged in advocating for socialization opportunities, linkages to care and overall policies affecting those women living with HIV and AIDS.

Ms. Keys, who has dedicated her advocacy work to the urgency of HIV/AIDS and has long spoken of the power of women said: “Women and girls have been affected by HIV since the start, but that impact has not been recognized. And as the sisters, mothers, daughters, and caregivers, we are the backbones of families, communities and entire societies. We will never see an AIDS-free generation without harnessing the power and strength of women.” You can watch a an archived webcast from the event is available on the Kaiser Family Foundation website. For more information on EMPOWERED campaign, visit www.greaterthan.org/empowered.

 

NABWMT Announces Updates

 

The 33rd observance of the National Association of Black and White Men Together convention is less than three months away 9-13 July 2013 in the capital of the "Buckeye State", Columbus, Ohio. This theme is "Still Our Purpose, Still Our Organization, Still Our Pride," and

Current registrations are being accepted at $149 per person until May 31st with next tier pricing increasing to $179 per person, June 1. Daily rates...Wednesday thru Saturday of convention week are $60 per diem. The host hotel will be the Sheraton Columbus at Capitol Square  ($129 plus the required 16.75% taxation applied in Columbus.) These are for double or king rooms. For more information check out their website at www.nabwmt.org  Anyone locals interested in taking a road trip to fabulous Columbus, let it be known! Hit up this forum to share your thoughts or ideas.

 

Youth Advocates Being Sought

 

Are you a young person (14-24 years old) who is:

• Passionate about fighting for young people's rights to sexual health information and services?
• Interested in connecting with youth leaders from across the country?
• Dedicated to developing skills to make a difference in your community?

Apply today to join one of Advocates for Youth's programs!

If selected, you will have opportunities to: develop new organizing and leadership skills; become informed on sexual and reproductive health issues; connect with passionate young people from across the country; and build skills to make a lasting impact in your community. You will also join more than 100 youth activists in Washington, DC for an intense four-day activist training institute free of charge!

Advocates' youth activists have done amazing work this year. You can join them in:

• Advocating for better sexual health education policies in your state
• Increasing HIV testing and condom availability in your community or on your campus
• Providing confidential support and resources to young people who are coming out as LGBTQ
• Mobilizing your peers around international family planning issues
• Working toward ending the shame and stigma people are made to feel about having an abortion

If this sounds like something you want to be a part of, click here to find out more about the programs and apply today! Applications are due May 1, 2013.

If you are a parent, teacher, or advocate who knows young people who are passionate about sexual and reproductive health and rights, please encourage them to apply.

 

Full COP 24/7 Ahead

Federal AIDS Policy Partnership Seeking Respondents for Housing Work Group Survey

The Federal AIDS Policy Partnership Housing Work Group survey is seeking respondents! Please take a few minutes to answer some questions about how HIV/AIDS housing programs are working in your community and how you’re preparing for the potential changes in federal funding. This will help the group as they chart their course for the coming year. You can take the survey here.

If you have questions, please contact Jason Wise of AIDS Project Los Angeles at jwise@apla.org.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Launches New National Hepatitis Testing Day Website

May 19, 2013, is the second national Hepatitis Testing Day, and in order to support and promote the events and activities surrounding the day, the CDC has launched a new national Hepatitis Testing Day webpage. The new website allows people to search for Hepatitis Testing Day events near them during the month of May, which is also Hepatitis Awareness Month.
Hepatitis Testing Day is a day for people at risk to be tested, and for health care providers to educate patients about chronic viral hepatitis and testing. Millions of Americans have chronic hepatitis; most of them do not know they are infected.
You can read more about the initiative here.



Community Building Pinnacle Mountain Climb Planned

The Living Affected Corporation is planning a Community Pinnacle Mountain Climb, May 18, at 1pm, located across from the Pinnacle Mountain Visitor's Center. Organizers Max C. and John P. Jones state that they are excited about the response thus far and hopes that this enthusiasm follows through to the event. 

 

The idea is a follow up to a series of community building exercises being promoted by the agency in an attempt to address a multitude of issues and challenges presented by participants. Organizers Max Caberra and PJ Jones expressed that they wanted to volunteer for the organization while desiring that their first activity be something "outdoorsy" as well as decidedly community minded.

 

Therefore, the two developed the idea to also include a small community forum with guest speakers from area agencies such as Lucie's Place, Center for Artistic Revolution and Arkansans for Equality, plus a mini cookout and a day of promoting "each one helping one" up the mountain trail.

 

"We plan also to share our adventure on Facebook, maybe upload some video's on YouTube while informing others as to this team building event," said Caberra. "I hope that this will be one of several ideas that we've talked about as new volunteers of LA Corp." Currently the duo are seeking donations, contributions, gifts, volunteers and supporters for the event. If you are interested in being apart of the community forum or volunteering call 379.8203 for more info. Check out the new Facebook event page for updates!!

 

COP 24/7, Hot, Live and Otherwise in 2013

COP Executive Producer: A Community Multi-Task Force

Let's face it, I tend to be a busy guy for the most part. Although I'm in the seventh year of producing COP 24/7, I also wear a few other hats that many of you may or may not know about. Currently I"m the community Co-Chair of the Arkansas HIV Planning Group which is a collaborative entity with the Arkansas Department of Health with it HIV/AIDS programming. It is the groups charge to decrease infection rates while seeking to monitor the implementation of high impact prevention activities. If that  were not enough, then I also serve as the Chief Operating Officer for The Living Affected Corporation which is a community based development organization dedicated to dealing with health disparities in marginalized communities. As a ADH sub grantee, the organization is operates to provide HIV/AIDS testing  and counseling while addressing a variety of LGBTQ health equity issues in both the central region and other outlying counties. Below I'm sharing a video of colleagues, K.Holmes and Founder and CEO, Diedra Levi. This material was apart of our 2012 World AIDS Day engagements citing numerous issues concerning HIV/AIDS, especially the level of social determinants such as housing, employment, food, treatment and education, that directly affect those living with HIV or AIDS. Therefore as you can see I'm not only tapping it out on the keyboards but taking my activism hot, live and otherwise. For more info on LA Corp, check out www.livingaffected.org or call me at 379-8203. We are always seeking volunteers and individuals to make thing happen. Let me hear from you today!!!!






AIDS Coordinating Committee of the American Bar Association Presents “HIV Criminalization, Immigration and Domestic and Sexual Violence” Teleconference

The AIDS Coordinating Committee of the American Bar Association is hosting a bi-monthly teleconference series on Woman and HIV/AIDS throughout 2013 and will present on “HIV Criminalization, Immigration and Domestic and Sexual Violence” on Friday, April 26, 2013.

Speakers include Catherine Hannssens, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for HIV Law and Policy; Allison Nichol, Special Counsel in the Office of the Associate Attorney General at the US Department of Justice; and Leslye Orloff, Director of the National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project (NIWAP).

The teleconference will take place on Friday, April 26, 2013, from 12:00-1:00pm EST. The dial-in number for the event is (877)317-0419, and the access code is 265 842 38.

Keeping it Moving COP 24/7 Style

You Gotta EAT! - Spaghetti Luncheon to Support LGBTQ Youth Camp

 

Sunday April 21,CAR is hosting a delicious homemade spaghetti lunch at the First Presbyterian Church of Little Rock, 800 Scott Street. This is a fundraiser to help make the annual Rainbow Camp for LGBTQ and ally youth a reality. Camp this year will be located at the beautiful Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center. Tickets are $10.00 with other additional gitfs encouraged.

This is a wonderful opportunity for LGBTQ and ally youth to attend camp and have an amazing camp experience in a safe environment in all of who they are. This will be our 5th year of camp and we are excited to continue this tradition. There’s a special treat for lunchtime entertainment too!

For more information or Tickets 501-244-9690 or artchangesu@yahoo.com

 

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Community Building Pinnacle Mountain Climb Planned

In case you've been missing your does of COP 24/7, there's been plenty of "examining" or community assessments done as to the temperature of the LGBTQ construct. The results and reviews have varied from all points across the state ranging from bleak to hopeful. As a response to some of those community overviews, The Living Affected Corporation is planning a Community Pinnacle Mountain Climb, May 18, at 1pm, located across from the Pinnacle Mountain Visitor's Center.

 

The idea is a follow up to a series of community building exercises being promoted by the agency in an attempt to address a multitude of issues and challenges presented by participants. Organizers Max Caberra and PJ Jones expressed that they wanted to volunteer for the organization and wanted their first activity to something "outdoorsy" as well as community minded. Therefore, the two developed the  idea to also include a small community forum with guest speakers to be announced, mini cookout and a day of promoting "each one helping one" up the mountain trail. "We plan also to share our adventure on Facebook, maybe upload some video's on YouTube while informing others as to this team building event," said Caberra. "I hope that this will be one of several ideas that we've talked about as new volunteers of LA Corp." Currently the duo are seeking donations, contributions, gifts, volunteers and supporters for the event. If you are interested in being apart of the community forum or volunteering call 379.8203 for more info. Check out the new Facebook event page for updates!!

 

 

COP 24/7 Seeking Content Providers
Since the inception of this platform, I envisioned that it would be an interactive community town square where a variety of voices could be heard. In seven years of producing this forum, I have logged on to produce over 1200 post topping over 150,000 words! This year COP 24/7 added a translator gadget to allow our global village to translate our coverage into their respective languages ranging from Spanish to Chinese. Who Knew?

 

With that said, I've always been open to allowing interested parties with viable content to share their works on this platform. In the past I solicited the community in search of an individual who could serve as the next Executive Producer. However, despite all those shout out's the response has been marginal to none. I can't imagine since I see so many of you tapping and clicking your I-phones or what have you in the local bars and elsewhere!

 

Therefore I am at again with another appeal for original content producers or artists whom have works that they would like to showcase on this platform. If interested just hit us up in our in-box. Its just that simple. Let us hear from you today!!
 

Open Rainbow Spaces

National Youth HIV + AIDS Awareness Day

Editors Note: COP 24/7 applauds the creation of a National Youth HIV + AIDS Awareness Day and joined the movement by signing on to the petition presented to President Obama. As this health dilemma surges past the 30 year marker, its vital that all means necessary be scaled up to engage youth activist to take the lead in informing, advocating, empowering and demanding a response from our public health systems and or policy makers on addressing the multi-level needs of our youth. On a local front, COP 24/7 encourages our movers and shakers to duly understand the impact that HIV and AIDS is having among individuals 18-24, especially young gay black men whom are being disproportionately affected. It is our desire that in 2014 a more notable response to this day be evident as well as recognized by local health officals.

At AIDS 2012, the international AIDS conference, youth advocates announced the inauguration of National Youth HIV + AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD) to be marked on April 10, 2013.

In establishing this observance, Advocates for Youth and the eleven other founding partners are recognizing the key role of youth in our collective response to HIV. The organizers note that “the creation of National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day is a step toward addressing the needs of young people in the fight against HIV and AIDS.”

On this day, AIDS.gov calls attention to previously published resources that can help inform discussion and action. These are:

 

Vital Signs Report: HIV Infection, Testing, and Risk Behaviors Among Youths — United States

On November 27, 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data to highlight the impact of HIV among youth in the United States. Young people between the ages of 13 and 24 represent more than a quarter of new HIV infections each year (26 percent) and most of these youth living with HIV (60 percent) are unaware they are infected, according to the Vital Signs report. The most-affected young people are young gay and bisexual men and African-Americans, the report says. Among the recommendations in the report is that “all youth should know how HIV is transmitted and prevented, understand what puts them at risk for HIV, and be tested if they are at risk.”

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy

This is the nation’s first-ever comprehensive coordinated HIV/AIDS roadmap with clear and measurable targets to be achieved by 2015. The Strategy notes that “To better educate the American people about HIV/AIDS, the following is needed: [3.2] Promote age-appropriate HIV and STI prevention education for all Americans: Too many Americans do not have the basic facts about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Sustained and reinforcing education is needed to effectively encourage people across the age span to take steps to reduce their risk for infection.”

 

How are you addressing the impact of HIV on youth? What would you like to say to the young people in your lives about youth and HIV? For more information on HIV and youth, visit this CDC page. For more information on NYHAAD click here.

Wide Angles of COP 24/7 Part 2

 Transgender Advocates Take On Ariz. Rep. Introducing 'Bathroom ID' Bill

Editor's Note: COP 24/7 has been following this item as a service to spotlight issues and challenges directly impacting the transgendered community and beyond. This platform has dedicated several post and will offer a series of articles, resources and commentary in an effort to garnered a competent understanding of this under served community. As a side note, it has been noted that  Mr.Bragman has actually represented  Chaz Bono and many feel that some of his positioning could be revenue tainted as oppose to being actually engaged with bringing understanding to the plight of transgendered individuals. Nevertheless, the attitudes and dogma that exist and continues to roll out the mouth's of lawmakers or policy makers can't be astounding.  Please feel free to share your personal stories, insights and observations to our local scene or your experiences. We welcome the feedback.
 

Boost Your Testosterone for Increased Performance

Wow... I'm getting old.

It's a disturbing thought, one that usually hits after an unexpected physical challenge. Maybe you've been unable to maintain your usual workout levels, or recovery is taking a lot longer than it used to. Perhaps fixes to the house are just a bit more difficult, or you find yourself feeling tired more often.
What's most startling about this realization is that you don't normally "feel old" but, nevertheless, you know you're not the man you used to be.

And the issue? It could be a decrease in your testosterone.

Most people don't realize that testosterone is a vital hormone for maintaining overall good health. An article from the Lance Armstrong Foundation's Livestrong.com site, noted that when testosterone levels start to decline, men experience a gradual reduction in muscle density, size and strength. Testosterone stimulates the use of stored body fat for energy and keeps you looking lean, but when your levels decrease fatigue can set in from the breakdown of muscle tissue and poor energy production. The article adds, "You also see an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and other age-related illness that occur as testosterone levels slowly decline with age. Lower testosterone levels are associated with increased obesity, diabetes, fatigue, lower cognitive abilities, depression and heart disease."

Testosterone replacement therapy is one possible way of handling the situation, but it must be done through a doctor and research is mixed on whether or not it actually works. The real trick is getting the body to safely start producing more testosterone on its own, and one of the most exciting approaches has been developed by a group of researchers working at a leading Cambridge, Massachusetts health supplement company.

This team developed a safe and effective supplement that actually triggers the body to raise free testosterone levels naturally. It’s called Nugenix and it’s now available to the public. Nugenix relies on well-researched natural testosterone boosting ingredients such as Testofen®, which can significantly pump up a person’s free testosterone levels.
The product has no harmful side effects and has been shown to deliver improvements in strength and endurance in just days. In fact, the company states that results of Nugenix include enhanced physical performance and stamina.

What kind of a difference can a testosterone boosting supplement like this make?
According to users of the product and studies held in both Irvine, California and Queensland, Australia– it’s nothing short of spectacular. From increased muscle definition and quicker recovery times, to increased feelings of alertness and greater endurance, these users are reporting virtual transformations as a result of safely boosting their free testosterone with Nugenix.
Nugenix is manufactured under the strictest quality standards and is available at GNC stores across the nation.

Best of all, right now, the company that manufacturers Nugenix is giving away samples of the products to qualifying customers who request them online.

Click here to learn more and find out how to get your sample.

Editors Note: This a sponsored item by Nugenix. COP 24/7 does not endorse the use of this product or any claims it implies. We encourage our readers to be informed consumers and make it a priority to consult your health team as to this product. If you use the product, let us know how it worked or didn't work for you. COP 24/7 received no compensation for the placement of this content.


 

Wide Angles of COP 24/7

Report details needs under the ACA

Enroll America has identified in a new study four types of entities that will be needed to help consumers apply and enroll in health coverage. Navigators will help with the application and enrollment process. In-Person Assisters will provide face-to-face aid. Certified Application Counselors will help consumers apply for Medicaid. Agents and Brokers will work with consumers to identify and enroll in a particular health plan. To find out more about the roles each of these entities will play, click here.

 

Editor's Note: COP 24/7  has been following the ACA roll out in Arkansas and will be updating as the final details are hammered out by our state legislature. Watch this forum for the latest breaking news, links, video and webistes to inform our readers on the emerging health care initiative.

 

 

Report looks at future of Ryan White program

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program has been providing care and services to more than half a million people affected by HIV each year for more than two decades, but it's current authorization is set to expire in September. Now new questions arise about how the program will fare under recent changes in healthcare policy such as the Affordable Care Act and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a report that highlights some of those questions and provides some possible solutions. The report is called Updating the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program for a New Era: Key Issues & Questions For the Future. To download the report, click here.

 

COP 24/7 Seeking Content Providers
Since the inception of this platform in 2004,  I always envisioned this new medium as an interactive community town square where a variety of voices would be heard or shared. In seven years of producing this forum, I have logged on to produce over 1200 post topping over 150,000 words with our Google Analytics tracking our appeal to have not only been statewide but actually global. Who knew that this little experiment would be of interest to folks in the Far East, Europe or down under in Australia?  Go figure...

 

With that said, I've always been open to allowing interested parties with viable content to share their works on this platform. Also In the past I solicited community wide in search of an individual or collective who could serve as the next Executive Producer. Surely there's got to be another individual who has the passion and desire to carry on this unique experiment, right? Well, so far I've not found them, but if you are that person, the opportunity still stands.

 

In the meantime, despite all those shout out's the response has been marginal. Therefore I am offering yet another appeal for original content producers, vloggers, creative types or artists whom have works that they would like to showcase on this platform. If interested just hit us up in our in-box. Its just that simple. Use our feedback link to tell us what you think or how you can submit. Its' an open invitation!

Forward Motion and Then some

Survey to test HIV/AIDS knowledge

In March, the Black AIDS Institute along with its partners, National Alliance for State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) and the Latino Commission on AIDS, launched a national assessment survey of the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of the HIV/AIDS workforce. While understanding the science of HIV is critically important for both treatment and prevention, the level of knowledge of the current work force is not clear. The goal of the survey is to better understand what the HIV workforce knows and does not know about the science of HIV/AIDS. The survey consists of 62 questions. Twenty one are demographic and screening questions, 26 are designed to test participants' general knowledge and 15 questions are on the topic of biomedical interventions. Ultimately, the survey results will let the HIV/AIDS community know what kinds of training, capacity building and technical assistance is needed to end the AIDS epidemic in America. Participants will receive a $5 gift card and be eligible to win a Kindle Fire HD. To learn more about the survey or to take it, click here.

 

Editors Note: The Latino Commission has just release there Arkansas focus group findings concerning creating a web based platform to further outreach to outlying communities.  COP 24/7 will share those findings as well as our take on the continuing examining of Arkansas. Stay tuned....

 

 

New Mobile Apps Could Pose Threat for Facebook

 

 

Create personal profiles. Build networks of friends. Share photos, videos and music.
That might sound precisely like Facebook, but hundreds of millions of tech-savvy young people have instead turned to a wave of smartphone-based messaging apps that are now sweeping across North America, Asia and Europe.

 

The hot apps include Kik and Whatsapp, both products of North American startups, as well as Kakao Inc’s KakaoTalk, NHN Corp’s LINE and Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat, which have blossomed in Asian markets.
Combining elements of text messaging and social networking, the apps provide a quick-fire way for smartphone users to trade everything from brief texts to flirtatious pictures to YouTube clips – bypassing both the SMS plans offered by wireless carriers and established social networks originally designed as websites.

Facebook Inc, with 1 billion users, remains by far the world’s most popular website, and its stepped-up focus on mobile has made it the most-used smartphone app as well. Still, across Silicon Valley, investors and industry insiders say there is a possibility that the messaging apps could threaten Facebook’s dominance over the next few years. The larger ones are even starting to emerge as full-blown “platforms” that can support third-party applications such as games.

To be sure, many of those who are using the new messaging apps remain on Facebook, indicating there is little immediate sign of the giant social media company losing its lock on the market. And at a press event this week, the company will unveil news relating to Android, the world’s most popular smartphone operating system, which could include a new version of Android with deeper integration of Facebook messaging tools – or possibly even a Facebook-branded phone.
But the firms that can take over the messaging world should be able to make some big inroads, investors say.

“True interactions are conversational in nature,” says Rich Miner, a partner at Google Ventures who invested in San Francisco-based MessageMe, a new entrant in the messaging market. “More people text and make phone calls than get on to social networks. If one company dominates the replacement of that traffic, then by definition that’s very big.”
Facebook spokespeople declined to comment for this article, citing this Thursday’s planned announcement.

Facebook’s big challenge is reeling back users like Jacob Robinson, a 15-year old high school student in Newcastle upon Tyne in Britain., who said the Kik messaging app “blew up” among his friends about six months ago. It has remained the most-used app on his Android phone because it is the easiest way for him to send different kinds of multimedia for free, which he estimated he does about 200 times a day.
Robinson said he trades snapshots of his homework with friends while they stay up late studying for their exams – or not.
“We also stay up in bed with our phone all night, just on YouTube searching for funny videos, then you quickly share it with your friends,” he added. “It’s easy. You can flip in and out of Kik.”

Facebook “has really started to lose its edge over here,” said Robinson, who found his interactions on Facebook less interesting than his real-time chats.
Waterloo, Ontario-based Kik has racked up 40 million users since launching in 2010. Silicon Valley entrants in the race include Whatsapp, funded by Sequoia Capital, and MessageMe, launched earlier this month by a group of viral game makers. MessageMe has received seed-stage funding from True Ventures and First Round Capital, among others, and claimed 1 million downloads in its first week.
Meanwhile, Asian companies are producing some of the fastest-growing apps in history. Tencent’s WeChat boasts 400 million users – far more than Twitter, by way of comparison – while LINE and KakaoTalk claim 120 million and 80 million users, respectively. Both have laid the groundwork to expand into the U.S. market.

Mobile wave
The growth in the messaging apps reflect the dramatic shift in Internet usage in recent years, as Web visits via desktop computers have stagnated while smartphone ownership and app downloads have skyrocketed.
Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has publicly called Facebook a “mobile company” to emphasize the company’s priorities. Last year, he splashed $1 billion for photo-sharing app Instagram, which has remained red hot, while Facebook also launched its own Messenger app, offering a suite of smartphone communication tools.

Still, Facebook has also been forced to play defense. Earlier this year, the company cut off its data integration with a young startup called Snapchat and then mimicked its feature with a new messaging tool called Poke, which sends messages that self-destruct. It has also shut off its integration with messaging apps like MessageMe and Voxer.
At the same time, Facebook has also hired graphic artists to draw emoticons and graphics for Messenger that emulate features of the wildly popular Asian apps like LINE, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Dave Morin, an early Facebook employee who left to found the “private” social network Path in 2010, said he recognized last summer the critical role of messaging functions in smartphone apps, and quickly began working to incorporate them.
Since Path released a new version of its app earlier this month, the number of Path’s daily users has risen 15 percent, which Morin attributed to the new messaging features.
“What’s the number one reason why people have this thing?” said Morin, holding up his iPhone. “It’s to call, to text, to communicate.”
Messaging, Morin added, is “the basis for the mobile social network.”

Platform threat
While established social networks move to incorporate messaging features, the new-wave messaging apps are looking to grow into social networking platforms that support a variety of features and enable innovations from outside developers.
“The tried and true approach for a social network is first you build a network, then you build apps on your own, then you open it up to third party developers,” said Charles Hudson, a partner at early stage venture capital firm SoftTech VC.
The moves mirror Facebook’s younger days, when its user growth and revenues were boosted by game publishers like Zynga Inc, which made popular games like FarmVille for the Facebook platform.
In the South Korean market, for instance, eight of the top 10 highest grossing Android apps are games built on top of KakaoTalk. Tencent announced in November that it would introduce a mobile wallet feature enabling payment for goods with WeChat. And Tencent also makes money in China by using the app’s location data to displaying nearby merchants’ deals to potential customers.

If the messaging apps reach a certain scale, they could form networks that rival Facebook’s “social graph,” the network of user connections and activities that enable highly targeted delivery of content and advertising.
“The folks on your address book are very different from your Facebook friends and your LinkedIn contacts, and that’s a natural place for a very powerful graph to be created,” said Jim Goetz, a partner at Sequoia Capital.

Ted Livingston, the 25-year old chief executive of Kik, said he developed the capability for his service to support external features in November, and he plans to open the platform to outside developers in the near future.
Livingston said Kik and Whatsapp were “in a race to see who’s the first to build a platform.”
Whatsapp, which has been the most widely downloaded communication app for both iOS and Android in recent months, according to analysis firm App Annie, has been profitable by selling subscriptions to its service for $1 a year. Although it has remained mum about its platform plans, the company has been rumored to be in talks with Asian game publishers about hosting games, according to news reports in South Korea.
Goetz declined to address the reports, saying only that because it relied on a subscription business model, Whatsapp did not need to sell games or ads to make money.
Still, he said, the Whatsapp team “spends a lot of timE thinking about the developer community.”

Deal potential
Established social networking giants could also swoop in for the upstarts – and Facebook has demonstrated its appetite for acquisitions.
Indeed, investors are eyeing a round of potentially lucrative buyouts resembling the series of deals involving group messaging applications in 2011.

Facebook acquired group messaging app Beluga in March of that year, enlisting its founders to help build its own stand alone app, Messenger, which launched six months later.
In late 2010, First Round Capital, an early stage venture capital firm, invested in a group messaging startup that was sold to Skype just fifteen months after it launched.

Kent Goldman, a First Round partner who has backed MessageMe, said it was unlikely that the market in the long term could support numerous independent messaging startups, which by their nature become more powerful as they grow larger.
“You don’t want to be the smallest one when the music stops,” he said.

 

 

The COP 24/7 Roll ON

Happy Birthday Twitter

By Miguel Gomez, Director, AIDS.gov, and Senior Communications Advisor, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Listen:

Download MP3

Twitter turned 7 years old on March 21, 2013. According to the Twitter blog , there are more than 200 million active Twitter users that create over 400 million tweets per day. And a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project report on Twitter use found that Black Internet users and young adult Internet users tend to use Twitter at high rates.

As we’ve mentioned in prior blog posts (see below), Twitter is a tool that can be used to extend the reach of your HIV programs. Check out our page on Twitter to see how it’s used in response to HIV.
See also:

• Using Twitter in Response to HIV/AIDS: The Hot New Tool (Today?) (September 2008)
• Twitter Engagement: Some Lessons from AIDS.gov (August 2010)
• AIDS.gov Surpasses 100,000 Twitter Followers – What Does it Really Mean? (July 2011)
• Twitter on the Rise (June 2012)

Editors Note: As new platforms come on line, COP 24/7 has shared the latest info on how such sites could be instrumental in reaching the LGBTQ community. Although I support the build out of a state web based platform, it would be great if this forum could be used as a model or  perhaps adopted as that future platform. Why reinvent the wheel, when COP 24/7 has been putting out their for over seven years and counting. Talk about being ahead of the curve! Got thoughts, comments, observations, let's hear em and more. In the meantime, don't hesitate to share a gift or contribution to keep us rolling on.


EJF Announces Founder Receives Award

Sir Elton John, Founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), received the 2013 Humanitarian Award from AIDS Foundation Houston’s CEO Kelly Young during a backstage presentation at his concert in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, March 28.

EJAF has proudly supported the work of the AIDS Foundation Houston since 1996. Most recently, in December 2012, EJAF awarded AIDS Foundation Houston a $50,000 grant to support Wall Talk, an HIV/AIDS prison peer education program to reduce the spread of HIV and infectious diseases within 114 Texas prisons. Wall Talk trains more than 1,500 incarcerated men and women each year to be peer educators, in order to reduce risky behaviors specific to the prison environment. Wall Talk also provides classroom HIV education to 80,527 inmates in Texas, which is over half the population of the largest prison system in the U.S.

“It takes an extraordinary philanthropist to support programs like our prison initiatives,” said Ms. Young. “EJAF identifies the most vulnerable populations and supports organizations with the best outcomes. AIDS Foundation Houston is honored that our Wall Talk Prison Peer Education Program meets the high standards needed to secure EJAF support.”

EJAF Board members Barron Segar and Sarah McMullen were on hand for the presentation, along with Ms. Young, AIDS Foundation Houston Development Director Melody Patelis, and AIDS Foundation Houston donor and philanthropist Margaret Williams.

Elton, David Furnish, and all of us at EJAF are profoundly grateful to our dedicated supporters for enabling grantees like AIDS Foundation Houston to carry out their lifesaving work.


COP 24/7 Seeking Content Providers

Since the inception of  this platform, I envisioned that it would be an interactive community town square where a variety of voices would be heard. In seven years of producing this forum, I have logged on to produce over 1200 post topping over 150,000 words. With that said, I've always been open to allowing interested parties with viable content to share their works on this platform. In the past I solicited the community in search of an individual who could serve as the next Executive Producer. However, despite all those shout out's the response has been marginal. Therefore I am at again with another appeal for original content producers or artists whom have works that they would like to showcase on this platform. If interested just hit us up in our in-box. Its just that simple. Let us hear from you today!!
 

Second Quarter Starting Gate

Transgender Reports: Injustice at Every Turn Findings

As apart of our effort to highlight all aspects of Arkansas gay culture, COP 24/7 has cited the lack of information and or assessments on transgender issues and the multi level challenges faced by individuals in their transitioning continuum. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey was conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality provides a snapshot of what this population experiences on a daily level. The 2011 report speaks to the facts that Transgender and gender non-conforming people face rampant discrimination in every area of life: education, employment, family life, public accommodations, housing, health, police and jails, and ID documents.

This data is so shocking that it will change the way you think about transgender people and it should change the way you advocate. COP 24/7 reviewed the report via the National Black Justice Coalition website( www.nbjc.org ) in our search to prepare for post concerning legislation moving forward in Arizona -- S.B. 1045, the so-called "Bathroom Bill" -- that would allow business owners to deny transgender individuals access to bathrooms that match the gender with which they identify. The bill would affect anyone trans* who is living in, traveling to or passing through Arizona. It would also affect masculine-appearing women, feminine-appearing men and anyone who is gender-nonconforming, whose bathroom access would be at the discretion of business owners. Hopefully no on at the Arkansas legislature is reading any of this.

Unfortunately, Arkansas has some levels of support however they are most likely far from sufficient and to say the least deficient in their overall impact on the lives of the transgendered. With this population unfolding, it's apparent that distinct data gathering as well as programming will be required to engage those in the process and further educate service providers, treatment centers, community based organizations and other entities in discovering humility in their services. This forum will continue to share pertinent information such as the survey and believe that raising consciousness about transgender issues and challenges should be prioritized in public health policies and resources. To download a copy of the report go to www.taskforce.org/reports