Happy Opening Day to the SF Giants!

Happy Opening Day / Orange Friday to one of our favorite teams: the San Francisco Giants!!

 

In 1994, the Giants became the first-ever professional sports team to host an AIDS benefit game, “Until There’s A Cure Day”. Since then, the Giants and the Giants Community Fund have repeated the effort with Until There’s A Cure, generating more than $1.3 million for San Francisco Bay Area HIV/AIDS prevention education and care and testing services as well as international vaccine development.

The Giants were the first team to celebrate Until There’s a Cure, and the tradition continues with this special night. Partial proceeds from every special event ticket sold will be donated to the Until There’s a Cure Foundation; all event tickets will be grouped together across a couple of sections to create a community feel at the ballpark.  UNTIL will also receive grants through the Giants Community that will go to help fund HIV/AIDS services to the San Francisco Bay Area community.

Join us Monday, May 14th 2012 as the SF Giants take on the CO Rockies at 7:15pm!

Catch some Giants baseball and support a great cause . . . Until There’s A Cure!

Join us and the SF Giants for the “Until There’s A Cure” Game

In 1994, the Giants became the first-ever professional sports team to host an AIDS benefit game, “Until There’s A Cure Day”. Since then, the Giants and the Giants Community Fund have repeated the effort with Until There’s A Cure, generating more than $1.3 million for San Francisco Bay Area HIV/AIDS prevention education and care and testing services as well as international vaccine development.

The Giants were the first team to celebrate Until There’s a Cure, and the tradition continues with this special night. Partial proceeds from every special event ticket sold will be donated to the Until There’s a Cure Foundation; all event tickets will be grouped together across a couple of sections to create a community feel at the ballpark.  UNTIL will also receive grants through the Giants Community that will go to help fund HIV/AIDS services to the San Francisco Bay Area community.

Catch some Giants baseball and support a great cause . . . Until There’s A Cure!

Help HIV+ Youth Live Longer and Healthier Lives

Until There’s A Cure plans to enable longer, healthier and more productive lives for HIV-positive girls and boys, ages 26 and younger, in the San Francisco Bay Area by funding testing, medical treatment and peer advocacy services.

We need your help!

• Make a donation
• Share with family and friends
• Post to your facebook and twitter pages

Half of all HIV infections in the U.S. occur in youth under age 25. Each hour in the U.S., two youth become infected with HIV. From receiving an HIV diagnosis, to disclosing ones status, understanding medical reports and dealing with the idea of death … adolescents not only require access to medical treatment, they need guidance to overcome these social and developmental challenges that come along with an HIV diagnosis. San Francisco is one of the regions most affected by HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

This project will provide medical treatment, counseling, drop-in emergency, and/or temporary and permanent housing services to 3,400 HIV-positive or at-risk youth in the San Francisco Bay Area who are battling the emotional and physical challenges of being HIV positive or at-risk.

We’ve battled hysteria, ignorance & complacency! Great advances have been made in treatment & care to improve life quality for persons with HIV/AIDS. There is a cure for AIDS. We’re just not there yet.
– Nora Hanna, Executive Director, Until There’s A Cure

Realities of HIV/AIDS in the San Francisco Bay Area

By Hana Kajimura

The subject line of the email read: “FACT: SF has the 2^nd highest number of reported AIDS cases in the nation.” It advertised a panel on Stanford’s Campus called “The Realities of HIV/AIDS in the Bay Area,” which featured representatives from Bay Positives, a support organization for young people, AIDS Legal Referral Panel, a low-cost legal service provider, and Maitri, a 24-hour care facility. We heard from young people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and professionals in the Bay Area who strive to support and care for them. The panel was so powerful that I want to communicate their message to all of you!

Some take away points:

• Some people think of HIV/AIDS as a death sentence, while others see it as a chronic manageable illness. In reality, it is somewhere in between
• It takes more than a pill to keep someone with HIV healthy.
• It’s hard for people to accept their status and seek health care.
• Disclosure is hard, especially when you’re still trying to start relationships.
• Stigma still exists.

Why youth are so important:

• Young people by nature are adventurous, free spirited and have raging hormones, which puts them at greater risk.
• We feel safe among our peers and don’t think about how far the sexual web extends.
• Trust and love can sometimes get in the way of protecting ourselves.

What we need to do now:

• We need to be better equipped to support and provide care for people with HIV/AIDS. Finding out your HIV status needs to come with benefits, not just stigma.
• We need to demystify sex. How are we supposed to talk to kids in public schools about sexually transmitted infections, when we can’t talk freely about sex? Most of us have never had the opportunity to talk about sex openly in a healthy way.
• We must empower people to talk in a public way about their HIV status. How should we create a safe and open space in which to do so?

1. Don’t judge. It can happen to any one of us.
2. Be supportive. No one should have to feel alone.
3. Most importantly, know the facts. Learn what HIV is and how it affects the body. Learn about stigma, trends, and correct misconceptions.

“I don’t want people going away tonight thinking you can’t be affected by it in any way whatsoever,” one of the speakers said.  He said that by coming to the panel, we made a choice, and our actions from tonight on say something about who we are. Similarly, the fact that you are reading this blog says something about who you are and what you stand for. You are electing to make a difference and get involved. Whether that means educating yourself or your peers, speaking up, or getting down to work—we have to be the change agents.