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What's New with ALC 11?
The registration system is different than it used to be. Now I don't choose a beneficiary, I simply register for the AIDS/LifeCycle. What's up?
AIDS/LifeCycle is always looking for ways to improve the experience of our participants and to keep our overhead expenses low. Our new unified database achieves both ends. Registering for the ride is simpler, and participants from different cities can now be on the same team, as well as register for on-line tent assignment, regardless of where they reside.
People who live in southern California are supported by the L.A. ride office and people who live in northern California are supported by the San Francisco ride office—that way the office closest to the participants is the one that helps them. Out of state participants are evenly divided between both offices.
Where does my money go?
Proceeds from AIDS/LifeCycle support the HIV and AIDS-related services of both the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Generally speaking, proceeds and expenses are divided on a per capita basis. If 55% of our in state participants live in Northern California and 45% live in Southern California, that's how the proceeds and expenses are split. Out-of-state proceeds and expenses are split 50/50 between the two agencies, regardless of which office is supporting those participants.
What programs are provided as a result of my fundraising?
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has been a leader in battling AIDS and caring for those who are HIV-infected since the earliest days of the pandemic. Today, the millions of dollars raised annually by AIDS/LifeCycle participants support these vital services:
- Medical Care - The Center's Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic offers people living with HIV/AIDS comprehensive free or low-cost primary and specialty medical care. About 2,300 people receive care at the clinic each year.
- Mental Health Services - The Center's staff of mental health professionals offers one-on-one and group therapy to help people struggling with HIV overcome substance abuse and addiction; adhere to difficult HIV drug regimens; improve self-esteem; get through the trauma of a new HIV diagnosis and manage other issues they may be facing. The program serves more than 1,600 people each year
- Pharmacy - The Center's full-service pharmacy provides help for patients who struggle to afford costly medications. For patients without private insurance, medications are supported by the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), Medi-Cal and Medicare as well as fundraising dollars.
- HIV Testing - The Center tests 800-1,000 people for HIV each month and was one of the first in the nation to adopt rapid HIV testing. A mobile unit - the POW! (Prevention on Wheels) van - takes HIV testing directly to those who are most at-risk and hard to reach.
- HIV Prevention - The Center works to reduce the spread of HIV through myriad education and prevention services, including: WEHO Life, a program that distributes thousands of condoms and prevention materials yearly to West Hollywood businesses; Positive Images, a "live better program" for HIV-positive people; and In the Moment, a web-based soap opera following the lives of young gay men making decisions about sex, relationships, drug use and other life issues.
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation works to ensure the HIV epidemic ends in the same city where it began. By combining innovative, evidence-based programs for HIV prevention and care with bold policy initiatives focused on issues ranging from harm reduction to total health and wellness, the agency is making sustainable progress against HIV among populations most vulnerable to the disease. Established in 1982, San Francisco AIDS Foundation refuses to accept that HIV transmission is inevitable.
Funds raised by AIDS/LifeCycle participants support these vital services:
- BETA, the Bulletin of Experimental Treatments for AIDS, educates people living with HIV/AIDS, providers, and advocates about new prevention and treatment research. BETA is published twice a year in English and Spanish.
- Black Brothers Esteem brings together African-American gay, bisexual, and same-gender-loving men, empowering them to advocate for their own health and the health of their community.
- El Grupo supports Latinos living with HIV and their families. Reaching out to men and women, gay and straight, young and old, El Grupo is the oldest program of its kind in the United States.
- HIV Prevention Project exchanges more than 2.3 million syringes each year at 12 sites, contributing to an HIV transmission rate via intravenous drug use of less than one percent in San Francisco.
- HIV Testing is provided weekly at two locations on Sixth Street, one of San Francisco's hot spots for HIV infection.
- Housing and Financial Benefits helps people living with HIV/AIDS understand the private and public benefits system and offers transitional housing assistance and rental subsidies to nearly 400 individuals and families.
- Magnet offers sexual health services, including HIV and STD testing, for gay and bisexual men at a health and community center in San Francisco's Castro district.
- Science and Public Policy advocates on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS at the national, state, and local level and provides information about recent HIV prevention research to inform evidence-based public policy.
- The Speed Project reaches out to gay and bisexual men in San Francisco who use crystal meth. Peer educators share information and resources to encourage good health and safety.
- The Stonewall Project offers nonjudgmental counseling to gay and bisexual men struggling with crystal meth. On its website, tweaker.org, nearly 2,300 visitors a day receive meth education and information.
