By-Law Change Imperils Funding For UW LGBT, Diversity Centers
Madison - The University of Wisconsin’s LGBT Student Center and Diversity Education Program stand to lose $360,000 of student fee funding as a result of recent By-law change made by the Student Services Finance Committee, the group that allots money to the two popular campus resources.
  Earlier this year, UW Chancellor John Wiley sent a memo to the committee stating that only registered student organizations could receive student fees. Based on that instruction, the Finance Committee rewrote its By-laws to comply with the Chancellor’s demand.
  As a result, several programs, including the LGBT Campus Center and the Diversity Education Program will no longer be allowed to receive student fees because they are not registered student organizations. Both programs are run by professionals who work for the university, not students.
  Zach Frey, chairman of the finance committee told the Capital Times his concerns were more about the appropriateness of funding through student fees. “Am I concerned? Yes,” Frey said. “(However) it’s an issue of who should be funding them.”
  Located in the  Memorial Union, the LGBT Student Center had received approximately $60,000 in student fees last year, according to center Director Eric Trekell. Fees were used to pay rent, pay student staff salaries and fund programming. The university pays for its two professional staffers, including Trekell, and the center’s library.
  In the last year  the diversity program served about 5,000 students. The program developed  academic courses and mentored students on issues of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.. The program has six professional staff positions, four of which are currently filled.
Student fees funded 100% of its operation, according to program directors.
  The Diversity Education Program had applied for funding eligibility earlier this month and was turned down. The LGBT Center, which had about 30% of its funding come from the fees last year, will have a funding hearing next month.
  Trekell said he did not know what would happen at his group’s funding hearing. There’s a chance it could keep its student funding into 2008 because it was declared eligible for student funding for a two-year period last year, before the finance panel changed its bylaws.
  “This came out of nowhere,” Marla Delgado told Capital Times reporter Aaron Nathans of the decision to de-fund the Diversity Program. Delgado is a second-year graduate student who has worked with the program’s sister student organization, the Multicultural Student Coalition.
  Delgado estimated the Diversity Education Program received more than $300,000 per year and characterized the decision to deny funding as “absolutely ridiculous.”
  Delgado blamed the decision on conflicts between the center’s staff and the UW-Madison administration. “There is a lot of tension between staff who really stand up for students, and administrators who want to keep the students tame,” Delgado said. “If the administration does not agree with the students, they don’t want to see professional staff taking the students’ side.”
  Chancellor Wiley appeared to confirm Delgado’s claims, noting that the program had been the site of “ongoing tensions.” “(Students) feel they should be the supervisors of the coordinators,” Wiley said.
  Wiley added that discussions on the matter are under way among administrators and interested students about the program’s future and claimed the administration never applied pressure to de-fund the organization in particular. The diversity program was founded by student leaders in 1999 and 2000.

Appling, Tate To Debate Amendment In Two  Forums
Madison - The two lead campaigns involved in the proposed same-sex marriage ban will debate in two forums sponsored by WisPolitics.com and set for September 26 and October 2. Julaine Appling, CEO of the amendment-supporting Family Research Institute of Wisconsin, and Mike Tate, campaign director for the opposing Fair Wisconsin group, will debate before media panels in two debates.
  The first debate will be in Green Bay in the  Executive Dining Room of the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, 2740 W Mason St., beginning at 7 PM. The Waukesha Debate will be held Monday, October 2 from 7- 8 PM in Room N133 at UW-Waukesha, 1500 N University Drive.
  Under the ground rules agreed to by WisPolitics.com, Fair Wisconsin and the Family Research Institute, Appling and Tate each will deliver two-minute opening and closing statements separated by two-minute answers to questions posed by journalists. No audience questions will be accepted.
  Members of the public wishing to attend must contact either Fair Wisconsin at 608-441-0143 or the Family Research Institute at 608-256-3228.
  The WisPolitics sponsored debates are the latest in a series on the proposed civil unions and marriage ban being held around the state. Wisconsin Public Radio and the Wausau Daily News sponsored a debate aired regionally on September 21, the same night as the League of Women Voters held a similar forum in Manitowoc. An apparently one-sided “Defense of Marriage” forum was held in LaCrosse - sponsored by the Family Research Institute of Wisconsin and the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

World & National News:

New York City - A substantial percentage of men who have sex with other men still consider themselves “straight,” a survey of New York City men suggests.
  The findings imply that doctors should not rely on a man’s self-described sexual orientation in assessing his risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Instead, they should ask patients specific questions about their sexual behavior, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Preeti Pathela of the New York City health department.
  The findings are based on a 2003 health department survey that included 4,193 men age 18 and up. Respondents were asked about their sexual behavior and their sexual orientation. Almost 4% said they were homosexual, while 91% described themselves as “straight.” The rest said they were bisexual, “unsure,” or declined to answer.
  But of men who considered themselves heterosexual, nearly 10% had had sex with a man, but no woman, in the past year, Pathela’s team found. And of the 337 survey respondents who’d had sex with another man, almost 73% identified themselves as straight.
  Cultural norms may have played a significant role in the discrepancy, according to the researchers. Foreign-born men, who make up a large proportion of New York City men, were more likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to call themselves heterosexual despite having sex with other men. Men raised in cultures less accepting of homosexuality may be “reluctant” to identify themselves as such, Pathela’s team noted, or they may have a narrow definition of what constitutes homosexuality.
  In general, self-described heterosexuals, whether they had sex with men or not, had fewer sexual partners than men who said they were homosexual. However, self-described straight men who had sex with other men were less likely than gay men to have had an HIV test recently or to use condoms.
  This pattern is “troubling,” according to the researchers, and it highlights the need to target STD prevention messages beyond men who call themselves homosexual. “It is of utmost importance for providers to take a sexual history that ascertains the sex of (the) partner or partners,” Pathela’s team wrote. “Given our data, asking about a patient’s sexual identity will not adequately assess his risk.”

HRC: “Corporate America Competing To Be The Most LGBT-Friendly”
Washington, DC -  The Human Rights Campaign has released a report showing that a record number of the largest U.S. companies are increasingly competing to expand benefits and protections for their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees and consumers. Issued September 19, the Human Rights Campaign’s fifth annual Corporate Equality Index, showed an unprecedented 138 major U.S. companies earned the top rating of 100%. That number is up from 101 in 2005, and has grown tenfold in four years.
  “I am incredibly encouraged and optimistic about the findings in this report. Companies are not only working to improve their scores, they are actively competing to be ranked the most inclusive and fair-minded in their industry,” Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said. “Leading companies, which years ago instituted basic equal employment policies, are accelerating their efforts to expand the range of benefits. This competition sends a clear message that corporate America is rapidly becoming a place of fairness for LGBT Americans.”
  Indeed, this year’s report found fierce competition within industries for the top rating, triggering quick actions to improve company policies and benefits at many companies. Using the CEI, companies can examine their scores in absolute terms, but also relative to their competitors. For example, last year Raytheon Co. was the only member of the aerospace industry to get a perfect score. This year, however, three of its competitors also earned 100%. Four other industries saw rapid growth in companies achieving the top score. A total of eight law firms, five pharmaceutical companies and five consulting houses all reached 100% for the first time in 2006. And, while in 2005 two major auto companies achieved the top rating, this year, that number doubled to four.
  “CEOs are very much aware of their score and its impact on their business. They know that a top score means a healthier work environment, greater productivity and the ability to recruit top talent. They also know that a bad score will hurt their bottom line,” Solmonese added.
  In all of the policy and benefits areas that were measured, the report reveals double-digit increases in the number of companies adhering to the criteria. Among the companies surveyed in the new report, this year: 75% more companies than in 2005 prohibited discrimination against transgender employees in employment practices; 64% more companies than in 2005 implemented at least one wellness benefit for transgender employees; 35% more companies than in 2005 extended COBRA, vision, dental and dependent medical coverage to employees’ same-sex domestic partners; and 14% more companies than in 2005 engaged in philanthropic or marketing activities directed toward the LGBT community.
  Almost all of the companies rated - 436, or 98% - include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination polices.
  “Corporations are rapidly adopting a more complete vision of fairness for LGBT employees in policy and practice,” Daryl Herrschaft, director for HRC’s Workplace Project and author of the report said. “These findings reflect a common desire in organizations today to move at a heightened pace to implement fair and equal policies for LGBT employees and then work to publicize their achievements.”
  Three companies received a score of zero on the report. They are: oil giant ExxonMobil, grocery chain Meijer Inc. and high-tech consulting firm Perot Systems. None of these companies offer even the most minimal benefits or workplace protections to their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees.
  The analysis released today covers 446 companies. The report includes surveys from Fortune 1000, Standard & Poor’s 500, Forbes’ list of the 200 largest privately held firms, the American Lawyer 100 and any other company with 500 or more employees that requested a rating or for which HRC had sufficient data to derive a score.
  The Human Rights Campaign not only tracked the progress of companies, it was actively involved in improving corporate scores. For the past several years, the Human Rights Campaign Workplace Project has worked with hundreds of executives of small, medium and large businesses as well as with LGBT employees to provide on-site training on fair policies and provide pertinent cutting-edge research that helps businesses learn best practices, successful models and the positive results created by implementing these policies in their workplace.
  The 2006 HRC Corporate Equality Index rated companies on a scale of 0 to 100% on several factors, including whether they have a written non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation; support transgender employees with written non-discrimination policies and benefits; offer inclusive health insurance, bereavement and family leave policies to employees with same-sex partners; offer diversity training; have LGBT employee groups; engage in appropriate and respectful advertising to the LGBT community; contribute to LGBT community organizations; and decline to engage in any activities that would undermine the goal of equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
  A copy of the report and all ratings can be found at www.hrc.org/cei.

Federal Routine HIV Testing Proposal Troubles Some Rights Groups
Washington, DC -  The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has proposed new rules for HIV testing that could increase the number of people tested for the disease but would also eliminate established safeguards. The CDC on September 21 recommended regular, routine testing for the AIDS virus for all Americans ages 13 to 64, saying an HIV test should be as common as a cholesterol check.
  Nearly half of new HIV infections are discovered when doctors are trying to diagnose a patient who has already grown sick with an HIV-related illness, CDC officials said. An estimated 250,000 Americans don’t yet know they have HIV.
  “We simply must improve early diagnosis,” CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said.
  Under the new guidelines, patients could get tested without their written consent. They would be tested for the AIDS virus as part of standard tests administered when they go for urgent or emergency care, or even during a routine physical. The recommendations aren’t legally binding, but they influence what doctors do and what health insurance programs cover.
   According to the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes the proposed new rules, health care providers could also do away with counseling should a patient test positive for HIV. Consent for the test would be covered in a clinic or hospital’s standard care consent form. Patients would be allowed to decline the testing. The CDC’s guidelines say no one should be tested without his or her knowledge.
  “The CDC should be commended for trying to increase the number of people tested for HIV, but eliminating the only safeguards that guarantee that testing is voluntary and informed does little to ensure that people will receive the care they need,” Rose Saxe, staff attorney with the ACLU’s AIDS Project, said in a statement.  “Studies have shown that patients who are tested without consent are less likely to get the follow-up care that is critical to maintaining good health.”
  “Receiving an HIV diagnosis is a significant life-changing event,” Saxe noted. “Without pre- and post-test counseling requirements, we risk losing a critical opportunity to educate people about HIV and how to prevent the spread of it.”
  Lambda Legal, the gay and lesbian legal advocacy group, also came out against the proposed rules.  “With these revised recommendations, CDC is shirking its responsibility to persons tested for HIV and missing an important opportunity to improve prevention and treatment of HIV infection,” Bebe Anderson, Lambda Legal’s HIV project director, said in a statement.

Episcopal Summit Fails To Resolve Gay Divide
New York - Episcopal bishops at odds over homosexuality ended a private meeting September 13 saying they had not reached agreement over dioceses that reject the authority of the church’s incoming national leader, who supports gay relationships. The 11 bishops said they “were unable to come to common agreement on the way forward,” although they recognized the need to accommodate the dissenting dioceses.
  “The level of openness and charity in this conference allow us to pledge to hold one another in prayer and to work together until we have reached the solution God holds out for us,” the bishops said in a statement. They did not say whether another meeting was planned.
  Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the world Anglican Communion, had asked the U. S. bishops to hold the talks. He is struggling to keep the Anglican family unified despite deep rifts over whether same-gender partnerships violate Scripture. The Episcopal Church is the U S arm of the Anglican fellowship.
  In 2003, the American denomination caused an uproar when it consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. In June, the divisions intensified when the Episcopal General Convention elected a new presiding bishop who approves of ordaining partnered gays. Bishop of Nevada Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first woman to lead the church, will be installed November 4.
  Now seven conservative dioceses are asking Williams for alternative oversight from an Anglican leader who shares their traditional views. The dioceses are Pittsburgh, Dallas, Central Florida, Fort Worth, Fresno,  Springfield, IL, and South Carolina.
  Among the bishops who participated in the three-day talks were Jefferts Schori and Bishop of Pittsburgh Robert Duncan, leader of a network of Episcopal conservatives who are considering whether to break away from the denomination. Williams also sent a representative.
  Conservatives are a minority in the 2.3-million member U S church, but leaders fear that a split would prompt legal battles.

Aussie Study: Women Have More Orgasms During Lesbian Sex
London - While women often complain of their spouses’ inability to help them experience orgasm on a frequent basis, a recent survey reveals that females are more likely to climax during lesbian sex than straight sex.  Just under 69% of women questioned in the survey climaxed during their last heterosexual encounter compared to 76%, who did so while romping with another female, according to a report printed September in the tabloid paper The Sun.
  Researchers quizzed 19,000 people across Australia and blamed selfish men who concentrated solely on intercourse, because it was most “effective” for them. They added that many women with lower sex drives were also left unsatisfied when pressured into having sex, while only 5.2% of men did not orgasm.  75% of women polled by three Aussie universities said their last sexual activity included some kind of “manual stimulation”, while a quarter said their romp included oral sex.

McGreevey “Confession” Memoir Hits Stores Sparking Controversy
New York - Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey’s memoir ‘The Confession’ went on sale September 19, sparking more talk and controversy.
  When James McGreevey uttered the words “I am a Gay American” just over two years ago at a press conference he ended an administration and became one of the most talked about politicians in the country.
Now, his tell-all memoir, “The Confession,” has divulged even more about cheating on his wife with another man, according to this week’s issue of New York Magazine.
  McGreevey had the alleged affair with Golan Cipel, he was the man appointed to head the state’s Homeland Security Department.
  But not everyone is running to the bookstore to snatch up a copy of McGreevey’s memoirs, especially not the Garden State’s current governor, Democrat Jon Corzine, “When people try to enhance their economic interest by using their office it’s a clear abuse and a breakdown of personal character.”
  McGreevey has made the rounds on the TV circuit including the Oprah Winfrey Show. McGreevy’s final stop was supposed to be at the Late Show with David Letterman where he was scheduled to present the Top Ten List the night of the book’s debut, but he canceled.

Aiken Calls Gay Question “Rude”
New York - With the release of his new album A Thousand Different Ways, Fox Network’s 2003 American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken showed off his latest hair makeover in exclusive confessionals with ABC’s Good Morning America and People magazine this past week.
  In the first part of his interview on GMA, Diane Sawyer tried to press singer Clay Aiken on whether or not he is gay, but Aiken said questions like that have become “really rude.”
  “It’s one thing to try to be open and talk to people and try to share as much as I can and, and of course I want to,” Aiken told Sawyer on Good Morning America Thursday. “But at some point it becomes just really rude, you know?” Aiken clarified that he was not angry with Sawyer over the issue.
  “I don’t understand why it’s any of your business,” he told Sawyer. “I don’t think you’re rude because I figure, you know, people have a job to do.”
  Aiken concluded that the subject was “a waste” of his time. “I’m not spending my time with this anymore,” Aiken said.
  Aiken also said on Good Morning America that he’s been on antidepressants to treat the panic attacks he’s had since becoming famous.
  The singer’s new album covers 10 classic love songs and has four original tracks. Aiken said that he hopes the new album will showcase his grown-up side because he thinks many people view him as a kid.
  Meanwhile, Aiken said he has been keeping himself grounded by moving back to his hometown of Raleigh, N.C., where celebrity isn’t important.

Rupert Everett: “I’m Too Old To Be Gay!”
London - Rupert Everett has said he is too old to be gay. The 47-year-old actor, who is open about his sexual orientation, said he is single because young gay men aren’t interested in dating someone older than them.
  Everett told Britain’s Daily Telegraph magazine: “Unfortunately, I am single, yes, but I’m too exhausted for anything else and being gay is a young man’s game.  “Now no one wants me. Being gay and being a woman has one big thing in common, which is that we both become invisible after the age of 42,” Everett said. “Who wants a gay 50- year-old? No one let me tell you. I could set myself on fire in a gay bar, and people would just light their cigarettes from me.”
  The actor - who has just written his autobiography Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, admits he wants to grow old gracefully, but he would like to find a boyfriend first.  “I don’t want to be carried out of a club wearing a tie-dye T-shirt and a cap on the wrong way around when I am 70, Everett quipped. “But I would like to settle down a bit, maybe with a partner. In some ways I do feel more settled, but now I want to take part in things.”
  Everett rose to fame and fandom from both sexes with 1997’s romantic comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding. He has since lent his voice to the hit Shrek animated series and The Chronicles of Narnia. Upcoming films include  the comedy The Great Farrell and the fantasy adventure Stardust.

State News:

New York City - A Public Education Associate from the national office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has praised Fair Wisconsin’s efforts to defeat the proposed civil union and marriage ban. In a letter sent to newspaper and broadcast media reporters and editors across the country, ACLU’s Eric Eagan encouraged greater coverage of the Fair Wisconsin effort to defeat the ban.
  Eagan began by reviewing the recent series of setbacks the LGBT community has seen in court cases across the country. “This summer has seen a string of news across the country regarding marriage recognition for same-sex couples,” Eagan wrote. “High courts in New York and Washington have ruled that those states can continue to bar same-sex couples and their families from the protections of marriage based on current state law.  In Nebraska, Tennessee and Georgia, challenges to the constitutionality of ballot initiatives restricting marriage to heterosexual couples have failed in the courts.  Our opponents in the fight for marriage protections have pointed to this series of bad decisions as evidence that the movement for marriage for same-sex couples is dead.”
  Eagan then pointed to the Wisconsin battle. “Not so fast, says Fair Wisconsin, an organization that is poised to potentially defeat a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin constitution banning same-sex marriage and civil unions,” Eagan continued.  “While the fight for marriage in other states has encountered obstacles, Fair Wisconsin is waging an aggressive campaign to change public opinion, and is succeeding by taking its message of fairness to the people.”
  Eagen then posed the question “What is Fair Wisconsin doing right?” His answers included:

· According to its first report, Fair Wisconsin raised $1.3 million in a four month period, from a pool of 5,000 individual donors, 90 percent of whom are in-state.

· The organization is running a church-by-church organizing program that has resulted in faith institutions representing over 500,000 congregants taking public stands against the ban.

· By the end of August, Fair Wisconsin had over 7,000 volunteers, 28 local volunteer committees, 10 field offices, and over 50 paid staff members fighting the ban every single day.

· The group has reframed the debate in the media and with voters, emphasizing that this two-sentence amendment will not only ban marriage for same-sex couples, but could also take away relationships such as civil unions for heterosexual as well as same-sex couples. 

· Fair Wisconsin has been organizing against the proposed amendment since January 2004, when the ban was first introduced in the Wisconsin legislature.  In most other states that have faced these amendments, opponents have had only four or five months to mount a campaign.

· One recent poll, commissioned by WisPolitics.com, found that public opinion on the ban is in a dead heat, with 48 percent voting “no” (against the amendment) and 49 percent voting “yes.”  Generally polls suggest a movement of 15 to 20 percent of voters moving to a “no” vote since the amendment was introduced in the Legislature in 2004.

  “Fair Wisconsin is working to convince Wisconsinites that preventing same-sex couples from marrying is harmful to those couples and their families,” Eagan concluded.  “A win in Wisconsin- a Midwestern swing state- would send a clear message to same-sex marriage opponents that Americans are beginning to change their minds on this contentious issue.”

Camp Bingo Returns October 8
Madison - What has 3 drag queens, lots of balls and tons of lesbian love? Camp Bingo! Camp Bingo is back.   It is still at the High Noon Saloon and will be hosted by the lovely GiGi Monroe.   It is 21 and over and all proceeds go back to support AIDS Network.  
  There are cash and other prizes, and also a few other surprises throughout the day.  The theme for October is “Trick Or Treat” Bingo, so dress up in your favorite Halloween contest.  There is a prize for best costume so don’t be skimpy on the flamboyance of your outfit.
  The cost for Camp Bingo is $15 for seven games, with six bingo cards per game. Doors open at 1 PM.  First Ball will be grabbed at 2:30 PM. For more information, check out the website: www.madcampbingo.org

Baptist, UCC Churches Unite To Set Concert Against the Marriage Ban
Madison - The First Baptist Church and the First Congregational United Church of Christ here are sponsoring a concert against the proposed constitutional amendment banning marriage and civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. The duo of Susan Drake and Julie Jennings will perform at First Baptist Church, 518 North Franklin Avenue, at 7 PM. on Saturday, October 7.
  Susan Drake and Julie Jennings are songwriters and singers from Saint Louis, Missouri. Susan and Julie bring crisp social critique, bold honesty, emotional integrity, and passion for life to their songs. Partners in life, they apply these gifts and much love to co-parenting their children, Sarah and Andrew.
  Susan and Julie also are both ordained ministers in the United Church of Christ. Susan works as a hospice chaplain, and Julie is a chaplain to youth in detention. They have been making music together since 1999.
  A free will offering will be taken to support the Fair Wisconsin campaign. Susan and Julie will also participate in a
special worship service at First Congregational UCC at 10 AM the next morning, October 8.
  The two churches have organized the concert to support and encourage opposition to the amendment to the state constitution on the ballot on 7 November. The amendment will prohibit not only same-gender marriages but any legal recognition of relationship “substantially similar” for any unmarried couple regardless of sexual orientation.
  Amendment opponents point out that in other states that have passed similar measures, domestic abuse protection for heterosexual cohabitating couples has ended. It has also invalidated domestic partner benefits for many employers. For more information on the ban visit the Fair Wisconsin website at: www.fairwisconsin.com.
  For more information about the concert, contact Jeff Rabe at First Congregational UCC by phone at: 608-233-9751 or by email at: jrabe@firstcongmadison.org.

OutReach Transgender Movie Nights Set For Late September
Madison -  OutReach Inc, will present two films on transgender themes in late September at the agency’s office space, 600 Williamson St. 
  On Thursday, September 28 the community center will show the 200 film The Badge, featuring Billy Bob Thorton, Patricia Arquette, William Devan, and Sela Ward.  A sheriff (Thornton) begins an investigation into the death of a local transsexual woman after hearing that high ranking politicians may have been involved. Although he is homophobic, his investigation causes him to be rejected by others, forcing him to seek help from the people he once despised.
  On Friday, September 29 OutrReach will offer Southern Comfort, a 2001 documentary featuring Robert Eads and Lola Cola. As Robert Eads puts it in one of the first scenes of this remarkable documentary, he lives in “Bubba-land” - which wouldn’t be unusual if Robert weren’t a female-to-male transsexual.
  Southern Comfort chronicles the last year of Robert’s life, as he succumbed to, ironically, cervical cancer. Over that year, documentarian Kate Davis developed an amazing intimacy with Robert and his adopted family of other transsexuals living in the depths of Georgia, including his vivacious male-to-female transsexual girlfriend Lola.  
  The film’s title comes from an annual gathering that Robert describes as “the cotillion of the trans community, the coming-out party”--an event part convention, part high school prom. Every scene testifies to both the enormous difficulties they face and the grace, humor, and sheer will with which they take it all on. It’s not surprising
Southern Comfort has won numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
  Both films will be shown at 6:30 PM on their respective nights. The films are free & open to the public. If interested please RSVP by with Renee at 255-8582 or e-mail at programs@outreachinc.com as space is limited in the showing room.

Milwaukee - In the final weeks of September each year, Wisconsin’s two AIDS service agencies hold their major walk fundraisers. Saturday, September 30 will mark the 17th Annual AIDS Walk Wisconsin here. Themed in 2006 as “Soles Helping Souls,” and featuring celebrity chair BD Wong, the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin-sponsored 10K event will step off from the Henry B. Maier Summerfest grounds at Noon with a route that follows along the city’s lakefront, then circles through Lake Park and doubles back to the starting point through the city’s upper East side area. This year’s goal is to have 5000 walkers and teams raise $500,000.
  There is still time to get involved in this year’s event. Call Bill Keeton, Walker and Team Registration Coordinator for ARCW by email at: bill.keeton@arcw.org, by phone at: 414-225-1592 or by fax at 414-273-2357.  For more information online visit: www.aidswalkwis.org.
  Quest had the opportunity to ask ARCW’s Doug Nelson five quick questions about the State of AIDS In Wisconsin in 2006.

Quest: How would you assess Wisconsin’s current overall status In the battle against HIV/AIDS?

Nelson: Wisconsin is truly a national leader in the fight against AIDS. We can be proud that from the very beginning we have led the fight against AIDS aggressively and with enlightenment on AIDS prevention, care, treatment and advocacy.
  No state can match Wisconsin’s achievement on needle exchange. Our Lifepoint needle exchange program operates in 11 Wisconsin cities and is the largest statewide needle exchange program in the country.  It exchanges over 600,000 needles a year and in Milwaukee it has reduced the annual HIV infection rate among drug users by 66%.
  We’ve always been aggressive and creative in our outreach to gay men providing strong messages of HIV risk reduction. We’ve gone wherever we’ve been needed -- in the bars, on the Internet, at the festivals and even to public sex venues to help men stay safe. Our programs have been rated among the best in the country by the National Gay Men’s Health Conference.
  Our aggressive approach to AIDS prevention has made Wisconsin a leader in achieving one of the lowest AIDS case rates in the country.
  We are also an important national leader in HIV care and treatment. We are making sure that everyone with HIV receives the medical care they need. The ARCW Medical Center has become Wisconsin’s largest provider of HIV health care for all patients regardless of their ability to pay. Through a strong state AIDS Drug Reimbursement Program, we are also assuring that patients have access to the medications they need.
  We are leaders in providing integrated health and social services. The ARCW Dental Clinic assures good oral health, the ARCW Mental Health Clinic addresses the emotional issues of HIV, our food pantries provide nutritious foods, our statewide housing program helps patients remain in their homes and our legal services program helps patients secure entitlements and resolve difficult legal issues.  All of these services are coordinated through a major statewide system of social work case managers that is unique in the country.

Quest: What has been the greatest success in battle against AIDS in the last year?

Nelson: An enormous achievement is the advancement in medical treatment that enables patients to live long and healthy lives.  It has enhanced the prospects for a one pill a day drug regimen. It’s made HIV a disease that can be effectively managed with quality outpatient care.  And, it’s reduced the AIDS death rate in Wisconsin to its lowest level in 20 years.  This success is why our focus at ARCW is to provide health care for everyone regardless of their ability to pay so they have the chance for long and healthy lives.
  A recent big success for ARCW is securing a $2 million federal grant to open an HIV specialty dental clinic in our Green Bay office.  Good oral health is an important part of successful HIV treatment and this new clinic will be a wonderful resource for people across northern Wisconsin.
  We’re also pleased that in the past year we opened our fourth food pantry in Eau Claire that joins our pantries in Green Bay, Kenosha and Milwaukee.  These pantries offer good, nutritious food that is also a vital part of successful HIV treatment.

Quest: What remains the biggest challenge in battling HIV in Wisconsin?

Nelson: The major goal coming out of the recent International AIDS Conference in Toronto is universal access to health care for people with HIV all around the globe. Here in Wisconsin that must be our goal as well and it will be our biggest challenge.
  The ARCW Medical Center is vitally important to achieving this goal in Wisconsin.  Through our medical, dental and mental health clinics we are serving more than 1,200 patients, one-third of whom have no health care coverage whatsoever.  Very quickly the ARCW Medical Center has become the largest provider of HIV health care in Wisconsin.  We expect our patient census to continue to grow rapidly and ultimately exceed 2,000 patients in the near future. Our greatest challenge is to make sure that the ARCW Medical Center is well prepared to guarantee health care for all HIV patients in the years ahead.

Quest: What do you think Wisconsin does better than others in fighting HIV/AIDS?

Nelson: A lot!  Very few states can match the comprehensive statewide HIV health and social services that we provide. We are way ahead of most states in assuring access to HIV dental care. Few states have an HIV dedicated legal services program that reaches all areas of the state as we do.  Our statewide case management system is the envy of most states.  We have an impressive record of getting everyone with HIV into health care and making sure they have the medications they need.  No state has as large a statewide needle exchange program as Wisconsin.
  Finally, our state government has always had a strong, bipartisan commitment to the fight against AIDS.  In the past year Governor Doyle and the Republican Legislature united to increase state AIDS funding by 25%. Wouldn’t it be nice if other states and the federal government would follow Wisconsin’s lead!

Quest: What do you think is the most important reason why people should participate in ARCW’s AIDS Walk Wisconsin September 30?

Nelson: The fight against AIDS is far from over.  We’ve got to strengthen and expand our prevention programs to reduce HIV infections in Wisconsin.  We’ve got to make sure that everyone with HIV in our state can get the health care they need. When you join the AIDS Walk you can help raise the funds that will make all this happen.
  AIDS Walk Wisconsin is a spectacular event where thousands of people come together in solidarity to strengthen the fight against AIDS.  I guarantee that you will feel good about yourself when you participate in AIDS Walk Wisconsin!

Quest earlier put the same five questions to AIDS Network’s Bob Power (changing the name of the event in the final query to AIDS Walk, Roll & Stroll). We shared his insights with our readers in our September 14 issue available in print statewide and online.