LGBTs and allies are invited to meet to discuss the progress for an AIDS cure and the state of local AIDS-related policies.
The AIDS Policy Project will provide an update on the science and politics of the epidemic from noon-3 p.m. Oct. 18 at Cedar Works, 4919 Pentridge St.
Katie Kraus, executive director and founder of the project, emphasized that the meeting was not just for activists.
“It’s also for people who care about the issue of finding a cure for AIDS and those who want to do something about it,” she said. “This is a great chance to get people plugged into the issue.”
The AIDS Policy Project team will have just returned from a National Institutes of Health meeting on the issue, and have the most up-to-date information to share.
Some of the topics they will discuss at the meeting are the latest with stem cell and gene manipulation/gene therapy and the cases of patients who appeared to have been cured but instead remained nearly AIDS-free.
Attendees will also be taught how to encrypt their work and activities online, utilizing powerful encryption tools recommended by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
“It’s very important as activists that you know how to keep your stuff safe online. For activism, you need privacy — it’s an important issue that affects all of us,” Kraus said.
While the event is educational, Kraus also hopes people will commit to action.
“Research, fundraising, making calls — we need help with it all,” she said. “We want to get everyone up to speed, then sign them up to do something.”
Kraus has been involved in AIDS activism since 1989. She was a nurse in San Francisco at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
She lived in the Lower Haight neighborhood, right next to the Castro.
“I can remember my apartment building being full of people who couldn’t even come down the stairs because they were so sick. Everyone around me was dying by this point — Castro was empty. I wanted to help somehow,” Kraus said.
So she began writing press releases for ACT UP, and has been an activist ever since.
Comprised of experienced AIDS advocates, political strategists, health professionals and people with AIDS, the AIDS Policy Project is a national activist group focused on removing obstacles to the search for a cure for AIDS.
For more information visit, www.aidspolicyproject.org.