Defend Project TEACH
Philadelphia- Two weeks ago, the city's Ryan White Planning Council voted to cut funding for Project TEACH, one of the Philadelphia's most respected HIV programs. Project TEACH has taught thousands of HIV+ African Americans and other people with HIV in Philadelphia how to stay healthy and help others get live-saving information. Because HIV is a growing crisis amongst African Americans and other People of Color, on Thursday, March 8th at 2pm, over 100 members of ACT UP Philadelphia will storm the meeting of the Philadelphia HIV Planning Council, and demand that funding for Project TEACH be fully restored.
The Ryan White Planning Council is a steering committee that sets funding priorities for the allocation of federal resources to local projects. The Council is made up of individuals living with HIV/AIDS as well as representatives from local AIDS Service Organizations. The money allocated comes from the federal Ryan White CARE Act, a bill that provides funding for care and treatment services for people living with AIDS in the United States. Project TEACH, a nationally recognized HIV/AIDS program, is the primary recipient of the funds that were cut by the Planning Council. The elimination of these funds will lead to the cancellation of current and upcoming TEACH classes if the cuts are not restored.
Project TEACH (Treatment Education Activists Combating HIV) helps train people with HIV in HIV disease and treatment options. In the eleven years of TEACH, over 2,000 people living with HIV/AIDS have graduated the program. "Project TEACH helped me understand my HIV diagnosis. Without TEACH, I would not be able to do many of the things I do today. Thousands of Philadelphians living with HIV have not had the opportunity to participate in the program, and gain the education they need to live their lives as healthily and fully as I have", said ACT UP member and TEACH graduate Waheedah Shabazz-el.
Due to new federal government restrictions, the majority of funding must be directed towards "core services," including treatment, case management, mental health, medications, and care outreach. Other categories, such as the Psychosocial award that funds TEACH, are deemed "low priority." ACT UP member and Project TEACH instructor Hannah Zellman explained, "We can't prioritize funding for treatment without maintaining funding for treatment education. Our curriculum provides students the information they need to understand their HIV infection, the treatments available, how to build a relationship with their medical provider, and how to be an active and empowered participant in their healthcare. We can't fund treatment and eliminate access to the information that makes treatment successful for people."
This is not the first cut in federal funding to affect HIV/AIDS services in Philadelphia. According to ACT UP member Roy Hayes, "The first thing to go was the tokens to help people get to the doctor and support group meetings, then food programs for people with AIDS were gone, now TEACH is being taken away. Soon there will be nothing left." In recent years, HIV funding levels have remained stagnant, even as the number of people needing services has increased. "These de facto cuts have slowly whittled away at the services that people living with HIV/AIDS need to survive. HIV is not just another disease like diabetes. Special programs are essential to ensure that people with HIV live full, healthy lives," said ACT UP member Kaytee Riek.
ACT UP Philadelphia is an activist organization led by and for people living with AIDS. Since 1988, ACT UP has been a preeminent grassroots activist group, calling for funding for effective prevention, treatment, and care services for people living with and at risk for HIV. Next year, ACT UP Philadelphia will commemorate 20 years of campaigns and successes in the fight to ends AIDS in the US and around the world.
