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THERE WILL BE NO MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 4
WINGS Cottages (aka Cutest Cottages on the Lake)
What should this beautiful lakefront resort be called? Send your suggestions to retreat@wingsmi.org, we have received several submissions so far and the winning name will be selected from the entries on September 14. You are welcome to visit the cottages any time; you can have a BBQ, use the beach, or just enjoy the peace and quiet for the day. This facility is available at no charge to our community. Find an available opening and plan to spend a few days at the cottages this Fall, we think you will be impressed. Contact Mike at the cottages at 810-359-2800. We are getting many positive responses from our members who have visited or spent a few days there so join the FUN today!
ANNOUCEMENT: The cottages are available for several people to go up prior to our Higgins Lake Retreat. You can check in Monday, August 27th or any time that week and leave for Higgins Lake on Friday!
We also have openings next week Monday thru Saturday so give a call if you would like to visit!
AIDS WALK DETROIT
It’s time to get serious about collecting pledges for the team. Our team number is 111.This is a very important fundraiser for us that is needed to maintain our meeting and office space in Ferndale. Check out our donor site at https://www.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=237545&lis=1&kntae237545=4B82D1C100F248C8B78895FC0C2815AF&supId=185153310&team=2040194 Remember every penny you raise comes directly back to WINGS. Collect your pledges for team #111, you do not have to attend the walk in order to submit pledges. Our goal this year is $5000.00, so give us a helping hand by registering today!
Calendar
August 28 Round Table Discussion 7PM
August 31 thru Sept 3 Edwin H Drescher Jr Memorial Weekend at Higgins Lake
September 4 NO MEETING
September 11 Round Table Discussion 7PM
September 14-16 Board, Committee and Planning Meetings at the Cottages
September 18 Semi-Annual Membership Meeting (Financial Update)
September 25 Round Table Discussion 7PM
October 2 Pot Luck Dinner 7PM
October 9 Round Table Discussion 7PM
October 16 Pot Luck Dinner 7PM
October 23 Round Table Discussion 7PM
October 26-28 Halloween Weekend at the Cottages
November 2-4 Cottage Clean-up weekend
Event Details
Edwin H Drescher Jr Memorial Weekend at Higgins Lake
Our 11th Annual weekend to Higgins Lake will be for 3 nights this year from Friday, August 31 thru Monday, September 3. There will be snacks provided on Friday afternoon, 8 delicious meals, and 3 nights lodging. There is no charge for this trip as it was provided for by the WINGS Retreat Trust, however there is a refundable reservation fee of $25.00. Transportation will be on your own. The trip coordinator, Jerry Shupe, will be taking requests for reservations at jshupe1@comcast.net or get your application by emailing reservations@wingsmi.org or print it out from our website at www.wingsmi.org We are currently at 76 and counting!! This will be our BIGGEST weekend ever!
Board and Committee Members Meeting
The Board of Directors and all Committees will meet the weekend of September 14-16 at the cottages in Applegate, MI all Board and committee members are encouraged to be present. We ask that you make every effort to attend these important meetings. Your cottages will be named that weekend. Most meetings will be held on Saturday, but why not make a weekend of it and enjoy your cottages. You may check in as early as Thursday morning for a nice extended stay. Remember you must supply your own sheets (Queen size) and towels. Plan to bring your significant other for a relaxing weekend. Reserve your spot at retreat@wingsmi.org . An itinerary will be provided soon!
Membership Meeting
Six months have passed since our last membership/election meeting, on Tuesday, September 18th we will convene our semi-annual membership Financial Update Meeting. Please plan to attend to help in the planning stages as we move forward. Pizza, antipasto, and beverages will be available after the meeting.
Halloween Weekend at the Cottages, Applegate, MI
Here is your chance to experience the GREAT new Cottages on the Lake with a little (or a lot of) partying. Halloween will be celebrated at our cottages in Applegate this year. The whole complex is reserved for this FUN filled weekend. Not only will we have our regular contests-pumpkin carving, costume, and Cabin decorating. We will also have a Great community bon fire, progressive meals starting Cabin 1 and ending at Cabin 7. Plus there are many events going on in town including a Flannel Festival (Hmmm, wonder what that’s all about?). There will be a charge of $15 per person which includes your lodging, meals, pumpkins to carve, and a host of other surprises brought to you by your hosts Jim & Joe! There are only 30 spaces and it is first come first serve with paid reservations. It’s time to get a move on, to get a reservation sheet simply send your request to reservations@wingsmi.org and put Halloween in the subject line.
Cottage Clean-Up Weekend
Our cottages will be shut down for the Winter on November 4. We need members and volunteers to plan to spend the weekend of November 2-4 at the cottages to help with the Fall clean-up and seasonal shut down. There are many tasks to be preformed such as storing all outdoor furniture, cleaning out and shutting down refrigerators, draining the water system, cleaning up the grounds, sealing doors and windows, etc. Those that volunteer for this shut down will be given top (meaning first) priority for use of the cottages next year! Sign up today at workbee@wingsmi.org
From the Thursday Morning eNews
Affirmations Needs some Volunteers Give a call to Brandon @ 248.398.7105
Front Desk
All next week (August 20-24th), Jon (our Office Manager) needs to catch up on a few tasks throughout the center. In order to accomplish this, we are looking to staff the front desk with wonderful volunteers from 9am to 5pm each day. If you have worked the front desk before, please let me know if you would be willing to take a shift next week! If you are new to the front desk, but are interested in helping out, let me know ASAP so that Jon and I can train you!
Greeters
We have lost our wonderful Tuesday and Wednesday night greeters due to job changes. Therefore, we are looking for replacements. If you think you might like to sit at the front desk with our evening receptionists, guide center users to their appropriate meeting rooms, take down demographic information of center traffic, and just be the first smiling face people see as they enter our facility, Greeting is for you! The commitment is weekly from around 6-9pm each evening. Interested? Let's talk.
Face Painting
Ann from the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority just called with an urgent request for a Face Painter for Thursdays on the Nine tomorrow evening. If you are able to paint faces and would like to give a few hours of your time for this fun event tomorrow (August 16th) evening, send Ann an email to ann@downtownferndale.com.
Ceramics
A few months ago, all the staff at Affirmations painted ceramic blocks to hang around our Drinking Fountain on the first level... Now that they are painted, we need help hanging them in a decorative fashion :) If you are artsy and would like to help me hang up these tiles, let me know ASAP. I can work around your schedule!
Happenings
Aug 23/ 25 LAAN to offer Safer Sex workshops
LANSING - The Lansing Area AIDS Network is offering two, two day sessions about safer sex practices. The first session is Aug. 23 and 30, the second is August 25 and September 1. The program is free and directed towards gay identified men or men who have sex with men. The program will explore making safe sex fun and exciting, will providing information on various condoms, proper use of a condom, how to put on a condom, and a chance to interact with other men interested in safer sex. The program is funded by a grant from the state of Michigan HIV/AIDS prevention office. To participate, call Andre or Matthew at LAAN at (517) 394-3719 ext. 30.
Aug 23-25 Register TODAY for Staying Alive 2007, the only national conference organized by people living with HIV/AIDS for people living with HIV/AIDS. After August 17, both the conference registration fee and hotel rate go up. The National Association of People with AIDS and the Cleveland host committee are all enthusiastically looking forward to seeing you at Staying Alive 2007! For complete registration and other information go to www.napwa.org
Aug 31 Edwin H Drescher Jr Memorial Weekend at Higgins Lake
WINGS 10th Annual weekend to Higgins Lake will be for 3 nights this year from Friday, August 31 thru Monday, September 3. There will be snacks provided on Friday afternoon, 8 delicious meals, and 3 nights lodging. There is no charge for this trip as it was provided for by the Edwin H Drescher Jr Living Trust, however there is a refundable reservation fee of $25.00 returned upon your arrival. Transportation will be on your own. The first 100 paid reservations will attend. So why not spend the holiday weekend lakeside among friends and enjoy the roaring bon fires, boating and swimming in Higgins Lake, and some just plain Good food and FUN where you can be all that you are! Get your registration form by writing to reservations@wingsmi.org
Sept 16 AIDS Walk Detroit www.aidswalkdetroit.org
Sept 22 HIV_Social Campout at Campit. It is being created by a guy in my space. You will have to go to mySpace and create an account to get to the info after you are added as a friend. Once you create an account search for HIV_Social Campout and add as a friend, after you are approved by Jeff then you can see his blogs on this page for the info..
Sept 29-30 AIDS WALKS Michigan events will be taking place the weekend of September 30th. There are a total of seven AIDS Walks taking place throughout Michigan to raise important funds for local HIV/AIDS services. To get further information, register to walk or form a team, please visit www.aidswalkmichigan.org
Ann Arbor, Sunday, September 30, 2007, Detroit Edison Parking Lot (corner of Main and William)
Bay City/Saginaw/Midland , Saturday, September 29, 2007 Wenonah Park - Friendship Shell Downtown Bay City
Detroit , Saturday, September 29, 2007, Belle Isle Nature Zoo
Flint , Saturday, September 29, 2007, University Pavilion
Grand Rapids , Saturday, September 29, 2007, First Place Building (207 E. Fulton)
Lansing/East Lansing , Sunday, September 30, 2007, Valley Court Park
Traverse City, Sunday, September 30, 2007, Grand Traverse County Civic Center
Oct 18 Horizons Project founder retirement dinner
Twenty years ago, she had a vision that has saved lives and human spirits. Now, Kathryn Wright, D.O., founder of The Horizons Project, is retiring. A special retirement dinner and Inaugural fundraiser will be held Thursday, Oct. 18 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Roostertail on the Detroit River. Dr. Wright sought to provide nonjudgmental, youth-sensitive care to adolescents and young adults living with HIV/AIDS. In 1994, she founded the Horizons Project which has evolved into Detroit's premier HIV/AIDS agency for Youth. Proceeds from the event will directly support the Horizons Project of the Children's Hospital of Michigan. For more information contact Linda Hyter at (313) 924-9493 or by email at lhyter@dmc.org
Nov 1-2 13th Annual STD & HIV Conference
Conference to be held at the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti. For complete information go to www.hihivnews/std_hiv_conference_2007.htm
Dec 1 WOMEN'S HEALTH CONFERENCE, COBO HALL, 8:00-4:30PM The Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) of Southeast Michigan, St. John Health, Henry Ford Health Systems, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Wayne County Department of Health, The Detroit Health Department and Gilead Sciences would like to invite you to join them in hosting a women’s conference and health fair. The event will take place on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at Cobo Hall and Convention Center located in the heart of downtown Detroit. ANAC has worked with many of the Detroit area community leaders in HIV/AIDS care in the past. We have enjoyed an extraordinarily good working relationship with many of you. It would be an honor to work with you once again to bring health education and prevention strategies to the women of the greater Detroit area. The conference Chair of this event is Michelle Caffey, CNP. I know many of you know Michelle and respect her expertise. I am sure many of you would enjoy working with her on this very important event.If you would like to participate in this project, please contact Michelle Caffey at the Detroit Health Department at (313) 876-4687 or at the Pontiac Health Department at (248) 322-6747. A response letter will follow if you choose to participate. Please contact Michelle by August 30, 2007 if you would like to join us in this very important effort (Michelle.Caffey@stjohn.org). Please join us at our first community partner’s planning meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 13, 2007 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History at 5:30-7:00pm. The museum is located at 315 E. Warren Ave. Detroit, MI 48201. Please RSVP to Ms Laura Hughes at lauraannhughes@gmail.com or (313) 494-5894.
In the News
Unusual increase of new HIV infections in Ingham County noted
BTL Staff and Wire Reports Originally printed 08/16/2007 (Issue 1533 - Between The Lines News)
LANSING - Sources in the Ingham County Health Department confirmed there has been an unusual increase in the number of reported cases of new HIV infections in the county. The specific cause or connections of the increase have not yet been determined, and county health officials are working to track the situation. The number of new infections is not yet tallied, but one source said there were "many." Sources say that the department normally goes months between such reports. Prevention workers from the Lansing Area AIDS Network are encouraging those who think they might be at risk to seek testing. Testing can be done anonymously through LAAN or confidentially through the health department. The difference between the two is that with confidential testing, the department or organization has all of your personal contact information whereas anonymous means you are identified through the use of a unique number.
Texas County Court Votes To Establish State's First Needle-Exchange Program
San Antonio Express-News, 8/15
The Commissioners Court in Bexar County, Texas, on Wednesday unanimously voted to move forward with a pilot initiative that will establish the state's first needle-exchange program, the San Antonio Express-News reports (Finley, San Antonio Express-News, 8/15).The Texas House in May voted 71-60 to approve a provision in a Medicaid bill (SB 10) that would establish the state's first needle-exchange program in Bexar County, which includes San Antonio. Rep. Ruth McClendon (D), who sponsored the provision, initially tried to add an amendment that would have created a statewide program. However, the program was limited to the San Antonio area after the broader program failed to gain support in the House.According to McClendon, needle-exchange programs help to curb the spread of bloodborne diseases, including HIV and hepatitis C, among injection drug users. Rep. Dianne White Delisi (R), who sponsored the Medicaid bill, did not dispute the potential public health benefits of an exchange program but said that Texas residents are concerned about whether "promoting the free exchange of needles for the illegal use of intravenous drugs is something the state should be doing." Texas is the only state that does not have a needle-exchange program (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/24).The court voted to approve spending $60,000 for a staff position and planning costs for the program beginning in October. The program likely will cost more when it begins operations, and organizers plan to seek funding from private groups to offset costs. A working group of health and government officials is designing the program and plans to launch it Jan. 1, 2008, the Express-News reports. Advocates of the program hope that if it is successful, it will be easier to pass a statewide program during the next legislative session. According to Fernando Guerra, director of the health district, about 200 new HIV cases were reported in Bexar County last year, 10% of which were among IDUs. One can "appreciate the burden of disease and the high cost" when those cases are added to the several thousand cases of hepatitis C in recent years, Guerra said.According to the Express-News, District Attorney Susan Reed recently said that the law authorizing the exchange program is faulty. The court when approving the program expressed hope that any legal issues could be resolved, the Express-News reports.
Internationally
HIV/AIDS Could 'Wipe Out' Lesotho, Official Says
Xinhua News Agency, 8/20
HIV/AIDS has the "potential to wipe out" Lesotho because of its impact on the country's population and economy, Keketso Sefeane, chief executive of the National AIDS Commission, said at a workshop on Monday, Xinhua News Agency reports. According to Sefeane, the disease's impact on Lesotho's work force, including the loss of skills and experience, decreases economic productivity and hinders the sustainable delivery of goods and services to the country's population. "Absence, illness, deaths and early retirements due to HIV and AIDS have profound implications for economic development and social welfare," Sefeane said. Representatives from Lesotho's ministries of defense, trade, public service, finance, cabinet and health attended the five-day workshop. Attendees were scheduled to create prevention programs, as well as care and support initiatives, to alleviate the impact of HIV/AIDS-related staff losses in the public sector. According to Sefeane, Lesotho's entire population should become involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS because the disease threatens the livelihoods of millions of workers and their dependents. About one in four adults in Lesotho is living with HIV, according to 2006 statistics from the United Nations.
POZ Examines How Stigma, Violence Fuel HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Jamaica
Scott, POZ, August 2007
POZ in its August issue examined how stigma and violence are fueling the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Jamaica. According to POZ, HIV-positive people and men who have sex with men are discriminated against heavily in the country. The Caribbean has the highest HIV prevalence of any region outside sub-Saharan Africa, and Jamaica's prevalence is 1.5% and increasing, POZ reports. AIDS-related illnesses are the leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 44 in the region, according to POZ. Many MSM in Jamaica have been reluctant to disclose their HIV-positive status because they fear discrimination if their sexual orientation or HIV status becomes known, and popular entertainers in the country openly have condoned violence against MSM and HIV-positive people, according to POZ. The fear of violence causes MSM to engage in high-risk sex rather than seek "stable, monogamous" relationships, according to Anthony Hron, an officer with the Jamaican Network of Seropositives, or JNPlus. According to POZ, an estimated 33% of MSM in Kingston, Jamaica, are HIV-positive, although the actual figure is unknown. In addition, many MSM in the country have sex with female partners, increasing the spread of the virus. Although almost 50% of HIV cases occur among women and heterosexual sex is the primary mode of transmission, homophobia fuels new cases among all groups in the country, POZ reports. In addition, many heterosexual men have been reluctant to receive an HIV test because they do not want health workers to assume they are gay, Brendan Bain, director of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training Network, said. About two-thirds of all HIV-positive people in the country are unaware of their status, POZ reports.HIV/AIDS advocates are increasing HIV education in an effort to reduce the violence and discrimination. The Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership -- which was launched in 2006 at a summit organized by The Caribbean Broadcast Corporation, Caribbean Broadcasting Union and the Kaiser Family Foundation -- aims to provide accurate information about HIV through the media. CBMP launched LIVE UP earlier this year to encourage and empower youth to learn more about HIV. The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays and other advocacy groups are increasing efforts to reduce attacks against MSM and HIV-positive people, POZ reports.
PEPFAR To Begin Providing Funds for Male Circumcision Programs in Some African Countries, Officials Say
Jacobson, AP/Washington Post, 8/20
The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief will begin providing money for male circumcision programs in some African countries in an effort to reduce the spread of HIV, a delegation of U.S. health officials led by HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced on Sunday while in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, PEPFAR focus countries have been invited to request program funding to increase access to the procedure (Timberg, Washington Post, 8/20). Leavitt and the officials are on a 10-day tour of four African countries to highlight programs funded by PEPFAR and the President's Malaria Initiative. They will visit Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania after their stop in South Africa (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 8/17).Kent Hill, an assistant administrator for USAID, said recent research indicating that routine male circumcision could reduce significantly a man's risk of HIV infection has demonstrated that the procedure is "going to be one of the major interventions in the international arsenal" against HIV/AIDS, the Post reports. According to Hill, initial investment in circumcision services would be a small portion of program budgets, with funding in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for individual countries. He added that funding likely would increase to be "an important part" of PEPFAR programs in coming months and years, the Post reports The delegation on Sunday also praised South Africa's new five-year plan that aims by 2011 to reduce the number of new HIV cases in the country by 50% and to provide at least 80% of HIV-positive people with access to antiretroviral treatment, the AP/Washington Post reports. South Africa has "constructed a good plan," Leavitt said, adding, "Now it must be executed in a way that makes good on the prospects it offers and the hope it can provide".
Housing Funds Available
Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency, (OLHSA) AIDS Home Support, has available HOPWA funding for Housing Emergency Assistance, and utility assistance.
Eligibility requirements are as follows: The client must be HIV +, live in Oakland, Macomb, Lapeer, Livingston, or St. Clair counties. If a client lives in Wayne County and wants to move to one of the counties listed to qualify, he/she is allowed to do so. In addition, the client must have sufficient income in order to maintain either their rent or utility bill request. Please contact Liz Lucas, Housing Coordinator at (248) 209-2672 for further information.
Medically Speaking
FDA Issues Warning for BMS Hepatitis B Drug Entecavir
Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 3/2
FDA on Thursday issued a warning that Bristol-Myers Squibb's hepatitis B drug entecavir might increase the likelihood of developing resistance to antiretroviral drugs among people coinfected with HIV, Reuters reports. The agency also added a black box warning to the drug's label. BMS -- which manufactures and sells entecavir under the brand name Baraclude -- in a letter to physicians wrote that people coinfected with hepatitis B and HIV should not take entecavir unless they are taking standard antiretrovirals. According to the warning, drug resistance can develop if a person is not being treated for HIV. The warning also said that HIV testing should be offered to any person who considers taking entecavir (Reuters, 8/16). There are more than four million people worldwide living with both hepatitis B and HIV who need treatment for hepatitis B but have not started antiretrovirals.
Washing Penis Soon After Sex Increases Risk of HIV Among Uncircumcised Men, Study Says
Altman, New York Times, 8/21
Washing the penis minutes after sex might increase the risk of HIV infection among uncircumcised men, according to a study funded by NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and presented on July 25 at the 4th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Sydney, Australia, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, the washing analysis was the secondary part of a study undertaken to determine the effectiveness of male circumcision as an HIV prevention method. For the study, Fredrick Makumbi of the Makerere University Institute of Public Health and colleagues examined 2,552 uncircumcised, HIV-negative men ages 15 to 29 in the Rakai district of Uganda. Eighty-three percent of the participants said they washed their penises with all sex partners, the Times reports. The researchers asked the men when and how they washed their penises -- including if they washed with or without cloths -- after sex at the beginning of the study and at six, 12 and 24 months after the study began. According to Ronald Gray, a study co-author and professor of population and family planning at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the researchers did not ask details about how the washing was conducted or if soap was used because of an oversight. Some soaps used in Africa are more irritating than soaps used in other places, according to the Times. The researchers found that men who washed within three minutes after sex had a 2.3% risk of HIV infection, compared with a 0.4% risk among men who delayed washing for 10 minutes or more. Makumbi and other AIDS experts said they do not know why washing might increase vulnerability to HIV, but they offered some explanations. One is that delaying washing and prolonging exposure to vaginal secretions might reduce viral infectivity. Another explanation is that the acidity of vaginal secretions might impair the ability of HIV to survive on the penis, the Times reports. In addition, the use of water, which has a neutral pH, might prolong viral survival and possible infectivity, according to the Times. HIV likely needs to be in a fluid to cross the mucosa and infect cells, Gray said, adding that if HIV-infected fluid dries, its infectivity could decrease. Adding water, therefore, could suspend HIV and increase its infectivity, the Times reports. One message from the study is that "there ought to be a little time left for postcoital cuddling before you go and wash," Gray said, adding, "Don't just finish and jump out of bed." Merle Sande -- an infectious disease expert at the University of Washington-Seattle and president of the Academic Alliance Foundation, a group that trains health workers to treat HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases in Uganda -- said the study's findings are counterintuitive and "show why you have to do the studies, because until you do them, you just don't know." He added, "There is still so much we don't understand about the complex factors that influence HIV transmission in the genital tract, but this important study will help".
