APRIL 18, 1997 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

COMMUNITY GROUPS

Still no city dollars being spent for people with AIDS

Cleveland-We have news, and not all of it is good. The March 1997 issue of BETA, the Bulletin of Experimental Treatments for AIDS published by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, has a lead story with frightening Centers for Disease Control statistics. While we have seen a 15% decrease in the death rate of males with AIDS during 1996, the death rate for females with AIDS during this same time period actually increased by 3%.

This report reinforces what many of us have known for a very long time. Women do not receive equal access to medical care in our country.

When we break down the CDC statistics further we see that in the Midwest, deaths rates did not fall as significantly as they did on the coasts. No surprises-there has been much written in the last several years that shows

INSTANT

there is a direct link between access to care and survival rates. Given the information gathered by the Ryan White Title I Needs Assessment and the lack of commitment on the part of Cleveland Mayor Michael White and his administration, we can probably expect to see that Clevelanders fared as bad or worse than most Midwest cities.

The recently reported efforts of ACT UP Cleveland to secure a meeting with the mayor, promised by city officials, have not come to be realized. On March 24 ACT UP Cleveland showed up on the steps of city hall to be told that the mayor was not in. As reported by the Chronicle, mayoral assistant Judy Zimomra said that a meeting would be scheduled. This sniveling sycophant then proceeded to quote the party line about money that has been spent on AIDS.

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How many times do we have to hear about the state and federal funds that they have creatively implemented? Judy, you are not being criticized for being creative. You are being criticized for misleading the public into believing that the city is meeting its responsibility in funding for the care of people living with HIV and AIDS. The reality remains that the city of Cleveland under Michael White's administration, has not, and still is not, spend-

Robert Staib actually suggested that that we have a party for children with AIDS to celebrate our anniversary. He also expressed dismay at the idea that we would be targeting the city once again. Keep in mind that this is the very same person who stood on the steps of city hall several years ago trying to defend the City while $400,000 of

ACT UP

ing any significant THE AIDS COALITION TO UNLEASH POWER

city dollars on direct care for the thousands of Cleve-

CLEVELAND

landers who are living with HIV and AIDS. Their track record on administering state and federal funds has been so bad that even the Plain Dealer came out in support of having Cuyahoga County administer the federallyfunded Ryan White Title I program.

The obviously embarrassed mayor did return to his office during the time an ACT UP member was waiting in the reception area for an answer to the requested meeting. He was followed by Sam Miller of Forest City Development-long rumored to be the power behind the throne and several other local business leaders.

Last week it became apparent that the meeting promised to ACT UP Cleveland was one of a long string of delaying tactics by the mayor. The mayor's office called and left a very short message explaining that "The mayor sends his regrets that he will be unable to meet with ACT UP Cleveland during the month of April."

When ACT UP Cleveland first put the city on notice of our upcoming 10-year anniversary and our plans to again try to bring the mayor to the table, Public Health Director

state grant money earmarked for AIDS outreach educators languished for months until ACT UP Cleveland was forced to move on the issue.

Bob, what were you thinking? We will not be partying until this city actually does something to save the lives of children with AIDS-and their mothers.

We live in a city where the mayor has chosen not to become involved in the issues of housing for people with AIDS, access to affordable viral load tests, or day care for women with HIV or AIDS so that they are able to keep doctor appointments. Nor is he involved with establishing a continuum of care that is coordinated with all of the AIDS service organizations in the area, or dozens of other issues that are vital to the survival of all Clevelanders living with HIV and AIDS.

Are we saying that the mayor has done nothing? Not by a long shot, but he has done as little as any mayor of a major city could get away with. So for now we want to let the mayor know that he can keep his regrets—what we need is more coffins for the many Clevelanders who will die from his lack of interest and commitment.

If you think that we are the only ones who feel this way, ask any HIV specialist in our city. AIDS is far from over-and we will not go away.

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