I’ve been writing a lot lately about Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s callous and short-sighted budget cuts to California’s AIDS/HIV programs and services. The Governor has cut $83 million from the California State Office of AIDS. How bad is the impact going to be here in San Diego County? Rick Braatz, writing at The Gay & Lesbian Times, has the bad news — and it’s really, really bad news — and this is just the beginning:

County HIV funding council passes 2010/2011 budget cuts and increases
Being Alive San Diego annual funding reduced by 20 percent

By Rick Braatz

Addressing actual and anticipated state cuts to HIV core services, the San Diego HIV Health Services Planning Council – which decides how federal HIV dollars will be spent for San Diego County HIV services – passed its 2010/2011 budget with increases to core services and decreases to (and elimination of some) supportive services at the County Health Services Complex last Wednesday, Aug. 5.

“We can do better than this. The impact of the governor’s HIV cuts is not a theoretical impact. It’s not a budget impact. It’s a human impact. And when we’re making decisions about people’s lives or if they should be able to eat or have housing or have medications, there is something wrong with that system that’s ill thought out and unconscionable,” said San Diego LGBT Community Center Executive Director Delores Jacobs, who sits on the council.

(emphasis: mine)

Here are the numbers:

• $78,967 from Emergency Housing ($264,967) to $186,000 (two-week hotel vouchers provided HIV/AIDS clients in need of temporary housing)
• $159,929 from Shallow Rent Subsidy ($446,786) to $286,857 (housing subsidies for HIV/AIDS clients)
• $87,546 from Transportation ($401,140) to $313,594
• $87,545 from Food Services: Home Delivered Meals ($380,392) to $292,847
• $25,265 from Legal Services ($125,265) to $100,000
• $23,991 from Emergency Financial Assistance ($73,991) to $50,000

The council eliminated funding for two HIV supportive services:

• $30,923 from Information and Referral to $0
• $59,834 from Volunteer Peer Advocacy to $0

These are not frivolous extravagances that are being scaled back or entirely eliminated. These programs are vital to people living with AIDS or HIV infection. The impact on our local service providers will be devastating. The elimination of funding for Volunteer Peer Advocacy, for example, according to Being Alive Executive Director Shannon Wagner, will result in a loss of 20% of the organization’s operating budget on top of a 30% drop in private donations the group has already experienced. What is the Volunteer Peer Advocacy program and why does it matter? According to the Being Alive website:

Peer Advocates are volunteer counselors who assist and pursue the best interests of his/her client. Peer Advocacy is a program of Being Alive San Diego whose mission is to deliver quality, compassionate services to people affected by HIV/AIDS, and to provide education and referral services to those in need.

Peer Counselors or Client Advocates are individuals who have been living with HIV or have been affected for a period of three years or more and are familiar with the challenges of living with HIV/AIDS, know the resources and services available in the community and know how to access them. Peer Counselors/Client Advocates are willing to share their experiences, are empathetic, compassionate, provide useful information, emotional support, treatment/HIV education, camaraderie, referrals and much more.

The goal of Peer Advocacy is to encourage people with HIV to take charge of their lives and help direct people into dealing with these challenges more positively and effectively. The most powerful aspect of this program is that the counselors are all volunteers and are providing this service as a way of giving back some of the love and support that they received when they needed it. It just seems to be easier sometimes to talk to someone who is also HIV+, someone who can relate to your situation and know there is not a hidden agenda.

While a number of lawsuits are being filed to confront the Governor’s draconian cuts in AIDS/HIV funding, the best short term solution is to dig deeper and donate to our local AIDS/HIV organizations, if you have the financial wherewithal, or to sign up and participate in the AIDS Walk San Diego that will be happening on 27 September.

Finally, if, like me, you’re good and angry about the decimation of our state’s AIDS/HIV prevention and treatment progams, why not give Governor Schwarzenegger and the folks in Sacramento a piece of your mind. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation has made it simple and fast with an online form. Here’s the pitch:

On July 28, 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger used his veto authority to make $489 in additional cuts to the state budget. This budget imposes drastic cuts to health and human services, above and beyond those already made by the state Legislature, that will jeopardize public health in California for years to come. In total, the budget cuts more than $83 million from the State Office of AIDS, eliminating all state funding for HIV prevention and testing, we risk a serious setback in the hard-won progress we’ve made against the AIDS epidemic in California.

The governor used his line-item veto authority to cut more than $52 million in general fund support for HIV/AIDS education and prevention, therapeutic monitoring, counseling and testing, early intervention, home and community-based care, and housing. The only programs that survived the cuts were ADAP, which provides access to lifesaving treatment for low-income people with HIV, and AIDS surveillance. The cuts to the state’s HIV/AIDS budget are in addition to more than $30 million in reductions already approved by the state Legislature. His vetoes also slash millions of dollars from the state’s Medi-Cal program, which provides medical care for the state’s poorest residents.

Less than five minutes of your time is all it takes.