California & South Carolina Budget Battles Heat Up
California and South Carolina are hurting for AIDS money. Three Cali counties have received notice of federal cuts worth $8.6 million; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Levitt last week arguing that the cuts are out of line with decisions reached earlier this year by President Bush and congressional Democrats. Meanwhile, the Campaign to End AIDS needs help urging South Carolina legislators to increase AIDS drugs funds. C2EA asks you to phone South Carolina state legislators tomorrow (May 30) and urge them to support funding initiatives in their upcoming budget meeting.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
