In the summer of 2022, Harold Phillips, the Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) and the Assistant Secretary of Health, Admiral Rachel Levine, MD traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area to meet with the health department and community partners about the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative.
EBGTZ engaged in conversations about current efforts towards ending the HIV epidemic, alongside addressing hepatitis C, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and substance use and overdose in our communities here in the Bay Area. Our community members voiced the needs for more funding in the East Bay and also highlighted the need for more community input from BIPOC individuals during EHE meetings. Ramon Jackson, one of EBGTZ’s community members who attended the meeting, shares “We explained the need for mental health services as core to the centralized model of care. We have a specific need for more subsidies in housing and employment opportunities for folks returning to the workforce.”
As we continue to work towards ending HIV transmissions and decreasing HIV stigma in the East Bay with our Strategic Plan, the EBGTZ community looks forward to continued conversations with the EHE initiative. We continue to uplift the voices of East Bay’s community and ensure our community members have a seat at the table to share their lived experiences.
For more information about this Ending the HIV Epidemic meeting, please click here.
