1 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: Good morning, peeps, and welcome to OKF Daily with Meet 2 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: Your Girl. Daniel Moody. Pre recording from California, where I 3 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: am traveling, folks. A couple of things before I get 4 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: into today's episode one. It is just outright shocking to 5 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:37,480 Speaker 1: me that we are existing in a time when half 6 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: of the population is in occult and doing themselves an 7 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: extraordinary disservice in the midst of these horrific climate change catastrophes, 8 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: to deny themselves aid, to deny themselves facts in order 9 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: to continue to follow Donald Trump, who is leading them 10 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: off of a cliff. It was astounding to me that 11 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: the President of the United States had to get on 12 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: television to tell people that hurricanes are not man made. 13 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: It was absolutely unfathomable to believe that the President of 14 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: the United States would have to say that if you 15 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: take the seven hundred and fifty dollars worth of BEAMA 16 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: emergency aid, we're not going to seize your home. The 17 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 1: lies are reckless. They deserve litigation and accountability because they 18 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: are costing people their lives and their livelihood. And I 19 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: just don't know when it is ever ever going to stop. 20 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: This election. Right now, is raizor thin and is going 21 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: to be decided by a handful of voters in a 22 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: handful of states, And that to me is terrifying, as 23 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: I know it is to all of you. It is 24 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 1: just not right where we find ourselves where we are, 25 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: and I am really scared. I'm gonna be honest with you, 26 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: it is really scary where we find ourselves right now. 27 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: And I don't know. I don't know, dear friends, how 28 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: this election is going to turn out. I don't know 29 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: if it will go the way that we need it to. 30 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: But I do know that we are going to need 31 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: each other more than ever moving forward, regardless of the outcomes, 32 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: because the people that are working tirelessly to separate us, 33 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,519 Speaker 1: to divide us, and to create these tents of fear, 34 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: these silos of fear and disinformation, are never going to stop. 35 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: And we have to steel ourselves, fortify ourselves for that truth, 36 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: and work outside of our fear silos to connect with 37 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: one another again. Coming up next, I'm very happy to 38 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: welcome to wok af Daily Craig Bowers, who has been 39 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 1: working with APLA Health on their fortieth anniversary of the 40 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: AIDS Walk in Los Angeles. The theme for this year's 41 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: AIDS Walk is We're not walking back. And you know, 42 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: in this conversation, Craig goes into the history and reminding 43 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: us of where this country was in the eighties when 44 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: AIDS was killing tens of thousands of people. I remember 45 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: the quilts, I remember the protests by act UP, I 46 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: remember just the devastation, and I remember mostly the indifference 47 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: of the Reagan administration. To think how far we have 48 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: come as a country in forty years is really extraordinary. 49 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: But to think about the generation of queer people that 50 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: were lost is just enormous, an enormous hole that will 51 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: never be refilled. And so this conversation with APLA Healths 52 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:42,280 Speaker 1: Craig Bowers was eye opening and a really important reminder 53 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: that while we continue to forge a path forward, we 54 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,840 Speaker 1: have to always remember where we came from. So that 55 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: conversation with Craig Bowers is coming up next, folks. I 56 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,599 Speaker 1: am very happy to welcome to f Daily the Chief 57 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: Marketing and External Affairs Officer of APLA Health, Craig Bauers, 58 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: who is joining us today to talk about the fortieth 59 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: anniversary of the AIDS Walk in Los Angeles and their 60 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: bold theme of we're not walking back. Craig, welcome to you. 61 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 1: Talk to us first about APLA Health and then talk 62 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: to us about this important theme on this very big anniversary. 63 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 2: Yeah. So, the origins of APLA Health as it's known today, 64 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 2: when we were originally founded forty one years ago, we 65 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 2: were known as AIDS Project Los Angeles, and this was 66 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 2: an organization essentially just set up by peers in the community. 67 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 2: So once HIV and AIDS started to become known, there 68 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 2: really was not a lot of information out there for 69 00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 2: the general public. So AIDS Project Los Angeles was created 70 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:07,159 Speaker 2: as a way to kind of gather and disseminate information 71 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 2: to community members that we're facing an epidemic and really 72 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 2: there weren't a lot of information or resources available to them. 73 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,479 Speaker 1: You know. I feel that it's important for us to 74 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: have this conversation, one because your walk is coming up 75 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:28,680 Speaker 1: on October thirteenth, but also because I don't know about you, 76 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: but I don't feel as if we talk about HIV 77 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:35,840 Speaker 1: and AIDS the way that we once did probably ten 78 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: twenty years ago, where it was a part of regular 79 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: conversation about preventative measures, about what are the effects and 80 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: what are the medications that folks are taking and how 81 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: to protect yourselves. Why do you think that that has 82 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: changed so much? 83 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,679 Speaker 2: Well, I think it kind of dovetails into our theme 84 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 2: this year of we're not walking back, but also simultaneously 85 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 2: celebrating forty years of progress. You know, most people don't 86 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 2: realize if you're not of a certain age that for 87 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 2: the first fifteen years of this, if you became HIV positive, 88 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 2: that was essentially an automatic death sentence. There were no 89 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 2: drugs that were going to keep you alive. And so 90 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 2: until nineteen ninety six with the introduction of anti retroviral therapies, 91 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 2: this disease was essentially a death sentence. And APLA in 92 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 2: its origins, was really about disseminating information but also preparing 93 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 2: people for the inevitable realities of the disease. Right, And 94 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 2: so to your point, I think that we've made a 95 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 2: lot of progress against this disease over the course of 96 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 2: over forty years, and so it's not the automatic death 97 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 2: sentence that it used to be. In fact, it's a 98 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 2: very treatable and livable condition at this point. So for that, 99 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 2: we're extremely thankful and there's a lot of people that 100 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 2: did a lot of hard work convincing the federal government 101 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 2: that this was a serious problem, a problem to be 102 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 2: taken seriously. So in that regard, you know, things have 103 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 2: changed dramatically. That doesn't mean that HIV is not out there, 104 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 2: but it basically means that our tools that we have 105 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,199 Speaker 2: in order to prevent people from getting HIV in the 106 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 2: first place and to get people in the medical treatment 107 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 2: if they do have the disease has dramatically shifted over 108 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 2: the course of greater than forty years. 109 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: You know, there was a time, and I want to 110 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: say it was around the time when I was still 111 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: living in Washington, d C. I want to say that 112 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: it was probably the early twenty tens when there was 113 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: actually a spike in HIV and AIDS in the LGBTQ community, 114 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: but particularly for black queer men. And I want to 115 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: talk about, you know, ask you about the ways in 116 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: which what does education look like these days, particularly for 117 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: younger queer folks who don't have the memory, who don't 118 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: have the deep memory and understanding of the devastation that 119 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: was caused at the beginning of the crisis in the 120 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: eighties and the early nineties, that kind of think that 121 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: it's no big deal like, how do you work to 122 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: educate so that we don't have spikes that happen inside 123 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:36,119 Speaker 1: of the community. 124 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:41,240 Speaker 2: I think that that's a complex problem that deserves a 125 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 2: complex set of answers. Let's back up a second and 126 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 2: just talk about America's healthcare system that really has not 127 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 2: effectively served black and brown people. And so we're talking 128 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 2: about this system that has not worked particularly well, that 129 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 2: hasn't been particularly welcoming to LGBTQ plus people either. Right, So, 130 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 2: when we talk about the disease state today, unfortunately, because 131 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 2: of that medical reality, this disease is more of a 132 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 2: black and brown disease, and it's more of a disease 133 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 2: that is prevalent in places that have not expanded Medicaid. 134 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 2: During the introduction of Obamacare, and with Obamacare, Medicaid became 135 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 2: the vehicle to deliver health services to low income people, 136 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 2: regardless of if you were single or a male, or 137 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 2: it really expanded who was eligible for Medicaid services. And 138 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,199 Speaker 2: in the states that have expanded Medicaid, you've really seen 139 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:51,960 Speaker 2: a large uptake in these preventative measures to prevent people 140 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 2: from getting HIV medically that you haven't really seen in 141 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 2: non Medicaid expansion states which are predominant elite states that 142 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 2: are known as red states. 143 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:05,280 Speaker 1: And I think that that is and I appreciate that 144 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 1: because that is a very fair point to really underscore that. 145 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:13,199 Speaker 1: I mean, we can talk about the beginning as well 146 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,360 Speaker 1: in terms of the negligence by the Reagan administration, the 147 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:21,840 Speaker 1: blatant negligence, right, and how racial discrimination and you know, 148 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: homophobia and transphobia have played a major role in terms 149 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: of weaponizing our healthcare system against black, brown, and queer 150 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: folks and those that live at the intersections. In terms 151 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:40,480 Speaker 1: of younger people, Generation Z and what have you, what 152 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: does the education for that community look like versus older generations. 153 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 2: I think that the younger generations have an opportunity to 154 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:56,560 Speaker 2: get into healthcare. That is what I would call culturally affirming, right. 155 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 2: You know, when I was a young man, the idea 156 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 2: of me having an LGBTQ plus medical professional that I 157 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 2: went to for council that understood the differences in my 158 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 2: lifestyle versus a heterosexual counterpart, for example, that really didn't exist. Yeah. Yeah, 159 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 2: And so I'm not saying that that's prevalent everywhere today, 160 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,160 Speaker 2: But what I'm saying is we've come lie years ahead 161 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 2: of where we were. And so for me, particularly at 162 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,200 Speaker 2: APLA Health, you know, ten years ago, we weren't a 163 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:36,840 Speaker 2: healthcare organization, but with the introduction of Obamacare, we opened 164 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 2: up our first what's called a federally qualified health center, 165 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:44,959 Speaker 2: and in fact, on October third, we're celebrating our ten 166 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 2: year anniversary of that first facility, and now later this fall, 167 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 2: we're opening up our eighth healthcare facility here in Los 168 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,960 Speaker 2: Angeles County. So to go from zero to nineteen thousand 169 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 2: patients over the course of ten years, and the majority 170 00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 2: of those patients are members of the LGBTQ plus community, 171 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 2: it just really demonstrates how far we've come in terms 172 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 2: of reaching this audience and trying to address their overall 173 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 2: health issues, HIV being obviously a major component of that, 174 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 2: but not certainly not all of that, you know, in 175 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 2: terms of talking about health, you know. 176 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 1: And it's so true because I can I can remember 177 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 1: being very young, being on you know, for instance, being 178 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: on my college campus and needing to go to see 179 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: a medical professional, you know, and they're checking off all 180 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 1: of the list of questions that they ask and being 181 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:40,960 Speaker 1: at that time it was you know, late nineties, early 182 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,720 Speaker 1: two thousands, like being fearful of saying that I was queer, 183 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,839 Speaker 1: right being you know, not wanting to be judged, not 184 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:52,000 Speaker 1: wanting to you know, like I have always moved in 185 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: a way to brace myself for that moment when you 186 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,840 Speaker 1: you know, to kind of prepare for the discrimination that 187 00:13:57,920 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 1: you could face and like what would you say and 188 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: how will you respond? But thinking that it is extraordinarily 189 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,880 Speaker 1: important to provide young people with the skills, with the 190 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 1: information that they need so that if they don't have 191 00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:15,880 Speaker 1: somebody that is not affirming that they know how to respond, 192 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 1: that they can go in feeling competent and like resolute 193 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:22,240 Speaker 1: in the care that they need. 194 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, And you know you still even see it today. 195 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 2: You know, certain people will go to mainstream institutions for 196 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,680 Speaker 2: their medical care, but when it comes to their sexual 197 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 2: health care, they're still doing those at LGBTQ plus organizations. 198 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:44,160 Speaker 2: So they've really kind of siloed their healthcare in areas 199 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 2: that are you know, reasonable for them. 200 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: You know, what does it mean for you all? I 201 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: mean and you know, and congratulations on the on the 202 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 1: ten years and the amount of patients that you have 203 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:57,640 Speaker 1: been able to see during that time. What does it mean, 204 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: you know, when you're talking to and can connecting with 205 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: these folks to have this kind of facility. Now you're 206 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:07,440 Speaker 1: said you're moving into I think your eight through your 207 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 1: ninth that you're opening. What does it mean for folks 208 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: to have this kind of access? And you know, as 209 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:17,720 Speaker 1: we're in the midst of an election season and cycle 210 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 1: where things could drastically change for the worse, how does 211 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 1: your organization brace itself for the navigating what could be 212 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: potentially a really precarious and dangerous political landscape. 213 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 2: You know, I ironically, you know, this conversation is about AIDS, 214 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 2: WALK and HIV and AIDS really created a political movement 215 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 2: for the LGBTQ plus community, and we see the through 216 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 2: lines through that from health equity, marriage equality, to what's 217 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 2: happening right now in the political system. So, you know, 218 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 2: I don't think that this is anything new for the 219 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 2: LGBTQ plus community. I think what's new, particularly to some 220 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 2: of the younger people, is that just because necessarily we 221 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:09,800 Speaker 2: advance our cause doesn't necessarily mean that there are people 222 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 2: working in opposition to that, and certain advances that we 223 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,280 Speaker 2: have may be taken away. So I think that the 224 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:21,200 Speaker 2: meta point is that you always have to remain politically active. 225 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 2: You always have to remain alert, you know. As a 226 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:27,920 Speaker 2: part of my responsibilities for the organization, I oversee our 227 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 2: government affairs team, and we work at a local, state 228 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 2: and national level in order to affect positive governmental outcomes 229 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 2: and policies for people living with HIV as well as 230 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 2: LGBTQ plus people overall. You know, in the state of California, 231 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:50,880 Speaker 2: as an example, you pay no out of pocket expenses 232 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 2: for PREP, which is the prophylactic use of HIV medication 233 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 2: to prevent you from getting HIV. That just didn't happen. 234 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:04,320 Speaker 2: Many People Organization and other allied organizations put the pressure 235 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 2: to bear on the state of California in order to 236 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:11,359 Speaker 2: ensure that that's a real thing. So Obamacare made PREP 237 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 2: you know, a part of the overall insurance package, but 238 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:19,639 Speaker 2: it didn't prevent insurance companies from asking for copays, and 239 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,399 Speaker 2: some of those copays were quite expensive, you know what 240 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 2: I mean. So even though you weren't paying the full 241 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 2: freight of the medication, you were still paying out of pocket. 242 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 2: And now in the state of California, essentially you do 243 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,400 Speaker 2: not pay out of pocket for PREP. So these are 244 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 2: examples of you know, that's just one example of the 245 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 2: work that we're consistently doing in order to make sure 246 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:43,119 Speaker 2: that people have access to these life saving medical therapies 247 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 2: in order to prevent people from becoming HIV and similarly 248 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 2: people who are HIV positive, preventing them from being able 249 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,719 Speaker 2: to pass along the virus to others and remaining undetected. 250 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: What do you think needs to be done in terms 251 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 1: terms of the larger you know, society, really kind of 252 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: understanding the needs of the community and what we should 253 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:12,880 Speaker 1: be asking for from those that represent us in government. 254 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:17,640 Speaker 2: You know, I think that there's a lot of intersectionality here. 255 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 2: I don't think this just starts to stop for the 256 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,440 Speaker 2: LGBTQ plus community. I think it's you know, I think 257 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,440 Speaker 2: the black community has a lot of things to contribute 258 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 2: to this conversation, and I think it's important if we're 259 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 2: talking about HIV. I think everyone knows this is not 260 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 2: exclusively a gay disease, although it predominantly affects gay men, 261 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 2: But there's other people in this conversation. There's trans folks 262 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,879 Speaker 2: that need to be really at the forefront of this conversation. 263 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 2: Black women need to be at the forefront of this conversation, 264 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:54,119 Speaker 2: particularly in the eastern seaboards and cities and Red States. 265 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 2: So I think there's a broader conversation it needs to 266 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,040 Speaker 2: takes place. I think there's an intersectional conversation that needs 267 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,840 Speaker 2: to take place, And I think it fundamentally comes down 268 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 2: to what do we want to see as a society. 269 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:09,960 Speaker 2: If one person is sick, are we all sick, you 270 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:11,639 Speaker 2: know what I mean? Or are we just saying that 271 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 2: I'm good and You've got to fend for yourself. And unfortunately, 272 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 2: our healthcare system kind of veers towards the latter, and 273 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 2: I think we all need to work together to figure 274 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,960 Speaker 2: out how we create a system that's more equitable for everyone. 275 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:29,080 Speaker 1: I agree wholeheartedly. I think that that is incredibly important 276 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,439 Speaker 1: for us not to operate in silos. Like different communities 277 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 1: have different needs and have been marginalized in different ways. 278 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:38,639 Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, it is really 279 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 1: looking at having a robust and equitable healthcare system that 280 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:46,199 Speaker 1: tends to all of our needs. With the time that 281 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:48,680 Speaker 1: we have left, please tell us a bit more about 282 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,320 Speaker 1: the AIDS walk, what people can expect, how they can 283 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:52,879 Speaker 1: connect and get involved. 284 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely so. As you said earlier, AIDS walk will 285 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 2: be happening on Sunday, October thirteen here in Los Angeles 286 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 2: at West Hollywood Park starting at ten am. You know, 287 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:08,960 Speaker 2: AIDS Walk at Los Angeles is the first AIDS Walk 288 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 2: in the world, So there was no Aid's Walk before 289 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 2: the first one occurred in Los Angeles. The original one 290 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 2: took place on the Paramount Lot and it helped raise 291 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 2: money to just again do anything that we could to 292 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,400 Speaker 2: figure out what was going on in our community. It's 293 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 2: really hard for people to understand that when this virus 294 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 2: first became publicly known, there just really was not a 295 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 2: lot of information out there, and that spanned for years, 296 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 2: and so there was a tremendous amount of fear, there 297 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,359 Speaker 2: was a tremendous amount of unknowns, and a lot of 298 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,640 Speaker 2: people were dying. So, you know, those first couple of 299 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:56,439 Speaker 2: decades of this walk were really sad affairs, but also 300 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 2: the first instances of the community coming together, fundraising amongst 301 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 2: ourselves and really trying to create greater awareness. Now, forty 302 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,840 Speaker 2: years later, this event still exists. HIV still exists, but 303 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 2: the difference is now is that we have a medical 304 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 2: means to end this disease right now. So if everyone 305 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 2: who was not HIV positive protected themselves using some of 306 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 2: these new advancements and tools that we have. And if 307 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,879 Speaker 2: everyone who was HIV positive got to an undetectable level 308 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 2: using the medications that we have available, this virus really 309 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:36,639 Speaker 2: would have nowhere to go. So when we come together 310 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,880 Speaker 2: for AIDS WALK today, we come together to remember those 311 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 2: that we've lost. I mean, the gay community lost an 312 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:48,439 Speaker 2: entire generation, right, I mean, and I don't think people 313 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,560 Speaker 2: have really processed that. But you know, if you look 314 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 2: at gay men of a certain age, there is a 315 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,840 Speaker 2: huge hole there that we cannot get back. And I 316 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 2: think for us celebrating forty years of progress is hey, 317 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 2: look things have changed dramatically, but we still have more 318 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 2: to go. We still have more to go to figure 319 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:13,640 Speaker 2: out how do we resolve these equity situations in which 320 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 2: black and gay Latino men are still the majority of 321 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 2: people contracting this virus today, whereas for people who have insurance, 322 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,160 Speaker 2: those numbers have gone down dramatically. So this is something 323 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:30,400 Speaker 2: that we can solve, but it takes a greater community, 324 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:35,880 Speaker 2: greater awareness, responsibility throughout the healthcare profession. It just takes 325 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:37,879 Speaker 2: a lot of actors in order to make sure that 326 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,159 Speaker 2: we kind of close the loop on all of this 327 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 2: and in this disease in our lifetime. 328 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,399 Speaker 1: Craig, I can't thank you enough for the work that 329 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,880 Speaker 1: you are doing with APLA Health and the work that 330 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: APLA Health has done in the community for the community 331 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:57,239 Speaker 1: for decades. Really appreciate you coming on to OOKF and 332 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,399 Speaker 1: one to help us from member give us context and 333 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:05,199 Speaker 1: education about how far we've come, but also provide us 334 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,000 Speaker 1: with an understanding of what needs to be done in 335 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:12,520 Speaker 1: the future to eradicate the disease moving forward. Really appreciate 336 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: you and congratulations on the amazing anniversaries. 337 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 2: And thank you guys for having me. And if anyone 338 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 2: wants to learn a little bit more about this, please 339 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,200 Speaker 2: check out our documentary and title Commitment to Life, which 340 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,199 Speaker 2: is streaming on Peacock and it really gives you a 341 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:33,480 Speaker 2: nice concise understanding of where we were and where we 342 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 2: are today. 343 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:37,120 Speaker 1: Thank you, Thank you for that. Appreciate you. 344 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 2: Take care. 345 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 1: That is it for me today, Dear friends on wokef 346 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 1: as always power to the people and to all the people. Power, 347 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 1: get woke and stay woke as fuck.