Greater Than AIDS is hitting the road this month to join thousands in Washington, DC for the United States Conference on AIDS (USCA), the largest gathering of organizations working in HIV/AIDS in the nation.
The annual three-day event, hosted by the National Minority AIDS Council, seeks to strengthen and diversify the community-based response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic through education, training, and collaboration.
Referencing the disproportionate impact of HIV on certain populations, notably Black Americans and gay men, the conference’s theme this year is “The Numbers Don’t Lie: It’s Time to End Disparities.”
“We’re thrilled to attend USCA and to share our experiences with other organizations working in the field and hope to establish new partnerships,” said Trina Scott, who manages community partnerships for Greater Than AIDS at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “We will be out in full force speaking on panels and hosting attendees at a Greater Than AIDS booth. We’re also looking forward to connecting with new and old friends, including Greater Than AIDS ambassadors and partners from around the country.”
The action begins Thursday, Sept. 10. The Greater Than AIDS booth will open for business at 10 a.m., and operate 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. all three days of the conference. Attendees stopping by can pick up information about the group’s campaigns, find out about partnering with Greater Than AIDS, try out the newly designed website, take selfies in the photo booth, and walk away with free swag.
On Thursday, Sept. 10 from 2:30-4 p.m. Greater Than AIDS will join a panel hosted by Gilead Sciences about community-based initiatives fighting to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Black America.
On Friday, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m., Greater Than AIDS will team up with the Young Black Gay Leadership Initiative for a 90-minute affinity session entitled “The Power of Our Voices: LGBT Youth & HIV” in the conference’s Community Village. Kaiser Family Foundation’s Trina Scott will be joined by Greater Than AIDS Youth Ambassador Richard Hutchinson, who will present on #SpeakOutHIV – the Greater Than AIDS social media campaign to challenge the silence and stigma around HIV.
Greater Than AIDS will take the spotlight again on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 2:30 p.m. with a 90-minute panel, “Speak Out: Engaging LGBTQ Youth to Speak Out about their Relationships, Health and Community.”
Moderated by Robbyn Kistler and Trina Scott of Kaiser, Greater Than AIDS Partners representing local government, community organizations and the medical sector will present strategies and tools from the campaign for use in community efforts:
- Greg Beets of the Texas Department of State Health Services and James Berglund of AIDS Arms in Texas will discuss Speak Out Texas, a statewide media and community engagement campaign produced with Greater Than AIDS.
- Richard Hutchinson, Senior Research Interviewer at Emory University Rollins School of Health will recount his experiences participating in the inaugural #SpeakOutHIV workshop as a Greater Than AIDS Youth Ambassador.
- David Malebranche, a leading HIV clinician and researcher, will talk about his participation in the Greater Than AIDS YouTube series #AsktheHIVDoc and how it is promoting stronger physician relationships with young gay men.
