http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/13/female-veteran-winning-in_n_643791.html

We would like to welcome Lolisa as one of our newest additions to Hope’s Voice, as well as congratulate her on her new addition.  Lolisa is an strong, beautiful women who we know will be a inspiration for young people and HIV positive mothers everywhere who are planning to start a family.  Please see below for more information about HIV and pregnancy.

HIV AND PREGNANCY RESOURCES

http://www.thebody.com/index/treat/pregnancy.html

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/hivaids.html

“I BLURED MYSELF INTO THE SEA OF FACES, UNNOTICED AND NOT HAVING THE COURAGE TO SPEAK OUT.”

It is coming on six years since President Clinton rolled out the controversial policy that came to be known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which changed the long-standing bar against gay men and women serving in the U.S. military.  Since this policy approx. 12 000 service members have been removed from the military.

The conversation and policy is up for debate again since President Obama took office.

There is an estimated 65,000 service men and women that are gay (a UCLA study’s estimate), and since President Obama took office, 287 service members have been discharged for being gay, according to the Service members Legal Defense Network, which supports the repeal.  For those that remain, as Aubrey Sarvis, an ex-GI and executive director of the Service members Legal Defense  states— “it means you have to lie or deceive every day.”

In a FOX news article, Obama to End Military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy, which also includes a video clip, where White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is asked, ‘Is the new administration going to get rid of the “don’t ask, don’t tell policy?’” – Gibbs, looking into the camera. “You don’t hear a politician give a one-word answer much. But it’s, ‘Yes.’”

The article, Efficacy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell which appeared in Joint Force Quarterly says that in countries where bans on homosexuals’ serving openly in the military were lifted, including Australia, Canada and Britain, there was no “mass exodus” of heterosexual service members and no impact on military performance.

I think it is important for us at Hope’s Voice to look at this issue and more importantly to talk about it. At Hope’s Voice we have many brave young people who are talking about about being gay and about HIV positive.  It wasn’t until recently I realized that these young people are privileged to have the opportunity. There are some some people in the US who cannot talk about either. These young people are dedicated and courageously enrolled in the service, for their country – who as I found out after meeting one of these individuals would love to share their story – but, because of a US policy they do not have freedom of speech.  This young man that I met  shared with me his passion for the Navy, his love for his country and his fear, isolation and stress about being found out.  He became HIV positive while in the service so he was able to remain in the Service, and is very thankful for his amazing health care they provide – but he is now limited because of his HIV status.

His story really struck me as important, and although you can’t see his face, or know his name you can hear his voice.  In an email to me he stated,  “I blurred myself into the sea of faces, unnoticed and not having the courage to speak out, now I am ready!” – and we are honored to provide the platform for him to do so.   Please read his story and take action, talk about it, share the link, write your senator – make sure his voice is heard.

It seems that every Monday morning before the tedious and dreaded tasks of the week are given out by our Leading Petty Officer, everyone gathers around and talks about their weekends. It’s every homosexual military service member’s nightmare. As the group goes around in turn telling their stories of partying, concerts and bar hopping, the “gay guy” frantically tries to fabricate an event to conceal that he actually went out to a gay nightclub with his friends and actually had a great time. He wouldn’t dare tell the group that he went the a “GAY” event. So, his turn finally comes around and he shamefully lies,” Oh, I just stayed home and watched TV.” This may sound petty and insignificant, but when someone is not allowed to speak freely (which alludes to our Freedom of Speech in the Bill of Rights), and having to monitor your every word and step to not cause conflict, which may result in being discharged from the military is no easy feat. It’s tiresome. It forces you to NOT be you! Then who or what are you if you have no voice?!

Take this challenge if you may. I dare you, I implore you. Go to work and when approached by your friends, don’t talk about what you did last night, your past weekend, your significant other, where you went, your other friends, what you talked about, what show you watch, what movie you saw, your future, kids you may possibly want, where you volunteer…the list goes on and on. After you have censored yourself for about a week, let me know how you feel. Let me know how hard it was. Let me know how you felt. Caged? Stressed? Violated? No one to talk to? No where to go? Second class citizen? It’s mind-numbing and infuriating. That’s what countless military members have to go through day in and day out for many years.

Summer is HERE! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the day couldn’t get any better, right? Wrong. It’s the command’s family picnic day, a day in which the military members are allowed to bring their love ones on base to enjoy a day full of activities and games for the children, while the adults take part in many sporting events. Unfortunately, one service member is not enjoying his summer day. Hetries to muster up a laugh or two and play along in the festivities,careful not too draw too much attention to himself and his frustration. It seems everyone is asking him why he is not enjoying himself. Where is his girlfriend or wife? He is frustrated because he does not see why everyone else is allowed to bring their significant others, but he can’t. How is that fair? Does he not perform his duties the same, if not better, than his co-workers? Does he not uphold the command’s mission just as well as the other service members? Will he not fight as hard or even give up his life for the rights and freedoms of all Americans for the United States of America!?!

Let’s say he did bring someone to the command picnic. He goes around and introduces “this person” as his “best friend” or “roommate”. Inside, he wishes he could introduce this person as his lover, his life partner, his husband. But, he can’t. He is ashamed that after coming out of the closet to his family and friends, he is now forced back in with the door slammed in his face and demanded to live in a dark prison.

Unfortunately, being gay in the military is not my only obstacle. I have another battle to fight. I became HIV positive after serving approximately 3 years in the Navy. Yes, the Navy has been very supportive with my medical, emotional, and psychological well-being. But, as helpful as they are, they have also set many limitations to my career and service in the armed forces. For example, I am not allowed to deploy to any country outside the United States. In fact, I’m restricted to only being stationed near a major medical treatment facility. It’s upsetting seeing that I can perform my duties just as well as any other military member, yet still set in the back burner.

I recently was told that I would not be able to apply to become an officer in the Navy. Becoming an officer would enhance my career and success by placing me in a position of authority and responsibility. When I inquired why, I was simply told because I am not deployable, therefore, denied. It’s commonly known in the Navy, many officers are not always deployed or even considered for deployment at all.
It seems, since the HIV is still stigmatized as a gay disease, I feel it’s another legalized form of discrimination and oppression of the GLBT community in the military.

Well, these examples are in reality, stories of my life. I am that guy. I am that guy that has to hide who he is. Sometimes I feel that I have lost that person inside and am no longer “me”. Sometimes, when you live in a lie for so long, you become that lie.

I don’t want to live in a lie anymore.

Written By Brandy Svendson and an anonymous friend.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue Database -The Don’t Database contains primary materials on the U.S. military’s policy on sexual orientation, from World War I to the present.

TIME – Reexamining “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

TIMES article “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell turns 15“

CNN - Obama aide: Ending ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ must wait

CNN - ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ to get Senate committee review”

NY TIMES - Rare Source of Attack on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Brandy Svendson & Todd Murray

The conference was attended by an amazing group of committed funders, who were genuinely interested in what other funders were doing and how to best support the organizations the are funding. To see a full list of presenters and work shops please visit the FCAA Event Page. Todd Murray, our Executive Director, presented in the Media and Technology Panel – he talked about the history of the campaigns in the last 25 years, which have been primarily fear based, un-relatable, and contain mixed messages. He was then able to share the Emmy Award winning work of Hope’s Voice International that we feel provides a new approach to HIV marketing, focusing on young people and HIV – Please visit www.doeshivlooklikeme.org to see more of our campaign.

One of the most exciting presentations for me was by Sam-Graham Felsen Director of Content & Outreach, Blue State Digital. Blue State Digital is responsible for President Obama’s on-line campaign, which some argue single handedly won him the election as this article in this Guardian explains, “Is This Man the Future of Politics?”. Sam was able to make a great connection to Obama’s on-line success in both creating support, community and of course money! He encouraged funders to consider funding infrastructure projects such as websites for non-profits. We really hoped they listened. This advice couldn’t come at a better time for Hope’s Voice International, we just launched this site with the intention of really capitalizing on this new way of building our community support. We are so excited for the year to come and are happy that Sam has provided us with inspiration and some of the tools to do this, thanks Sam!

Another presentation that was really exciting and I think more and more non-profits need to hear about was by, Alyce Myatt, Executive Director, Grantmakers in Film & Electronic Media. Organizations and Funders can go to http://media.gfem.org/ - the goal is to advance the field of media arts and public interest media funding. To this end, the GFEM Media Database serves as a hub where funders of all kinds can find a rich array of media-related projects that fit their funding priorities. All organizations need to be apart of this database. These projects can be content, policy or infrastructure projects. We can’t wait to be on the database! What a great way to support the media arts, please be sure to share this with your friends and community!

Another presentation that was really innovative and focused on young people was by Brittany Hume, a Program Officer at Johnson & Johnson Corporate Contributions.

Brittany gave background on the Global AIDS Media Initiative their mission is to leverage the power of media to help prevent the spread of HIV and reduce the stigma facing those already living with the disease. Since GMAI was launched in January 2004 at an historic meeting of top media executives from around the globe, convened by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, over 300 media companies worldwide have committed. See video below about the GAMI:

Johnson and Johnson are one of the partners who are capitalizing on this commitment by the Global AIDS Media Initiative and the African Broadcast Media Partnership, committing to creating initiatives that share our vision of engaging youth through education that is encouraging leadership, increasing hope for young people, an finally using innovative ways. Johnson & Johnson are partners in Imagine Africa - the first authentic African reality show which sets up pan-African challenges for the continent’s young achievers and promotes the vision of an HIV-free generation Imagine Afrika is part of an ongoing HIV/AIDS public education and awareness campaign designed to re-engage young Africans in combating HIV/AIDS. Go to www.itbeginswithyou.org for more information.

I couldn’t help but wonder how cool it would be to do something similar with young people living with HIV, to show the day to struggles with stigma, dating, family and to also show that they are just like many young people with extraordinary courage. In 1992 MTV shared the story of Pedro Zamora on it’s hit show The Real World. This show greatly impacted Todd, the Founder and Executive Director of Hope’s Voice. It would be great to have new role models, talking about living with HIV on a reality show. Maybe one day Todd and I will be on a reality show and will make this happen… Amazing Race would be fun, and I know we would win – if you can run a non-profit you surely can win a race around the world!

Watch the Real World with Pedro at this link: http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/real_world_brooklyn/series.jhtml

The panel included a powerful presentation from Miquel Gomez, Director of AIDS.gov, Office of HIV/AIDS Policy. He gave insight to the work that AIDS.gov is doing to reach the masses with prevention messages through information, videos, blogs and even twitter. Hope’s Voice International is excited to announce that Todd Murray the Founder and Executive Director has been nominated for Obama’s Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS. The Office of HIV/AIDS Policy is directly involved in this exciting committee and we are optimistic that Todd’s experience and voice can be an asset for this important committee, and look forward to the opportunity to work with Miguel and of course President Obama.

I remember vividly working in Malawi on an amazing HIV project and Obama was in Kenya getting tested with Michelle ,publicly. (See video below) It was a powerful message, that was heard in Malawi too. I was also reading his book Audacity of Hope at that time, and began to have a deep admiration for him and Michelle. I am inspired and very hopeful that this administration will end the legacy of US presidents who have not responded in a full hearted way, leaving religion and politics out of it – making it about individuals who deserve to be honored and their lives valued. There is an air in the HIV community of hope, that this is the time to really make a difference – I encourage readers to subscribe to AIDS.gov’s blog, send letters and make sure our voices are heard. We will keep you posted about Todd’s nomination!

The second day we had the privilege of hearing Stephen Lewis speak. It was my fourth time, and it never gets boring. He consistently inspires and challenges the HIV Community to step up! I first saw him speak at the 2006 International AIDS Conference, and wanted to share with you his speech from that day – click here to download: Stephen Lewis Speech- He also wrote the book A Race Against Time, which I highly recommend.

Because we were invited as a non-profit we only attended a few panels – but I encourage readers to check out Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr.’s , from POZ magazine (seen below) Article and Blog to hear more about it the other parts of the gathering, and stay tuned for the full report from www.fcaaids.org.

Dr. Catrise Austin is known as Manhattan’s “celebrity dentist to the stars.” Her busy 57th Street Midtown office is home to some of the most cutting-edge, [and] high-tech techniques on the planet, but you don’t need to spend tons of money or even a lot of time on your smile if you simply learn the basics she’ll teach you in 5 Steps to a Hollywood A-list Smile, in her new book!

Not only are we excited to buy the book so we can have a gorgeous smile, like some of her previous clients – Common, Paula Abdul, and Malik Yoba, but Dr. Austin has also generously chosen Hope’s Voice as her charity of choice to receive partial proceeds from the sales of her book, we couldn’t be more excited to work with her!

Dr. Austin has not only committed to give a part of her proceeds to our case, but is also an innovator in the field on HIV and health care professionals commitment. In partnership with Orasure, Dr. Austin is one of the first dentists to offer rapid testing in her offices. We are excited that people in New York will have more options to get tested, and it will be by someone who is compassionate, informed and connected to her patients, ensuring that testing positive does not have to mean isolation and fear of the unknown. Her work and our partnership helps to ensure our mission at Hope’s Voice.

Congratulations Dr. Austin!

Please visit her site VIP SMILES to learn more about Dr. Austin, her book and the work she does.

Share/Save]]> http://hopesvoice.org/?feed=rss2&p=1056 0 http://hopesvoice.org/?p=150 http://hopesvoice.org/?p=150#comments Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:37:26 +0000 admin http://hopesvoice.org/wordpress/?p=150 And we couldn’t be more excited! It is so important for us to remain on top of all the amazing and innovative ways to be heard and share stories of those affected and infected by HIV and AIDS.  As a non-profit we often don’t have the time or money to update our websites – especially with all of Hope’s Voice amazing print and media campaigns – now all our subscribers will be the first to see what we are doing, and  have the opportunity to contribute .  FInally, ee will be able to let you know what we are thinking and how we are responding to HIV, the world and it’s response.  Please share our blog with your friends.  And thank-you for be apart of this movement, we call Hope’s Voice!