In This Issue

Yesterday we heard an amazing keynote speech by public-interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson, the executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, in Alabama. In his speech, Stevenson reminded us that the answers to ending HIV/AIDS cannot be found in an office. He told us that we need to get up close and personal with PLWHA; solutions can only be found by getting proximate.

We were fortunate, once again, to have an in-person conversation with California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has sponsored or cosponsored every piece of HIV/AIDS legislation in Congress and has been a friend of the Black AIDS Institute for years. Congresswoman Lee warned us about the upcoming budget fight on Capitol Hill and told us what legislation we should be calling our representatives about to get it passed. USCA Social Media Fellow Britni Danielle reports.

Read about the additional good news about PrEP that British researchers reported in The Lancet earlier this week.

We urge you to sign a letter to Congress urging them to restore funding to several domestic HIV/AIDS programs it has proposed cutting, including the Minority AIDS Initiative Fund and the Ryan White Program's Special Projects of National Significance. You must sign by the end of day on Sunday if you want your voice to count.

A new survey shows that Americans believe that mental health care is important but find it too hard to get.

Yours in the struggle,

Phill