LGBT Voices for #BlackLivesMatter

Nadine Smith is Executive Director of Equality Florida

They had grown angry at the constant humiliation and harassment by police. In the face of more brutality the anger turned to action and a riot broke out. As word spread throughout the city, the crowd was joined by others who started shouting and throwing whatever they could find at the police.

In This Issue

If you're going to be in Los Angeles, we invite you to join us on Thursday at Heroes in the Struggle, a star-studded gala where celebrities like Danny Glover (Color Purple, Lethal Weapon), Brian J. White (Scandal), Shaun Robinson (Access Hollywood), Naomi Campbell (Empire) and other Black celebrities from film, stage, television and music, will honor Jussie Smollett, Gregorio Millett, Vanessa Mills and Janssen Therapeutics, a division of Janssen Products, LP. We kick off the celebration at 6:30 p.m. at the Director's Guild. Read on to learn more about the evening.

New Preventive Health Services Approved For No-Cost Coverage

Hepatitis preventive services

The list continued to grow of preventive services that people are entitled to receive without paying anything out of pocket.

In 2014, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended two new services and tweaked a handful of others that had previously been recommended. Under the health law, preventive care that receives an "A" or "B" recommendation by the nonpartisan group of medical experts must be covered by health plans without charging consumers. Only grandfathered plans are exempt from the requirement.

Now Available! Archived Webinar on Hepatitis C Prevention Opportunities Among People Who Inject Drugs

Jon Zibbell, Ph.D., Health Scientist and Medical Anthropologist from the Prevention Branch of CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis

Last month, as part of ongoing efforts to increase awareness of viral hepatitis among populations at risk, we were pleased to host a webinar Hepatitis C Prevention Opportunities Among People Who Inject Drugs: Confronting the Growing Epidemic. Participants learned about trends in hepatitis C, new tools, and prevention messages, and also reviewed hepatitis C prevention efforts targeted towards PWID. PWID are at high risk for hepatitis C infection, and the nationwide increases in new hepatitis C infections and injection drug use require focused public health efforts to address the specific needs of PWID.

Black Voices: Youth Voices and Social Media Matter

Anthony Roberts, Jr., Ederick Johnson and Patrick Ingram at ViiV Youth Summit, Miami, 2014

Last year, I attended the 16th Viiv Healthcare Community Summit on HIV and joined 29 others as a participant in their first Youth Summit in Miami, FL. I was ecstatic to be surrounded by other 18-29 year olds from all across the United States. We were all of different ages, races, and life experiences but shared a common goal – an AIDS-free generation. It was refreshing to see that there are others, like myself, who are actively participating in ensuring that this dream will one day come to fruition.