Governor’s Order Closes Down HIV/AIDS Services

HARTFORD — Governor M Jodi Rell released her executive order on the state’s budget late in the afternoon June 30, which will allow certain services to continue for the month of July until a budget agreement can be achieved.

“First and foremost, people should rest assured that state government will continue to operate — services will be delivered; we will care for the vulnerable and the sick; public safety and public health will be protected,” Gov Rell said.

“Apparently, that doesn’t include people living with HIV/AIDS [PLHWAs] who remain among the most vulnerable and medically and socially fragile people in the state,” said Shawn M. Lang, director of public policy with the CT AIDS Resource Coalition in a release.

 The governor’s executive order zeroes out the three key AIDS lines in the Department of Public Health’s budget, including: (1) AIDS Services, which funds HIV prevention programs; (2) Syringe Exchange Programs, which funds five programs that have scientifically proven to prevent the spread of HIV among injecting drug users and take in thousands more used syringes than they distribute; and (3) Community Services for Persons with AIDS, which funds emergency housing and other supportive services.

 These are vital services that are part of a precarious network that helps to shore up sound public health policies in the state that benefits everyone, said Lang.

To illustrate this vulnerable population, in 2008, the results of a needs assessment conducted by the Hartford Ryan White Planning Council, which covers Hartford, Middlesex and Tolland Counties, found that 82 percent of PLHWAs lived on $1,000 or less per month; 23 percent were homeless or precariously housed; 70 percent had an AIDS diagnosis; and 47 percent relied on Medicaid/SAGA as their primary health insurance.

 In the New Haven/Fairfield County Ryan White Planning Council needs assessment in the same year; 41 percent of respondents identified housing assistance as the most needed service; followed by assistance in paying for medication (26 percent); and food (23 percent).

 While the annual number of newly reported cases of HIV/AIDS has declined over the past few years, the cumulative number of PLWHA continues to increase. Over the past ten years, the number of PLWHA has doubled, while funding in all three of these categories has seen very small increases, cuts, or flat funding.

 Many people think that the AIDS crisis is over; but that is far from reality.

 According to Lang, 25 percent of people who are infected with HIV do not know it and 23 percent of people who find out they are HIV positive also get an AIDS diagnosis at the same time (meaning that they have been infected for a long time without knowing their HIV status). These programs provide HIV prevention education, housing assistance, care and treatment to PLWHAs and their families. Ceasing to fund these services will force people to attempt to get assistance from the state’s social service offices (DSS offices) that are ill-equipped to handle the complex issues facing PLWHAs.

“These funds pay for services that are not available through any other state service. We’re wondering where the governor wants injecting drug users to dispose of their used syringes, or where people who lose their housing due to these cuts should go to sleep tonight?” asked the Reverend John P. Merz, executive cirector with the CT AIDS Resource Coalition.

 AIDS advocates around the state will be mounting a campaign to get these funds restored, the release states.