POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => AIDS Activism => Topic started by: wtfimpoz on December 21, 2010, 02:39:32 pm
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Brainstorming ideas for what we can do...
1) We can donate to charities, like Aaron Diamond Research Center, amFar, and the Aids Research Alliance. What are some other groups which funnel money towards a cure?
2) We can write the NIH to increase cure research funding. We can get everyone we know to write the NIH to increase funding for cure research.
3) ???
Please, add any suggestions you might have.
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I pledge to only BB with other poz guys until there is a cure .
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Does anyone have anything of value to suggest?
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WTF,
As an activist, I can think of several things that people can do:
1. Donate to the AIDS Policy Project, Project Inform (http://www.projectinform.org/ (http://www.projectinform.org/)), the AIDS Treatment Activist Coalition (ATAC) (http://www.atac-usa.org/ (http://www.atac-usa.org/)) and the Treatment Action Group (TAG)(http://www.treatmentactiongroup.org/ (http://www.treatmentactiongroup.org/)) - all of whom in one way or another are devoting time and resources to advocate directly with scientists and government officials to ensure that cure-oriented research is happening smartly and quickly.
2. Consider volunteering your time to one of these activist groups. APP has key workers in Philadelphia and San Francisco, but they are trying to hold "cure" town meetings in various cities and could probably use help setting those up. Project Inform is based in San Francisco and TAG is in New York, but ATAC does most of its work by telephone and at home so most anyone can join who has a serious interest. You don't have to be a science geek (though that helps) to contribute your time and talents. In fact, ATAC also needs people with experience working the press and helping with fund raising.
3. Write to Francis Collins, NIH director, about the need for cure research. You can go to APP's website for a sample letter: http://www.aidspolicyproject.org (http://www.aidspolicyproject.org)/
4. You can host forums with local researchers and people living with HIV to help them realize that people are willing to volunteer for clinical trials to help the field move forward. One of the reasons that some research never gets off the ground is the struggle to recruit people.
Lastly, stay informed and on top of the research and think critically about "science by press release." Frankly, I tend to trust researchers who don't use the "C" word in their press releases. Some of the best and smartest scientists are least likely to overstate the significance of their findings. Unfortunately, there's no short cut you can take to understand basic science, immunology, virology and all the other "ologies." It simply takes time and effort. On the other hand, as someone who got a D+ my first semester of high school biology and started off my "career" as an activist and educator as a volunteer, I can promise you that it is possible to understand this stuff.
Hope this is helpful and I look forward to other similar responses.
-D
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just to add concerning the AIDS Policy Project website. The letter to NIH is a link that can be sent via email rather than regular mail depending on your preference.