AIDS Walk Long Beach is a program of the Long Beach AIDS Foundation.

Our Mission:

Long Beach AIDS Foundation (LBAF) serves as a social change agent inspiring and empowering collaborative HIV/AIDS service organizations (ASO's) to embrace new strategic paradigms, motivate existing infrastructures and enhance organizational leadership with the ultimate aim to end the spread of HIV/AIDS.

We mean business!

The Question:

What will it take to stop new HIV infections from occurring? What programs and agencies are most effective and innovative in truly serving a community in need? 

These are the fundamental questions we ask of our ASOs (AIDS Service Organizations) each year as we review those organizations request for funds as they fight to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS in our community.

Each year about 65,000 individuals become nearly infected with HIV. Half of these infections occur among those ages 15 to 24, with 25% of them not even aware they are infected!  About a third of all new infections according to the Center for Disease Control occur among heterosexuals. Unfortunately, most communities still naively believe it is mostly a gay men's disease.  We're working hard to change that perception if we are going to win the war on AIDS.

With out diverse community, many communities just think this doesn't apply to them.  They are DEAD WRONG!  African-American heterosexual females account for an 80% increase in new infections alone.  In the Cambodian community, though a small percentage, the shame and disgrace forces family members to separate as the HIV infected individual move to a small community "to quietly die" despite medication to an individual alive, and with many Hispanic heterosexual males, religion and culture affect sexual activities with other males despite their denial.  So, we can keep our "heads in the sand" or we can look at each of our communities as opportunities to customize programs that are responsive and culturally sensitive to each diverse community if we want to make an impact on HIV and AIDS.

Parents! Are you listening?

It is time for a Reality Check!  For Parents, the argument whether their kids are teenagers or adolescents, the discussion of whether their childen are having sex, has long since ended.  Denial is not a defense against what is obviously causing the infections among this age group.  Abstinence programs aren't realistic and are not working.  You may personally want to argue this until the "cows come home" but there is no arguing the proven facts.

Education and Prevention are the ONLY truly proven programs to effectively work against transmission of HIV with the added benefit of reducing unwanted pregnancy.  The statistics are in on nearly every state that have tried alternative methods regarding teen sex. It's 27 years later and those between, ages, 15 and 24 are still getting infected! 

These kids were not even born yet when AIDS arrived in the United States!  So it's time for a Reality Check and some harsh facts.  Everyone including parents must help by having frank, open, and yes...perhaps uncomfortable discussions with kids about sex and making right choices.  We can no longer afford to be in denial and expect different results.

Recently, our public education outreach program provided the best "abstinence" results but having sexual disease and HIV prevention material available at our World AIDS Day event.  The teens, instead of talking about pregnancy and babies at school changed their discussion to disease and HIV after the World AIDS Day event.  Suddenly, having kids was no longer "cute" when faced with the idea of possibly getting HIV.  These teens, were now talking about waiting, having a committed relationship first, graduating and going to college, delay until marriage and getting tested and knowing their partners HIV status.  Knowledge, that's all it took!  These teens figured it out all on their own.  They're smarter than we give them credit for sometimes.

Did you know the cost of funding HIV prevention and education programs is far less costly than the lifetime cost of someone becoming infected with HIV?  The lifetime cost of maintaining the health and well being of an individual with HIV is $600,000.00  If you don't have insurance it's going to cost.  And it costs everyone!  Whether born by insurance or born by taxpayers, everyone pays. Funding prevention programs pays off dividends to the community.

What We're Doing?

The Foundation is reaching out to underserved communities with our HIV/AIDS beneficiary partners with new or innovative programs, or forming new collaborations with businesses, churches, and community associations to address HIV/AIDS in our communities.  Innovation is our hallmark is seeking new ways to address an old problem.

The Long Beach AIDS Foundation is working in collaboration to improve efficiencies, reduce program duplicities, and make measurable impact on HIV numbers. The Foundation will be looking at HIV/AIDS agencies to make measurable impact on HIV reductions, reaching out to the community and partnering in improving HIV services and prevention programs. We believe a 5% reduction in HIV infections in our community is obtainable.  We believe every agency should have a goal in reaching this goal...not on the number of clients served.

The Foundation will look at reaching out to underserved communities with our HIV/AIDS beneficiary partners with new or innovative programs, or forming new collaborations with businesses, churches, and community associations to address HIV/AIDS in our communities.  You can't keep doing the same thing and expect different results!

Our 2010 focus areas:

1. Funding of Innovative HIV Reduction programs. 

2. Youth HIV Prevention & Education programs with a focus on technology and communication in reaching this key target group.

3. Funding of Basic Life Neccessity and Core Health & Wellness programs.

4. Funding of effective programs for client services.

    Read:

Long Beach HIV Monitoring Report (Jun 2008)

Los Angeles County HIV Survelliance Report (Dec 2009)

Impact Program Funding

Programs we fund to impact HIV/AIDS through our Beneficiary Agencies.

Beneficiary Agencies Approved for Funding for 2010/2011 cycle

(Agencies are applying at this time.  Approved grant applications will be posted soon- check back shortly)

About the Beneficiary Agencies we funded in 2009/2010 cycle