APLA Health has been serving the South Los Angeles community since 2005 when we opened an NOLP food pantry to address a critical lack of food and nutrition services for those living with HIV/AIDS. Working in partnership with the Oasis Clinic at MLK Hospital we added a dental clinic and expanded NOLP in 2009.

Now we are honored to be working with Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) to bring comprehensive medical, dental, behavioral health and sexual health services to the LGBTQ community in South Los Angeles. CDU is the only historically African American medical school west of the Mississippi and a leader in the fight to bring health equity to South Los Angeles.

Our new 10,000 square foot APLA Health-Willowbrook Health Center, opening in 2021, will serve historically black and Latinx neighborhoods – communities that face discrimination in access to health care and as a result are disproportionately impacted by HIV. Caring for people who have been marginalized, stigmatized, and silenced is something APLA Health knows a lot about. Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting communities of color the hardest and exposing the harsh contrasts in health care access that exist in this country, our new Willowbrook Health Center is needed more than ever.

“I could pursue my passion without fear”

As a competitive bodybuilder with a burgeoning YouTube following, Raif takes his health seriously. That’s what brought him to Dr. Jay Gladstein, a renowned infectious disease specialist and one of APLA Health’s top doctors for patients with HIV. He had heard that Dr. Gladstein is the best.

Raif is HIV positive. That doesn’t stop him from keeping his body in peak condition, but it does require specialized care and precautions. On one online forum, Raif read about doctors banning athletes with HIV from taking nutritional supplements. So, he was a little nervous when he showed Dr. Gladstein the not-short list of supplements and vitamins he takes. Rather than forbid Raif from taking them outright, Dr. Gladstein took notes and told Raif he’d find some answers. A few weeks later, Dr. Gladstein gave Raif the green light to stick to his nutritional regimen. After some research, Dr. Gladstein didn’t expect any adverse effects – and knew what to watch for in Raif’s lab results, just in case. Raif was elated. He said, “I could pursue my passion without fear.”

With his YouTube channel, Raif breaks down stigma around HIV and sexual health among fitness enthusiasts. A recent video follows Raif to an appointment with Dr. Gladstein, so thousands of viewers got to see what a typical doctor visit looks like for someone with HIV. The video’s gotten a lot of “likes” and, hopefully, alleviated a lot of fear people with HIV may have felt about getting care.

“The most unbelievable gift of all”

Lillian never felt comfortable with doctors. Before she transitioned, when she still presented as a gay man, she would always get a “raised eyebrow” from health care providers. The judgmental looks and invasive questions only got more pointed after she transitioned. This led Lillian, like many transgender people of color, to avoid getting the care she needed.

When Lillian heard about APLA Health, she was cautiously optimistic. At Lillian’s first appointment with her new therapist at the Gleicher/Chen Health Center, she noticed something was different right away. There was no “raised eyebrow,” no stereotype-driven assumptions – just open, inclusive care from a provider who was truly invested in Lillian’s wellness. She never felt like she could be real with health care providers before. But at APLA Health, Lillian can be her full, vulnerable, sometimes messy self.

After a few more meetings with her therapist, Lillian started coming to APLA Health for medical care, including gender affirming hormone care. At a routine checkup, Lillian offhandedly mentioned that she’d started saving up for gender affirming surgery. She choked up as the doctor told her that she could stop saving, because APLA Health would help Lillian get the surgery covered by her insurance. As grateful as Lillian is to have access to surgery, she says “Simply having a place to go – and not be singled out or judged – is the most unbelievable gift of all!”

More Inclusive, More Robust, More Visible

Reaching people like Lillian, who’ve been pushed to the margins of society and excluded by traditional health care, is a top priority for APLA Health.

Our Healthy Him program, now in its seventh year, connects young men of color to HIV and STI testing, raises awareness about PrEP, and helps inform our outreach efforts through informal community focus groups. Trans Connections works specifically with transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people of color between the ages of 18 and 24.

The reach of these programs (and many others at APLA Health) has grown dramatically over the last year – especially online! With ramped-up social media and more groups happening in more neighborhoods across Los Angeles County, APLA Health’s outreach and prevention programs are more inclusive, more robust, and more visible than ever before.

Pragmatic Alliances

APLA Health’s local advocacy work with city and county governments – especially in the area of housing advocacy for people with HIV – is as critical as any of our programs and services. Our patients living with HIV face intersecting struggles with mental health, substance abuse, employment, and often housing. Through strong collaborations with governmental authorities and community partners, we’re able to reduce the threat of homelessness for low income people living with HIV in our communities.

As a longtime leader in the response to HIV in Los Angeles County, APLA Health was named a PrEP Center of Excellence. This designation allows us to expand critical PrEP and PEP outreach, education, and services with funding from the State of California as well as the Trump Administration’s federal initiative to end the epidemic. And our leadership in passing California SB 159, which allows pharmacists to furnish PrEP and PEP to patients without a prescription, will ensure that this life-changing prevention intervention will be accessible to more people who need it than ever before.

Open, Rather Than Quiet

Frank’s family never accepted him being gay. He always had to keep his sexuality, and himself, quiet. He was 26 when he finally came out to his family, and they shut him out of their lives. Desperate for acceptance and belonging, Frank instead found crystal meth.

Frank was diagnosed at APLA Health in 2012 – and his life started to change. With the providers at APLA Health he finally felt comfortable and could be open, rather than quiet, about who he was. Frank got connected to other services too. He started getting food from APLA Health’s Vance North Necessities of Life Program. He saw a dentist for the first time in years. He received treatment for his addiction.

Still, Frank’s loneliness would sometimes creep in. “Loneliness – feeling like I don’t have anyone – is a trigger for me,” he explained. “I get depressed, then I want to use.” Sometimes, Frank relapsed. Then Frank got invited to a meet-up with APLA’s HIV Elders program (HIVE). And the HIVE meet-up – a gathering of around a dozen people, all within a couple years of Frank’s age – was exactly what he needed.

Everyone laughed a lot and learned a little bit about each other at that first meeting. Bonds were quickly formed, and Frank knew before the meeting even ended that he would definitely come back. Now, Frank’s a regular at HIVE meet-ups – and he hasn’t used since attending his first one.

“They gave me back my control”

Regularly seeing a therapist got tricky for Joanna a few years ago, right around the same time she and some friends founded a nonprofit orchestra. While she hustled to find gigs for the Synesthesia Sinfonietta, Joanna went months without finding a therapist who both accepted her insurance and could accommodate her musician-turned-entrepreneur schedule.

She found the perfect fit at APLA Health. Loving the kindness, the expertise, and the flexibility of our providers, Joanna scheduled appointments for her other health care needs too – stuff she hadn’t made time for in years. The orchestra started getting regular paying gigs, and her life started to fall into a comfortable rhythm.

Then, about a year ago, Joanna was sexually assaulted. Her health – making sure she was okay – was her biggest concern. So, she turned to APLA Health. Joanna distinctly recalls her conversation with a provider at APLA Health. It was one of the first times she recounted the assault to anyone. She remembers how compassionate and open their conversation was, the soothing music that was playing, and the reassuring hug she got on her way out.

Though Joanna’s not sure her sexual assault is something she’ll ever be fully “over,” it’s no longer something that’s on her mind each day. And Joanna thinks that has a lot to do with the fact that she got compassionate care right away at APLA Health. As she says, “They gave me back my control.”

Burning Like Wildfire

APLA Health understands the power of visibility. That’s why we’ve been putting on AIDS Walk Los Angeles for over 35 years! Today, the event draws over 10,000 people into the streets of LA with one singular goal: ending the epidemic.

Karl Schmid of ABC 7, AIDS Walk Los Angeles’s broadcast partner, is one of the strongest voices we have, bringing attention to the continuing HIV epidemic. Karl’s dedication to ending the epidemic is personal. It comes from knowing that stigma and fear are still preventing people from getting needed care.

Karl hid his HIV diagnosis for 10 years, out of fear that it would end his TV career. But when he finally did reveal that he was HIV positive and his world didn’t come crashing down, Karl realized how many other people might be afraid like he was. Fear was keeping people from getting tested, from seeking treatment, and from getting their partners to use PrEP.

Fear costs lives. And, Karl says, it’s the reason that AIDS Walk is still so important – because it destigmatizes the disease. “Without that,” he adds, “HIV will keep burning like wildfire.” AIDS Walk, and the increased visibility it creates each year, is a beacon of hope to Karl and others living with HIV. “Standing on the AIDS Walk stage – in front of thousands of people, early on a Sunday morning,” he says, “it’s just amazing that all these folks care about a cure!”

We couldn’t agree more.

Speaking Truth To Power

APLA Health knows what it will take to end the HIV epidemic. We know effective treatment and good nutrition lower the viral loads of people with HIV, and we know that U=U – an undetectable viral load means an untransmittable disease. We know how to create effective, community-centered prevention programs. We know that we can build a strong health care system that prioritizes the equity and well-being of our entire LGBTQ+ family on the way to ending the epidemic.

But, to do all of that, we’ve had to make the health of our communities a political priority. That’s why APLA Health has been passionately advocating for the rights and lives of LGBTQ+ people since 1983. Over the years we’ve learned a thing or two about speaking truth to power and creating change.

In March 2019, APLA Health led over 200 other community organizations in respectfully – but firmly – demanding a deeper commitment from local leaders. Together, we submitted the Community Consensus Statement to End the Epidemics to Governor Newsom and members of the California Legislature.

Our appeal was a simple one: now that we have the tools – rapid testing, effective treatment, and proven prevention techniques – to effectively end the HIV epidemic, the state must do so.

The Community Consensus Statement created change. The legislature expanded funding for HIV and STD testing, treatment, and prevention services. We continue to advocate for legislation that will dramatically increase awareness of and access to PrEP across California.