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Action Equals Life Rally & Day of Action

A coalition of 40+ San Francisco organizations demand funding for LGBTQ+ and HIV issues in the San Francisco city budget; Rally to be held at City Hall June 5.
By Emily Land
May 31, 2023   3 Minute Read

Media Contact: Emily Land; eland@sfaf.org; 415-487-8061 

SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2023–On National HIV Long Term Survivors Day, June 5, Bay Area activists are assembling to demand additional city investment in critical issues affecting LGBTQ+ communities and people living with HIV and AIDS. Activists will march from San Francisco AIDS Foundation (1035 Market St. San Francisco) to City Hall, and will then hold a Rally on the steps of City Hall to call attention to issues including the HIV housing crisis, healthcare needs for LGBTQ+ and HIV communities, mental health for HIV long-term survivors, and San Francisco’s overdose crisis. 

“We’re calling for San Francisco to make critical investments in HIV prevention, care, and support,” said Tyler TerMeer, PhD, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “Many people in our HIV community–especially long-term HIV survivors–have spent decades acting up and fighting for their lives. We continue that legacy by urging San Francisco to continue to prioritize the health of people living with HIV by funding services that will improve mental health care, prevent fatal overdose, ensure stable housing for people with HIV, and more.”   

A coalition of San Francisco organizations have signed on to the budget request, which specifies that funding be allocated to: 

  • HIV housing subsidies ($3.6 million)
  • Long-term survivor mental health ($500,000)
  • Overdose prevention sites ($1-2 million)
  • Intensive case management for people with HIV and AIDS ($500,000)
  • Preserve the HIV safety net (no cuts)
  • Support cost-of-doing business for HIV service organizations ($500,000) 

“The HIV and AIDS epidemic is not over. Although the crisis may seem less urgent than it was in the 1980s or 1990s, there are still many issues facing our HIV community that we must solve,” said Ande Stone, senior community mobilization manager for San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “Until we start to solve some of these entrenched issues facing our community– including fatal overdose, lack of mental health support, housing instability–activists will continue to speak out to make sure our voices and needs are heard and considered.” 

Rally & Day of Action 

June 5, 2023

March to City Hall, 12:30 pm – 1 pm, Begins at 1035 Market St.  

Rally at City Hall, 1 pm – 2 pm, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl.

Visuals: Activists marching to City Hall; Rally with selected speakers on steps outside City Hall 

HIV in San Francisco 

In San Francisco, there were a total of 160 new HIV diagnoses made in 2021, a 16% increase from the 138 that occurred in 2020. There are more than 15,500 people living with HIV and AIDS who live in San Francisco.  

  • HIV communities are some of the heaviest hit by the housing crisis in SF. One in six people living with HIV in San Francisco are unhoused or at risk of becoming homeless (San Francisco HIV/AIDS Five Year Housing Plan, pg. 16)
  • The housing crisis may be driving new HIV transmission. One in four new HIV transmissions are among people experiencing homelessness (San Francisco HIV Epidemiology Report, 2021, pg. 76)
  • Housing status heavily impacts health outcomes. Health outcomes for people living with HIV are intricately tied to housing stability. Whereas 80% of people with recent HIV diagnoses who are stably housed are virally suppressed within 6 months of diagnosis, that number drops precipitously to around 50% for folks who are experiencing homelessness (San Francisco HIV Epidemiology Report 2021 pg. 19)  

Supporting organizations 

Organizations that have signed on to the budget request are: ABD/Skywatchers, AGUILAS, El Ambiente, AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, Alliance for a Better District 6, Black Leadership Council, Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, Coalition on Homelessness, Frameline, Getting to Zero San Francisco (GTZ-SF), GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA), GLIDE, Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council, HealthRIGHT 360, HIV Advocacy Network, HIV/AIDS Providers Network, Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Larkin Street Youth Services, Lavender Phoenix, Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District, Lutheran Social Services of Northern California, Maitri Compassionate Care, Marty’s Place Affordable Housing Corporation, National AIDS Memorial, Openhouse, Parivar Bay Area, PRC, Project Open Hand, Rafiki Coalition for Health and Wellness, Safer Together, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, San Francisco Community Health Center, Senior & Disability Action, Shanti Project, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Tenderloin People’s Congress, The Gubbio Project, The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, The LGBT Asylum Project, The Transgender District, Treatment on Demand Coalition, UCSF Alliance Health Project, and Westside Community Services. 

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