The federal government just unexpectedly cut San Francisco's Ryan White CARE award by $9 million. We've gone from $27 million to $18 million in this fiscal year alone, without warning. Of the funding we receive, they are forcing us to cap 25 percent of that money for the supportive services we need to stay healthy and on track. At the same time, they are attempting to force us into a 24-month lifetime cap on housing assistance for people with HIV/AIDS.
In response to these drastic attacks on people with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco, the Newsom administration recently disbanded the AIDS Office and has decided not to appoint a new AIDS czar. For an administration that prides itself on measurable outcomes, it looks like this is an area that needs increased leadership on policy advocacy, not a disinvestment. In April, the mayor did publicly announce that the city would pick up a portion of the CARE cuts that were expected at the time. (Last week's news was that the cut was $3 million more than anticipated.) We look forward to seeing that all of the federal cuts will be picked up in the mayor's budget, due to be released on June 1.
The current climate causes me a great deal of discomfort when thinking ahead three years to when the Ryan White CARE Act no longer exists. I'm asking the 18,000 people with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco and our allies to sit down for a moment and absorb this. In light of recent events, things don't look like they are going in the right direction for when the CARE Act expires in three years. I am not currently hopeful that San Francisco will fair well if and when some post-CARE Act legislation is passed.
The time to act is now. Responsibility for our care is going to increasingly fall on the local level. We must organize to ensure our strongest possible advocates are in power when the CARE Act expires. We must seize the leadership of the organizations that serve us. We must demand inclusion on the governing bodies of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, San Francisco Housing Authority, the Health Commission, and yes, the Board of Supervisors and the mayor's office.
We have a moral obligation to ourselves and to the people we care for to ensure the best possible representation. We are going to have to fight for funding each year to make sure we maintain services. We must set the stage for this annual fight for services by looking to the November 4, 2008 supervisors races in odd numbered districts (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11). Moreover, we will elect supervisors in even numbered districts (2, 4, 6, 8, 10) in 2010, the same year the CARE Act expires.
The HIV/AIDS community must wake up to its power. There are 18,000 of us in San Francisco and potentially over 20,000 by 2010. That is enough electoral power to determine who the next mayor of San Francisco is and to swing the outcome of several of the supervisorial elections, most notably in Districts 5, 6, 8, and 9.
Harvey Milk taught us that there is a world of difference between having a friend in office and having one of our own in office. The first step in ensuring our future by having one of our own in office is upon us. Human rights commissioner, deputy director of the Transgender Law Center, and openly HIV-positive Cecilia Chung has announced she is running for District 11 supervisor next year. We must elect Cecilia Chung on November 4, 2008.
We must hold the candidates in Districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 accountable for supporting full funding for the HIV/AIDS Housing Plan, including supportive employment for disabled people with HIV/AIDS. They must also be willing to stand strong in ensuring that services for people with HIV/AIDS do not get cut until after salaries for executives are brought into alignment with funding realities. The days of AIDS executives getting paid more than members of the Board of Supervisors while people with AIDS die on the street has to end.
We must especially look to the 2010 supervisorial race for District 8, which includes the Castro and Noe Valley, and District 6, which encompasses the Tenderloin, South of Market, and part of the Mission. These two districts have the highest concentration of HIV-positive folks and are the ones where we have the highest chances for success. We must start setting the stage today to elect openly HIV-positive representatives from these two districts. We must start setting the stage today to elect someone with the name recognition, history of leadership on our issues, and the ability to fundraise to win these districts.
We have the power to win. We have enough votes. We have the time and the hands to help volunteer on campaigns. If 18,000 of us donated $10 to a campaign, we could raise $180,000. That's enough money to win.
As a person with AIDS and as the president of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, I invite you to get involved with the club today. We must band together and use our collective power to protect our future. Our lives depend on it.
Brian Basinger is also the director of the AIDS Housing Alliance.