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Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report

Across The Nation | Advocates Declare 'State of Emergency' Over
Disproportionate Rate of AIDS Cases in Long Island Minority Communities

[Oct 21, 2002]

     AIDS activists on Saturday held a conference on Long Island, N.Y., to
declare a "state of emergency" over the disproportionate rate of AIDS cases
among the area's African-American and Hispanic communities, Long Island
Newsday reports. At the conference, organized by a coalition of
not-for-profit organizations, advocates cited reports from New York state
health officials and studies that have "consistently indicated that AIDS is
disproportionately affecting communities of color, and that the trend is
not receding." Minorities account for about half of Long Island's reported
AIDS cases, which at the end of 2000 included about 3,300 in each county,
Newsday reports. The advocates called for increased funds for "overwhelmed"
community-based organizations that serve individuals with HIV/AIDS. They
said that government support has "failed to keep up" with the increased
number of AIDS cases in Long Island. Jill Williams, director of the AIDS
service program at Five Towns Community Center, said, "Federal funding has
been flat, and the needs are growing." Advocates also raised concerns about
the increased number of young people with HIV, as well as the rise in the
number of women who contract HIV through heterosexual contact. Williams
said, "We're saying to our local representatives, 'We need to hear you
speaking about HIV/AIDS more than you do' ... and that has to mean more
money flowing into our community" (Rabin, Long Island Newsday, 10/18).