Saddleback’s HIV&AIDS Initiative offers compassion, community, and real solutions for people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. As one of our seven signature ministries, this outreach leads our members and local churches around the globe to play a key role in ending AIDS by caring for people affected by HIV. We demonstrate God’s love for the sick in practical ways including prevention, care, treatment, support, and advocacy.
Orange County’s lone needle exchange program is seeking approval to reopen as a mobile unit, according to OC Needle Exchange Program (OCNEP) board member and UC Irvine School of Medicine student Nathan Birnbaum. The proposed mobile unit would operate in one city per day on weekly rotation from 10am to 5pm in industrial areas of Anaheim, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and Orange. Santa Ana shut down the program in January.Officials said once the California Department of Public Health certifies the mobile needle exchange program, it can begin again without needing approval from city governments.
Who could oppose the idea of ensuring patients are never discriminated against by hospitals because of their sexual orientations, their gender identities or their gender expressions? Sadly, the answer is federal policymakers. High-ranking officials in the executive branch are systematically tearing out even the humblest measures aimed at upholding the basic American values of fairness and equality. The New York Times recently reported that disturbing new rules are coming out of the Department of Health and Human Services following approval by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Fundraiser benefits the nonprofit’s expansion of health services to entire LGBTQ community
IRVINE, Calif. – Prepare for a magical, history-making night filled with entertainment and inspiration on June 2 from 6 to 10 p.m. as singer-songwriter and Tony award-winning actor Levi Kreis and actor and comedian Jason Stuart headline Radiant Health Centers’ Stairway to the Stars gala. The event takes place at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel.
Stairway to the Stars raises funds for Radiant Health Centers’ expansion of health services to the entire LGBTQ community, while maintaining its long-standing commitment to end the HIV epidemic in Orange County.
Renowned singer and songwriter Levi Kreis will revive some of his best-known stage performances, perform original songs and share some of his personal journey as a gay man. Kreis has starred in the national tour of RENT and played and performed as Jerry Lee Lewis in Broadway’s Million Dollar Quartet, for which he won a Tony Award.
Jason Stuart, a well-known actor and stand-up comedian, who is widely known for starring on shows including The Closer, Will & Grace and House, M.D., will perform skits from his acclaimed standup comedy routine.
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization; will be honored at the event with an award for its groundbreaking work to improve health equity for the LGBTQ community.
“Stairway to the Stars will raise funds to build a dedicated LGBTQ health center and create a healthy Orange County for all,” said David Piazza, Chief Development Officer, Radiant Health Centers. “Through our 33 years serving the community, we have seen first-hand how stigma, poverty, cultural misunderstandings and other health barriers have led to heighted health risks in Orange County’s vulnerable LGBTQ population.”
“This is a very special and important event for Radiant Health Centers and we consider it an honor to be able to share it with the Human Rights Campaign,” said Piazza. “The advancements in LGBTQ rights that HRC has achieved over the years is simply amazing.”
More than 12,000 LGBTQ residents of Orange County are underinsured, or without health insurance, and many live at or below the poverty level so even basic healthcare is out of reach, let alone HIV prevention or suppression medications and mental or behavioral health counseling.
To eradicate HIV/AIDS in Orange County and to improve health equity for the LGBTQ community, Radiant Health Centers is raising funds to expand and offer medical services specialized to meeting the unique needs and issues of the LGBTQ community.
Radiant Health Centers’ medical center will become a one-stop shop for medical and dental needs, counseling services, and easy access to medications through an onsite pharmacy.
To join in the fun at Stairway to the Stars and support the cause of LGBTQ health in Orange County, visit www.radianthealthcenters.org or contact David Piazza at (949) 809-5733 or DPiazza@radianthealthcenters.org.
About Radiant Health Centers
Radiant Health Centers has provided more than three decades of exceptional care and support to people affected by HIV and their loved ones. It has been instrumental in driving new HIV transmissions down over the past 15 years; however, six people a week in Orange County are still diagnosed with HIV.
Radiant Health Centers encompasses traditional HIV testing and prevention outreach as well as long-standing services to Orange County’s HIV positive community while also creating a safe space to help more members of our LGBT community in need of compassionate care. Learn more at www.radianthealthcenters.org.
If there was a call to action that came out of the most recent engagement of LGBTs in the News with Thom Senzee, America’s longest-touring LGBTQ panel series, it was delivered by Dr. Sean Cahill, director of health care policy research at The Fenway Institute, based in Boston.
“If we’re not counted, we don’t count,” the influential LGBTQ health-policy think tank’s research leader said to an audience of about 120 members of the public, the media, clinicians, social-service workers and other policy professionals at the May 1st engagement of LGBTs in the News, held in Costa Mesa and presented by Radiant Health Centers (formerly AIDS Services Foundation). The panel focused on a range of LGBTQ community health issues under the banner, “Resolving Disparities, Overcoming Barriers.”
While treatment for HIV and AIDS has come a long way, Daniel Garza shares his journey and the truth about living with the disease.
From the time Daniel Garza was 5 years old, he knew he was attracted to boys. But coming from a Mexican Catholic background, facing the realization took years. When he was 3 years old, Garza’s family left Mexico to immigrate to Dallas, Texas. “As a first-generation American and only son of a Mexican, Catholic, conservative family, a lot of pressure and expectations that come along with that,” Garza tells Healthline.
To aid in building the first LGBTQ health center in Orange County and to bring Radiant Health Centers to the next level, Stairway to the Stars is a special fundraising event to mark the campaign’s kick-off. Taking place Saturday, June 2 at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel the evening’s festivities will feature former CNN anchor and accomplished television journalist and broadcaster, Rudi Bakhtiar as the evening’s emcee. Headlining entertainment includes singer-songwriter and Tony award-winning actor, Levi Kreis and actor-comedian Jason Stuart.
Today we’d like to introduce you to Philip Yaeger.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I first got involved as a volunteer with AIDS Services Foundation Orange County, which was our organization’s name for its first 32 years. In 1993, a family friend had suddenly passed away from a lung infection that I realized was caused by AIDS. Because of the stigma, our friends had to go through this ordeal without the support of friends and the community. I wanted to do something about this and make a difference for people with AIDS and their families and loved ones.
Start this Cinco De Mayo with a 5K Walk for a good cause. The 32nd Annual AIDS Walk OC returns to Orange County on Saturday, May 5, starting and ending at William R. Mason Park. The AIDS Walk in OC is one of the oldest in the country. it expects to draw hundreds of people and raise thousands of dollars to support the men, women and children living with HIV in Orange County and it provide resources to prevent the spread of HIV.
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