Did you know that 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ people aren't registered to vote? And that Black and Latinx people are less likely to be registered than whites? As a health-focused organization, we believe that our community's well-being depends not only on our physical and mental health, but also our "civic health": the ability to influence the policies that affect our health and healthcare. That's why CAP is urging all eligible voters to make sure they're registered to vote and cast their ballots in the November 8 election!

This December, we are proud to honor the beginning of the 40th year of Cascade AIDS Project! Grassroots organizers and LGBTQ+ community members created CAP in 1983 to provide crucial community services in the face of the HIV & AIDS epidemic. Over the 4 decades that followed, our services expanded to include educational outreach, legal advocacy, and primary health care for residents in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

CAP, Our House, & Prism Health have decided to suspend use of our Twitter accounts immediately due to Twitter quietly removing its longstanding policy aimed at protecting transgender folks from targeted misgendering and deadnaming, both of which are considered as forms of hate speech. It is our belief that Social media companies must commit to fostering safe environments for LGBTQIA+ folks rather than eliminating policies which protect them.

We are excited to share that we’ll be bringing back the Winter Survival Kits that we’ve done in years’ past at CAP and Prism Health, and will be accepting donations starting today, January 10, for any and all winter survival items (see list below). These items will be collected at Prism Health and the three CAP social service locations in Portland, Vancouver, and Longview through March 18, 2022.

When visiting Portland, Oregon in 1961, Dr. King addressed the audience at the Keller Auditorium (then called the Civic Auditorium): “Americans must rise above the narrow confines of their individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity,” he said. “They must rid themselves of the notion that there are superior and inferior races.” 

The HIV epidemic in Oregon & beyond is not over, and if you think it is, it is because you are only looking at the most privileged groups affected by HIV. The HIV epidemic is less visible because it is becoming concentrated among marginalized communities.

October 11th marks Coming Out Day, an effort started over three decades ago. The day was started by Rob Eichberg, a psychologist and gay rights activist, and Jean O'Leary, the head of National Gay Rights Advocates at the time. They wanted to "create a holiday that celebrated queer identities in order to decrease stigma and homophobia,"

Did you know that 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ people aren't registered to vote? And that Black and Latinx people are less likely to be registered than whites? As a health-focused organization, we believe that our community's well-being depends not only on our physical and mental health, but also our "civic health": the ability to influence the policies that affect our health and healthcare. That's why CAP is urging all eligible voters to make sure they're registered to vote and cast their ballots in the November 8 election!

Starting Saturday, July 16, people in Oregon and nationwide who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis will be able to call, text or chat 988 to get compassionate care and support from trained crisis counselors. The new three-digit 988 number will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In observance of the upcoming transgender day of visibility on March 31st, we are excited to share the first episode of our brand new podcast series, Vibrant! In this series, we will be sitting down with folks across our agency to get the inside scoop on the work they do to provide compassionate, affirming care to all those in our community.

My name is Hollis Kinner (he/him) and I am CAP’s new Equity and Inclusion Advocate. I am beyond thrilled (and humbled!) to be in this important position and to be part of a nonprofit that’s been a decades-long staple in the region for people living with HIV and AIDS. HIV work has been dear to my heart for several years…

As of Tuesday, June 29th, 2021, CAP SW WA’s STD Clinic is re-open to the public after a 15 month hiatus. Cascade AIDS Project had been providing low-barrier full panel HIV/STI testing and treatment to the LGBTQ+ community in Vancouver for nearly a decade when COVID-19 hit.

Sex, identity, family, relationships: All of these are topics you talk about with your therapist—and all are intimately related to sexual orientation and gender identity. How can you get help with family issues if your mental-health provider doesn’t understand what it’s like to have a different gender identity than your parents or siblings?

Testing.com, a trusted informational guide for medical lab testing and at-home screening, has recognized Cascade AIDS Project + PIVOT as two of the best community-based organizations in Portland for providing vital services, such as free or low-cost STD testing and treatment, to fight the growing STD epidemic.

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) is observed annually on May 18th to recognize and thank all the dedicated volunteers, community members, health professionals, and scientists working together to develop a vaccine to prevent HIV. It is also a day to educate about the importance of preventive HIV vaccine research. A safe and effective preventive HIV vaccine is key to ending the HIV pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General has issued an alert to the public about fraud schemes related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Scammers are using telemarketing calls, text messages, social media platforms, and door-to-door visits to perpetrate COVID-19-related scams.

CAP and Our House have been working in partnership for over 30 years. Together, our two organizations have been exploring how an integration of our programs, services, and administrative operations might maximize our collective capacity to serve people living with, and affected by, HIV in every stage of life, throughout Oregon and SW Washington.

On May 25, 2020 Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, after a convenience store employee called 911 and told the police that Mr. Floyd had bought cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. Seventeen minutes after the first squad car arrived at the scene, Mr. Floyd was unconscious and pinned beneath three police officers, showing no signs of life. This was not a new moment or scenario in our nation’s history. Countless Black and Brown bodies have been inappropriately profiled, wrongly accused and lost to police brutality before and after this moment. However, it was those 8 minutes and 46 seconds that sparked a racial awakening and literally took the breath from our nation.

The origin of Black History Month goes back to 1915, when Dr. Carter Woodson founded the Study for African American Life and History (previously known as the Study of Negro Life and History). He introduced “Negro History Week” in 1926 to honor the history and recognize the accomplishments of the Black community in the United States.

Early voting in Georgia’s special election began on Monday. That means between now and January 5 (the actual day of the election), Georgians will decide not only who is going to represent them in the U.S. Senate, but what the balance of power in the Senate will be—and therefore which sorts of federal policy will be enacted in the coming years. It is an election whose impact will reverberate from Atlanta, to D.C., to here in Oregon and Washington, where federal policy has a concrete effect on how CAP serves our program participants.