Each year, June 19th, or Juneteenth, is commemorated as the anniversary of the day in 1865 when enslaved communities in Galveston, Texas learned that the Civil War had ended and that they were free from slavery. Read on for local events in the Portland area to commemorate Juneteenth!

In the aftermath of the deadly shooting at the Pulse Nightclub on July 12th, 2016, then US House Representative Ron DeStantis visited the memorial of those 49 people who lost their lives to the senseless gun violence of a disgruntled security guard…

The uprising at Stonewall Inn marked a turning point in the history of LGBTQ communities, a demonstration of our fight for our basic human rights and dignity. Heroes like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Storm DeLarverie remind us of a sometimes painful but simple truth: we all have the power to create change and we must choose to use it.

The health and wellbeing of our patients and clients is our first priority and why our team works so hard. In accordance with federal and state regulations and CDC recommendations, Cascade AIDS Project no longer requires universal masking.

Prism Health needs your help to continue to provide LGBTQ+ affirming healthcare!

Jonathan Frochtzwajg, an advocate with Cascade AIDS Project, known as CAP, who testified in support of the Oregon legislation, said patients “are really just caught in the crossfire between insurance and Big Pharma.”

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.

May 19th marks National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2022, a day dedicated to reducing HIV stigma in Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities and promote prevention, testing and treatment.

May 19th is Hepatitis Testing Day! Millions of people living in the US have chronic viral hepatitis—but most of them don’t know they have it. That’s why Hepatitis Testing Day seeks to encourage folks to learn their status and help raise awareness of hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

“We have a front-row seat to all the barriers ... And those run the gamut from providers not familiar with PEP, to patients not being able to fill prescriptions because many pharmacies don’t stock the medication, to people not being able to afford the copay when they get to the pharmacy counter.”

April 18th is National Transgender HIV Testing Day! This year, we would like to share some context about the importance of this day and offer some resources for our trans and gender-nonconforming community members—including a fun local event!

March 31st marks Trans Day of Visibility—We’re celebrating at CAP, Our House and Prism by sharing a bit about the history of this day and sharing resources for our trans, nonbinary and gender non-conforming community members. 

March 20th marks the annual observance of National Native HIV & AIDS Awareness Day, a day to address the impact of HIV on Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. NNHAAD was created to encourage HIV testing, prevention, and treatment in these impacted communities.

February 7th marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). NBHAAD is a day to increase HIV education, testing and treatment in Black communities and acknowledge how HIV disproportionately affects Black people. 

Today is February 1st , and also the start of Black History and Black Futures Month in the United States. Black History Month was first conceptualized as being a weeklong celebration to encourage the coordinated teaching of Black history in public schools across the United States.

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.” 

On our final episode of 2022, we are joined by a very special guest: Brenda Chambers. Brenda is a participant in CAP's Aging Well program and is a long-term survivor of HIV. Listen as she tells her story of being a grandmother, a caregiver, a friend, and a peer to her community, and don't miss hearing how she is leveraging her 18 years in recovery to support and mentor others through their healing journeys.

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.

Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever international day for global health. Every year, folks across the globe come together to raise awareness of HIV & AIDS in our communities, support those living with and impacted by HIV, advocate for resources to tackle HIV transmission, combat stigma associated with HIV & AIDS, and, above all, remember those lost to us due to HIV & AIDS.