The WA Budget still needs your help!

The Washington budget isn’t set yet and HIV prevention and care services are still looking at deep cuts. We still need your help talking to legislators about how you feel. Prevention service are still going to be cut by more than 40% and care services by an additional 20%.

Last week we asked for you to write letters so that we could hand deliver them to the state legislators on AIDS Action and Awareness Day next week. We have received many letters, but we need more.

We are hoping to get more folks from around the state to fill in their own comments and info and return the letters to us by this Friday, February 5th. We need your help to do this - please pass this blank letter along to everyone you know - we'd like to have as many legislative districts in the state represented as possible! Letters can be emailed back to advocate@llaa.org or mailed to Lifelong, 1002 E Seneca, Seattle WA 98122. We will collate them and distribute them in person to the appropriate Legislator on February 10th.

We have two fact sheets that you can download from GoogleDocs– one about Care services and funding and the other about Prevention. We will be passing these on to all the electeds down in Olympia, and ask that you forward them to your lists.

Also on that day we will be conducting a variety of online activities instead of gathering everyone in Olympia. Look for more information in the next week or so. You can also join the Communities in Action Network at www.cannetwork.net or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aidsactionday . Do let me know if you have any questions. It is our collectivevoices being raised that will help protect the funding for thecritical services we provide.

Yours in solidarity,
Erick Seelbach
Director of Prevention, Education, and Public Policy
Lifelong AIDS Alliance

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We need your help with the state budget!

The 2010 Legislative Session is a “short” one that began the second week of January, with the final gavel expected to come down on March 11th. The supplemental budget will be the focus this session as the Legislature returns to Olympia under the dark cloud of a $2.6 budget shortfall. In early December the Governor released a proposed budget that addressed the financial crisis by reducing or eliminating vital services and programs. The “all cuts” budget was not well received by the Legislature, the public, or even the Governor herself. During the first week of session the Governor submitted a “Book Two” budget that included a short list of program restorations equaling about $778.9 million. The Governor outlined a little over $101 million in revenue options (loopholes) and is expecting to receive additional resources through the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP). HIV/AIDS funding is partially restored by the Governor by $4.85 million.

Our goal for the Session is that as decisions are being made HIV/AIDS funding continues to be a priority of leadership. We have a variety of things in the works to keep the voices of HIV/AIDS loud and strong down in Olympia.

We have two fact sheets that you can download from GoogleDocs– one about Care services and funding and the other about Prevention. We will be passing these on to all the electeds down in Olympia, and ask that you forward them to your lists.

Usually, we only do an AIDS Action & Awareness Day every two years, but because of the severe nature of the potential cuts, we are activating a Virtual A3D this year on February 10th. In preparation for that, you can download the A3D Letter template that we have created. We are hoping to get folks from around the state to fill in their own comments and info and return the letters to us. We need your help to do this – please pass the blank letter along to every one you know - we’d like to have as many legislative districts in the state represented as possible! Letters can be emailed back to advocate@llaa.org or mailed to Lifelong, 1002 E Seneca, Seattle WA 98122.We will collate them and distribute them in person to the appropriate Legislator on February 10th. Also on that day we will be conducting a variety of online activities instead of gathering everyone in Olympia. Look for more information in the next week or so.

If you haven’t signed up for the Communities in Action Network, please do so at http://www.cannetwork.net/. You can also follow our twitter at www.twitter.com/aidsactionday.

Do let me know if you have any questions. It is our collective voices being raised that will help protect the funding for the critical services we provide.

Yours in solidarity,
Erick Seelbach
Director of Prevention, Education, and Public Policy
Lifelong AIDS Alliance

Sign Up To Get Updates By Email & Join Us On Facebook - Twitter - Myspace