In the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency, we have witnessed the rash and dangerous actions of this administration. Many of our communities have been singled out, funding has been eliminated, and our country’s public health infrastructure has been undermined.
Our community has not taken these actions quietly.
On January 27, we learned that the Trump’s Administration’s Office of Management and Budget had issued a freeze of all federal financial assistance, and we mobilized. By the end of the week, we had sent over 280 emails to members of Congress demanding action to protect federal funds. To date, our action alert has mobilized over 530 actions.
In February, when the House was poised to vote on a budget resolution that would set the stage for Congress to later enact massive Medicaid cuts, we mobilized our communities. More than 400 advocates demanded their representatives protect Medicaid; we sent a message that we won’t let them hide behind legislative gimmicks and attack our healthcare.
On March 17, AIDS United and other advocacy organizations received news of an effort to dismantle and defund the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention within the following 48 hours. We responded to this threat in full force. Across our various social media platforms, we reached almost 70,000 individuals! Advocacy organizations including AIDS Foundation Chicago, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, SAGE and other stakeholders across the nation shared our call to action, demanding that Congress take action to protect this vital division of the CDC. Over 600 advocates took action through our action alert within 48 hours. The actions you and other advocates took didn’t occur in a silo, media coverage of our actions skyrocketed during this time with publications like the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, CNN, and others covering this issue.
The community’s response to these attacks could be seen first hand at this year’s AIDSWatch, where over 600 advocates gathered in-person to meet with their representatives to demand they protect HIV funding. Advocates met with over 270 congressional offices, and whether it was their first time attending AIDSWatch or their tenth, we showed our resolve together.
At AIDSWatch, we also convened over 40 CEOs and Executive Directors from across the HIV field, representing advocates and the HIV workforce, in addition to more than 100,000 people living with and vulnerable to HIV. This moment in time requires a united movement and HIV leaders heeded the call.
During Spring recess, we joined with partners in organizing advocates to meet with their elected officials in their home districts, and demand they #ProtectMedicaid. With catastrophic cuts to Medicaid looming, more than 230 people took action, more than 350 shared our social media resources – making over 43,500 impressions.
In the first 100 days of this presidency, we have held strong. It is through our collective actions that we will continue to find strength to fight these attacks. Though the road ahead is uncertain, know this: you are not alone in this fight.
Our calls to action have shown that we will always fight for what is right. We urge advocates to rest and take care of themselves. When you are ready to take action again, know that we at AIDS United will be here to support you in this fight. We are stronger together.
