On behalf of your C2PLA Co-Chairs, we’d like to thank you for making this year’s 2013 C2PLA holiday retreat a great success. Those that were present definitely experienced “VIP C2PLA Style.” The Mayme Clayton Library and Museum was the perfect backdrop to host this year’s retreat.  It had a great energy and welcoming spirit.  We encourage all of you to visit there if you get the chance and please tell others about it as well.  It truly is one of LA’s hidden gems.    For more information about the library and museum visit:  http://www.claytonmuseum.org

 A special thank you to our host Kieta Mutepfa and Dale Madison who made us all feel “very special” throughout the day. We were also very fortunate to have James Moran and Sofia Smith introduce us to Council Circles.  They were a big hit at the retreat.   Additionally special congratulations to our 2013 Key Actor Award Winners:

Visionary -  James Moran, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center

Strategist - Dave Reynolds, Anti-Defamation League 

Actor - Grissel Granados, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Facilitator - Sofia Smith, LifeWorks (winner two years in a row) 

Content Expert Paulina Zamudio, Division of HIV/STD Programs

Sustainer - Shane Jenkins, Magic Johnson Foundation

Broker - Dave Reynolds, Anti-Defamation League

Mobilizer -Kieta Mutepfa, UCLA Care Center    

Organizer/Manager- Hector Ornelas, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

Spokesperson - Kieta Mutepfa, UCLA Care Center

 Our next large working group meeting will be on Friday February 28th from 12-3pm at St. John’s Well Child and Family Center. 

We've had a very successful year and your contributions during the year made 2013 one of our coalition’s best years yet. Please note with the exception of the Homeless Subcommittee all subcommittees for the month of December will be held via phone only. 

 Wishing you all the happiest of holiday seasons.

December 1st/World AIDS DAY is a day set aside to remember lives lost, to encourage greater understanding of the disease and to celebrate a way forward in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Instead of celebrating, commemorating, educating, and fighting for only ONE day...members of the C2PLA Coalition gather together and support each other ALL year in reducing new infections.

We invite you to join us!

Greetings C2PLA Members and Supporters,

Please join us Friday, December 6, 2013 from 10am to 4pm for our 6th annual C2PLA Holiday Retreat.  This year’s theme is “VIP C2PLA Style.”

 Your C2PLA Co-chairs and members of the Sustainability Subcommittee have been hard at work planning a day full of fun, laughter, and team building as we work to develop our strategic plan for 2014.  

 We will also use this day to celebrate the successes of both the coalition and the individuals who contribute much of their time and effort to keep our work sustainable. 

 A big highlight of the retreat is the presentation of our Key Actor Awards.  These 10 awards honor coalition members who have made substantial contributions by playing one of 10 member roles over the past year.  

 These winners are chosen by YOU.   Please don’t forget to vote for your picks for our 10 Key Actor Awards.  You can do this by visiting www.tinyurl.com/keyactornominees as often as you like between now and November 25th.  

 Please note, votes are completely anonymous.   

To RSVP for the retreat please visit www.tinyurl.com/c2plaholidayretreat no later Wednesday December 3rd.

 Additionally, if you are a newer member of the coalition, or interested in inviting a new potential member, this would be a great opportunity for new people to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of the coalition.  It’s also a great place to network with several members of the coalition.   

 Immediately following the retreat your co-chairs are hosting an optional post retreat “happy hour” at a location to be determined nearby the retreat venue.  

We look forward to seeing you all there!

  Warm Regards,

 C2PLA Project Staff

Greetings C2PLA Members and Supporters,

Happy Healthcare Reform Day!

 Our next C2PLA Working Group Meeting is scheduled for Friday, October 25th, from 12pm to 3pm.  The meeting will be held on the campus of Charles Drew University inside of their lecture hall.  The school is located at 1731 East 120th St. Los Angeles, CA  90059.    Lunch and free parking will be provided.  Please note, this will be our last regular meeting of the year due to our December retreat.

The theme of this month’s meeting is “LA’s Presence at the United States Conference on AIDS.” In addition to our subcommittee updates, we will have a panel of local attendees who will share what they learned and its relevance on Los Angele’s.  This panel will include youth from the leadership institute as well.   

Please RSVP for this meeting by visiting:  http://tinyurl.com/c2pla-meeting no later than Wednesday October 23, 2013 so we can have an accurate headcount for food.  

Attached please find the meeting minutes from our August meeting as well as a copy of the presentation from our last meeting given by the Young Invincibles. 

If you have any additional questions in advance of the meeting, feel free to contact us.  

We look forward to seeing you soon.  

LA is making its presence known at this year's conference.  Several C2PLA members are presenting in workshops and several are taking part in some of the many festivities at the conference.

The purpose of this annual conference, produced by the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), is to strengthen the community-based response to HIV/AIDS by fostering collaborations and building skills, knowledge, and capacity.

This year’s conference, held September 8–11, will focus on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the South. “Overall, the region accounted for 46 percent of all new HIV infections in 2010,” notes NMAC executive director Paul Kawata in a message welcoming conference attendees. “Given the profile of the epidemic in the South, and the region’s resistance to ACA implementation, it is especially critical that we highlight the unique challenges facing those working to combat HIV/AIDS here.”

At our October working group meeting scheduled for Friday, October 25th we will have a special panel presentation with several of the attendees, including youth taking part in the leadership summit.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Greetings C2PLA Members and Supporters,

Happy August!  Can you believe summer’s almost over?

Our next C2PLA Working Group Meeting is scheduled for Friday, August 23rd, from 12pm to 3pm.  The meeting will be held on the campus of UCLA in their Student Activities Center in conference rooms 2 and 3 (the same building where the LGBT Center is located). The physical address is 220 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095.  Lunch and free parking will be provided.

The theme of this month’s meeting is “Young Adults and the Affordable Care Act.”  In addition to our subcommittee updates, we will be having a special presentation from the staff of The Young Invincibles (http://younginvincibles.org/) who be sharing ways for us to better prepare our clients for ACA.  We will also be electing our new co-chair and sharing the results of our most recent Healthy Coalition Questionnaire (HCQ) which tracks your thoughts on the coalition’s progress over the last six months. 

To RSVP for this meeting please visit:  http://tinyurl.com/c2pla-meeting no later than Wednesday August 21, 2013 so we can have an accurate headcount for food.  If you require free parking for this meeting please email Tracy Garcia at tgarcia@lgbt.ucla.edu by Aug. 21st. You must be on the list to get a parking permit. Folks not on the list will need to park in a pay-n-park spot and purchase a parking pass. Once you enter the parking lot, please look for a student with a rainbow flag to acquire your parking permit. Please note the student will only be stationed from 11:30am-12:30pm.

If you have any additional questions in advance of the meeting, feel free to contact us.  

We look forward to seeing you soon.  

Great News! California will now be able to join other states allowing the freedom to marry for same sex partners and the federal government will not be able to deny federal benefits to same sex married couples. This is a huge step forward that sends a powerful message to our LGBT youth that they are equal and important and will undoubtedly positively impact youth risk and quality of life in the years to come.

Happy LGBT Pride Month!

Our coalition has been extremely busy in the past couple of months working collectively on structural change objectives all over Los Angeles County.  Its great to know we aren't the only ones working on structural change.  

As we usher in Summer 2013, its important to highlight the structural changes taking place nationwide as it relates to people in the LGBT community.  

The graphic to your left is courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign.  We applaud them and the countless individuals helping to make structural change a reality for millions of LGBT individuals this month. 

Regards,
Milton Smith
C2PLA Project Director  

Mark your calendars and set the date! Next Wednesday APRIL 10, 2013 is the first National Youth  HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD), a national HIV and AIDS testing and treatment community mobilization initiative designed to encourage Youth across the United States and Territorial Areas to get educated, get tested, get involved, and get treated around HIV/AIDS, as it continues to devastate Youth  communities.  If we are truly hoping to have an “AIDS Free Generation,” we can’t forget the voices of our youth.   Locally the Connect to Protect Los Angeles Coalition along with several of our partners are ready to usher in NYHAAD to Los Angeles County in a very big way.

There are several small and large scale events happening all over our county to mark this historic occasion.  We welcome you to take part in as many of them as you can. Additionally we also encourage you to find ways to commemorate the day through your own individual agency if you can’t take part in any of the schedule events, and to also personally join the chorus of youth and adult allies taking part in the social media campaign around NYHAAD.  If you have Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram we are speaking directly to you.  One big part of the day is the awareness piece, and since this is the first observance of it nationally we really want to make as many people aware of it as possible, not just youth, but adults as well.  You can find more information about the social media campaign by visiting http://www.chla.org/atf/cf/%7B1cb444df-77c3-4d94-82fa-e366d7d6ce04%7D/SYPP%20CENTER%20-%20NYHAAD%20-%20CAMPAIGN%20STARTER%20KIT.PDF

Attached below you will also find information on a few of the local things happening around NYHAAD right here in Los Angeles.  In addition to the many different events taking place, both the city and county of Los Angeles have proclamations in the works to officially recognize the day and the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board and their Superintendent John Deasy are making a resolution for district wide observance of the day as well. 

There are also rumblings of a couple of flash mobs taking place to bring awareness to the day.  This all makes for a very exciting day, and I hope like me you are ready to join in on the fun.  We are also hoping several of you can join us on April 9th  at 9:30am for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting where Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas will present the county’s proclamation of the day.  The meeting will be held at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration located at 500 W. Temple St. Suite 381, Los Angeles, CA  90012. You can also watch it live by visiting http://bos.co.la.ca.us/BoardMeeting/LiveBroadcast.aspx

If you want more information about the day you can visit www.youthaidsday.org