As national Pride month comes to an end this year, the organizations fighting rising HIV rates in rural Oregon don’t know if their funding will continue through the summer.
Oregon’s rates of HIV infections are relatively low compared to other states, but they are on the rise — especially in rural counties. Based in Eugene, HIV Alliance is one of the organizations fighting that increase. It serves people living with HIV and those at greatest risk — especially in rural and underserved communities — by offering free HIV and STI screening, free condoms, a syringe exchange and overdose prevention services across 15 Oregon counties.
The organization pieces together a variety of funding streams, and relies heavily on annual grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that cover the wages of four full-time employees. As the end of June approaches, HIV Alliance still hasn’t heard from the CDC about whether the agency will extend its federal contract with HIV Alliance into the new fiscal year that starts July 1…