A Mother of Three Living With AIDS
The odds were stacked against me, I was always told, because I am black, a single mother of three, a welfare recipient, and a convicted drug felony who is living with AIDS. Read More »
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Reviews Are In: Washington, D.C. Premiere
The Other City made its Washington, D.C. debut as part of this year's SILVERDOCS Festival. And the film's reviews are pouring in. Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday calls the documentary a "sobering film about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Washington," while Elisabeth Grant, blogging for the popular local site DCist, notes that the doc's "diverse subjects demonstrate that HIV/AIDS victims come from every gender, sexual orientation and race." In a rave review, Tim Plante of the local gay publication Metro Weekly writes: "Susan Koch's The Other City is a 'should-see' for everyone, but a 'must-see' for those living in and around the District. It's no secret that there's a great disparity of wealth, power and influence in our nation's capital, but filmmaker Koch removes the layers that often cloak those living with HIV/AIDS." Read More »
AIDS in America, Nearly 30 Years Later
The story of AIDS in America, nearly 30 years after we first heard of the disease, is really the story of American identity itself. Or, more to the point, the story of America's underclass as seen through a virus. Read More »
Must-Reads: Men and HIV
A college freshman from South Carolina tested HIV-positive -- and his insurance company revoked his policy. He sued, and won. A study of 500 gay men in Washington, D.C. found that 14 percent of those interviewed were HIV positive -- nearly five times as high as the overall HIV rate for the city's adults and teenagers. These are just two must-read articles from the past two weeks. Read More »
Let’s Start a Conversation
At least 3 percent of the capital city's population is HIV-positive -- far surpassing the 1 percent threshold that constitutes a "generalized and severe" epidemic, as determined by the United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And while Washington has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the country, other cities are seeing epidemic-like figures. In New York City, 1 in 8 injection-drug users and 1 in 10 men who have sex with men are HIV-positive. Nationally, the leading cause of death for black women ages 25 to 34 is AIDS, according to the CDC. Read More »
