We have recruited enough plaintiffs from rural Soutwest Oregon and the lawsuit is now in the hands of capable attorneys who are preparing for filing.
The need for this lawsuit stems from the activities of the State of Oregon HIV/STD/TB Program (HST) which administers two federal grants. One provides medical services to people living with HIV/AIDS outside the Portland area, and the other provides HIV prevention services statewide. Since 2001 this State agency has systematically reduced funding and created so much red tape that rural communities are unable to provide adequate services. In some cases HST has used unethical methods to implement and enforce their policies. In 2002 The Willamette Weekly featured an HST manager in the "Rogue of the Week" column for his aggressive unethical behavior. The problem has only gotten worse since.
HST created this disparity through a number of activities:
- Over the past five years, HST has restricted the use of funding earmarked to enhance medical services to people living with HIV/AIDS in rural communities, funneling that funding into a Portland based medication assistance program.
- HST has forced a number rural counties to surrender control of HIV/AIDS case management to HST by keeping funding low and red tape high.
- Rural communities receiving prevention funding are forced to implement interventions designed to serve Portland's population with no consideration of the realities of rural life.
- HST has made the statewide planning process irrelevant by focusing prevention services on one high-risk population in Portland. "The reality," according to a September 2006 memo contrived to silence descent, "is that funding is too limited to help everyone."
