Communities brace for impact as federal HIV prevention funding faces elimination

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Fears growing over the impact federal cuts to HIV prevention could have on vulnerable communities.

Resources for HIV research and prevention could be gone at the end of the month.

More than 16-hundred names are etched into the Wall Las Memorias in Boyle Heights.

Founder and Executive Director Richard Zaldivar fears drastic federal funding cuts will bring Americans back to a darker time.

"We just got notice two weeks ago that we will no longer be receiving HIV prevention funding," he said.

Since the 1990s, Congress has allocated funds for HIV and STD prevention. The CDC grants this money to local counties to give to organizations like Wall Las Memorias who provide assistance such as HIV testing, the disbursement of preventative medications, education and support groups. For Bell resident Edward Rodriguez, this program is a safety net.

"I'm a sexually active adult.. If I'm not aware of my status, I'm concerned that I may transmit something," he said.

Across town at the APLA Health: Out Here Sexual Health Center in Baldwin Hills, Senior Director Terry Smith is faced with having to lay off people and shut down services by the end of this month.

"It's like someone dying. I am gutted by this," Smith said.

In a statement, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health said, "There is now significant uncertainty about the future of this funding. LA County's current grant expires on May 31, 2025, and thus far the federal government has been silent about the future of these funds."

"People you love and people out there can be gone in an instant. That's something we all need to understand," said Artist Cam Dirton, a Los Angeles resident. He's one of 11- thousand local residents who rely on APLA for testing. Dirton said the center is a place where clients receive the care, the tools and education they need to stay safe.

"Prevention is way cheaper than actually providing care. The lifetime care of somebody who is HIV positive is half a million dollars. So we prevent one case and that's half a million dollars," said Smith.

About three dozen community based providers receive about 19 million dollars from L-A county as part of a CDC annual grant including St. John's Community Health. In a statement, their CEO Jim Mangia said, "The amount lost for the remainder of contracts was over $700,000 - a direct financial attack on some of the most vulnerable populations we serve."

If HIV Prevention funding is cut, the American Foundation for AIDS research projects more than 7- thousand new HIV infections here in the U.S. in the next five years. This will hit places like L.A. County especially hard.

"Our communities are in a dire need and people need to be aware. They need to contact their legislators," said Zalidivar.

Providers hope the courts will force the Trump administration to resume HIV prevention funding or that the state can step in, but it's not likely to happen quickly. Zaldivar reminds HIV is not just an LGBTQ problem, it affects everyone.

"Anyone who thinks these cutbacks won't affect you, talk to the family members whose names are the AIDS monument," he said.