NCAAN People: Brandon Cordrey, Volunteer Team Member

This is the first in a new series of blog posts about the people who make NCAAN's work possible.

Why did you start volunteering with NCAAN?

Brandon is one of the volunteers
who has helped NCAAN engage
more than 10,000 people in our
Action Team.

I am in the application process for the Peace Corps. About seven years ago, when I was in Governor’s School, I saw the movie Hotel Rwanda, about the genocide there. My friends and I wondered how anyone goes on from something like that. And the next night, almost as if it was planned, they had a man from the Peace Corps come speak. I remember thinking, “Well, that’s what you do. That’s how you go on. You try and make a difference.”

I wanted more experience with the issues of sexual health and HIV/AIDS, which are important areas for the Peace Corps. I started looking up organizations in Raleigh that worked on AIDS issues, seeing if I could volunteer. 

NCAAN made it super-easy, and the people here are friendly. I get a chance to educate people about the impact of HIV/AIDS in North Carolina. I feel like we are making a difference.

What has it been like? 
I volunteer from one to ten hours a week. I do a lot of data entry, and I make a lot of phone calls. I went on one canvassing trip and to a couple of special events, like the Dogwood Festival in Fayetteville. 

Tonight I’m doing phone calls. Saturday I’m doing a canvass, talking to people in their neighborhoods, getting their support for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program and asking them to volunteer.

Is there any one experience that sticks out in your memory?
There is one. At a street festival, I was talking to a woman about the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, and she shared that her husband died of AIDS. She became an educator, telling people that it’s not only a gay disease and that there are people with HIV who can live healthy lives. That was a very powerful experience. At NCAAN, we all have a common vision, and we work towards it together. But she was doing that on her own.

What do you do when you’re not volunteering for NCAAN?
I’m an artist, so I have a studio, and I spend time there, and I spend time with my dog and my boyfriend whenever I can. I work fulltime managing the Lee Hansley Gallery, and I volunteer at the North Carolina Museum of Art, doing education programs there. I love teaching art, especially to kids. They feel awkward at first, and they doubt themselves. But then they get more comfortable, and the walls come down. 

If there is a common bond between my art and what I do at NCAAN, that’s it:  they’re both about people and relationships.

What would you tell someone thinking about volunteering?

It’s really easy. And it’s really rewarding. Often when I call people to see if they’ll volunteer, there’s a little something that’s holding them back. They aren’t sure that they have going on next Thursday. They aren’t sure if something better is going to come up. 

I tell them, “It’s easy. It’s fun while you’re here. And when you leave, you’ll feel good about yourself.”

Want to join Brandon on the volunteer team. Tell us!

Ubuntu in Action

A big “thank you” to United Methodist Women and the 12 members who joined us to canvass a Durham neighborhood last week! The group was in town for a young women's leadership conference, and they joined NCAAN to celebrate their Ubuntu Day of Service. “Ubuntu,” the group explained, is an African concept that can be summed up as “I am human because you are human,” and it is a foundation for community action and service.

The 12 women joined our organizer, Shawn, for some training on the basics of community organizing, and information on resources for designing their own organizing projects. After practicing reading scripts, the group knocked on more than 100 doors, raising funds and recruiting new members for NCAAN’s Action Team. The 10,000-strong Action Team is the foundation of our work to shape state policies and communities that support the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS, their loved ones, and those at risk for acquiring HIV in North Carolina.

If you have a group of 12 or more people and would like to organize a one-day service project, contact Shawn at shawn@ncaan.org or (919) 817-8960.

The team with their canvassing essentials – clipboards, pens, postcards, walking shoes, and a story to tell. 

ADAP Watch

As of August 16, 2012 there are:

• 6,198 individuals enrolled in HIV/AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAP & SPAP)
  • 5,218 are enrolled in ADAP
  • 980 are enrolled in SPAP
• 9 individuals on the waiting list

As of August 9, 2012 there were:

• 6,155 individuals enrolled in HIV/AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAP & SPAP)
  • 5,176 are enrolled in ADAP
  • 979 are enrolled in SPAP
• 3 individuals on the waiting list

According to NASTAD’s most recent ADAP Watch, released on August 9, there are 7 states with waiting lists, totaling 1,125 people.  That report shows NC as having 3 clients on the waiting list, which was our official count at COB on August 9.  At that time, NC made up less than 1% of the national ADAP waiting list.  NASTAD’s ADAP Watch can be found at http://www.nastad.org/default.

aspx.

ADAP Watch

As of August 9, 2012 there are:

• 6,155 individuals enrolled in HIV/AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAP & SPAP)
  • 5,176 are enrolled in ADAP
  • 979 are enrolled in SPAP
• 3 individuals on the waiting list

As of August 2, 2012 there were:

• 6,122 individuals enrolled in HIV/AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAP & SPAP)
  • 5,148 are enrolled in ADAP
  • 974 are enrolled in SPAP
• 0 individuals on the waiting list

According to NASTAD’s most recent ADAP Watch, released on August 6, there are 6 states with waiting lists, totaling 1,223 people.  That report shows NC as having 0 clients on the waiting list, which was our official count at COB on August 2.  NASTAD’s ADAP Watch can be found at http://www.nastad.org/default.aspx.

ADAP Watch

As of August 2, 2012 there are:

• 6,122 individuals enrolled in HIV/AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAP & SPAP)
  • 5,148 are enrolled in ADAP
  • 974 are enrolled in SPAP
• 0 individuals on the waiting list

As of July 26, 2012 there were:

• 5,820 individuals enrolled in HIV/AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAP & SPAP)
  • 4,866 are enrolled in ADAP
  • 954 are enrolled in SPAP
• 278 individuals on the waiting list

The NC ADAP waiting list was relieved on August 2, 2012 as a result Federal Emergency Relief Funding received in July.  All new applicants with an income between 126% and 300% FPL will continue to be wait listed.

According to NASTAD’s most recent ADAP Watch, released on July 23, there are 9 states with waiting lists, totaling 1,805 people.  That report shows NC as having 275 clients on the waiting list, which was our official count at COB on July 19.  At that time, NC made up approximately 15% of the national ADAP waiting list.  The Next ADAP Watch is expected to be released on August 6, 2012.  The next ADAP Watch should reflect a significant reduction to the national ADAP waiting list.  NASTAD’s ADAP Watch can be found athttp://www.nastad.org/default.aspx.

Federal funds allow North Carolina to clear 278 people from ADAP Waitlist

Great news: The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced today that the NC AIDS Drug Assistance Program is extending access to live-sustaining medications to all 278 North Carolinians who were on the ADAP wait list at the end of July.

Today’s announcement shows the very real impact that public investment in HIV and AIDS services has on the lives and health of people in our state. The Obama Administration announced last month that it would release new funds to fight the AIDS epidemic in the United States. North Carolina received $3 million of that money as emergency funding from the federal Health Resources and Service Administration.

The Obama Administration recognized how critical programs like the AIDS Drug Assistance Program are to saving lives and reducing medical costs, and because of that, families affected by HIV and AIDS throughout the state will be getting some great news in the next few days.

More than 6,000 low-income North Carolinians receive access to medications through North Carolina’s HIV and AIDS drug assistance programs.

According to an email from the ADAP program today, if you are on the waiting list, you should be getting a letter soon, and Walgreens should contact you by early next week. You will need to complete Summer Recertification if you have not already done so.