Community Leaders to Host Press Event at L.A. Central Jail Urging Governor to Si...( Landmark Bill Would Allow Condom ...),Health

Landmark Bill Would Allow Condom Distribution in CA Correctional Facilities

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --- The Southern California HIV Advocacy Coalition (SCHAC) and the California HIV Alliance will hold a press conference on Tuesday, October 2, at 10:00 a.m. (in front of L.A. Central Jail, 441 Bauchet Street, LA, CA 90012) to urge Governor Schwarzenegger to sign AB 1334, "The Inmate and Community Public Health & Safety Act" (Swanson, D, Oakland), which will help reduce new HIV infections in California. Passed by state legislators in early September, the bill, now on the Governor's desk, would allow nonprofit and health agencies to provide condoms to inmates in state prisons, where HIV prevalence is 8 to 10 times greater than in the general population.

WHAT: Press Conference on California's AB 1334

(the Inmate and Community Public Health & Safety Act)

WHEN: Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Front steps of L.A. Central Jail, 441 Bauchet Street,

Los Angeles, 90012

WHO: confirmed speakers include:

-- Bill Rosendahl, Los Angeles City Councilman, District 11

-- Ron Snyder, Center for Health Justice (HIV + former inmate)

-- Rev. Clyde Oden, Pastor from Bryant Temple AME Church

-- Precious Jackson, Center for Health Justice (HIV+, Educator,

Activist)

AB 1334 will help prevent new infections both within the correctional system and the community-at-large. African Americans and Latinos are disproportionately represented in prisons and also make up a disproportionate percentage of new HIV infections. In the U.S., African-Americans accounted for 50 percent of all AIDS cases diagnosed in 2004, yet make up only 12 percent of the nation's population. Latinos comprise 14 percent of the U.S. population, but account for 18 percent of total AIDS cases.

Los Angeles, San
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