Massachusetts AIDS Activists Fear State Budget Cut Could Prompt ‘Resurgence’ of Epidemic
Massachusetts AIDS activists "warn" that the Legislature's $12.2 million state budget cut for AIDS education and client services may "spur a resurgence in the epidemic," the Boston Globe reports. Nancy Morse, director of the Framingham-based Metrowest Latin American Center that houses the area's HIV/AIDS programs, said that anonymous testing and counseling will probably be the first services cut. "This is going to put everything back 15 years as far as getting AIDS services in the suburbs," she said, adding that recent immigrants and teens who didn't have AIDS education in school "might return to risky behavior," causing HIV/AIDS rates to "rise anew." The Legislature today will consider a proposal from acting Gov. Jane Swift (R) to reinstate $2.5 million into the budget. Massachusetts has been known as "one of the best states to live in for people with HIV and AIDS," Steven Moran, an HIV-positive Framingham resident who is chairperson of the regional AIDS consortium OnTRAC, said, adding that the budget situation is "like a nightmare" (Cambanis, Boston Globe, 12/4).
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