07/15/2025                                                                            
                                    
                                                                            
                                            Hereās a powerful and urgent piece from Virginia Mercury that needs amplification:
This commentary by Eric Bonds highlights how Virginia is dismantling vital HIV/AIDS servicesāfunded under the Ryan White Programāwith severe cuts to housing, mental health, dental care, transportation, and more for tens of thousands of people living with HIV across the state. Cuts totaling nearly $2M have impacted regions from Hampton Roads to Fredericksburg, even as the state reports a budget surplus. These rollback measures threaten to unravel decades of progress and set a concerning precedent for low-income healthcare support. 
Letās stand in solidarity. Access to comprehensive HIV careābeyond just medicationsāmust be defended. We need decision-makers to restore these programs, because ācare is resistance,ā and every person deserves dignity, health, and stability. 
š Read more: https://bit.ly/4lLFbWt
                                                     
                                    
                                                                        
                                        About 25,000 Virginians are living with HIV and proposed federal cuts to health care funding put their care at risk, writes guest columnist Eric Bonds