Latin Factory Fashion Show supports the LGBTQ+ community

On Saturday night, Bienestar Human Services celebrated its 35th anniversary with the Latin Factory Fashion Show. This is a major fundraising event to continue helping the LGBTQ+ and underserved communities, mainly Latinos.

The fashion show included designers such as Adolfo Alvarado, Miriam French, Deandre Smith, and Adan Terriquez.

Bienestar president and CEO Robert Contreras remembered when he started as a volunteer in the organization, founded in 1989, dedicated to providing services mainly for gay men with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). He said that he and the founder, Oscar de la O, would go to gay bars to inform the gay community on how to prevent infections. They would provide case management and education prevention.

“We would do weekend seminars about HIV, what to do to protect yourself during a time that there wasn't much information about it, especially in Spanish,” Contreras said in an interview with CALÓ News.

The community-based organization kept growing, and the services expanded. The programs include full-service medical care, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, sexual health, mental health, substance use counseling, and medication-assisted treatment. Bienestar serves Greater Los Angeles with seven locations. 

Contreras said there has been an effort to continue informing the African American community about prevention but not the Latino community. He said stigma is also one of the main reasons why the LGBTQ+ Latino community doesn’t get checked and end up getting infected.

“They come late to test and don’t get the full benefit of the drug,” said Contreras.

The CEO also said that because HIV is now a chronic condition and not a death sentence, people treat it like a double-edged sword. They don’t realize that if they get infected, they will have to take medication for life. 

HIV/AIDS higher among Latinos

A recent report, “The U.S. Latino HIV Crisis — Ending an Era of Invisibility,”  revealed that several factors are the cause of Latino HIV inequities, which include treatment services that are not designed nor delivered to meet the needs of Latinos. There is a lack of effective programs addressing the harmful social determinants of health that impede many Latinos from achieving optimal HIV prevention and treatment outcomes, and a lack of urgency to invest in interventions that can end the Latino HIV crisis.

The report revealed data from the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) that between 2010 and 2022, the overall number of new infections per year in the U.S. decreased by 19%, including a 29% reduction among Black people and a 25% reduction among white people. However, the annual number of new HIV infections among Latinos increased by 12%. 

Data showed that in 2022, about one in three of all new HIV infections occurred among Latinos. The Latino HIV crisis is higher among Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender Latina women. In 2022, for the first time, Latino MSM accounted for more new HIV infections than MSM of any other racial or ethnic group. There was a 15% single-year increase in infections among Latino MSM ages 25 to 34.

Additionally, the number of new HIV diagnoses among transgender Latina women grew by 94% between 2014 and 2022.

Dr. Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, executive director of the Institute for Policy Solutions at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and director of the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health, said to secure progress in ending the HIV epidemic for Latinos, we must address the structural drivers of HIV among Latino communities and engage a diverse set of stakeholders to rethink and improve the national response to this crisis.

“This new data amplifies the need for greater visibility, political will, and resource allocation to stem the spread of HIV among Latinos, the largest minoritized racial and ethnic group in the U.S. and growing,” said Guilamo-Ramos, who is the lead author of the study.

Recognition from partners

During the fashion show, Bienestar received several recognitions from the LA County, LA City, the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, and other entities, all of which highlighted the important work the organization has been doing for the past 35 years. Bienestar also recognized individuals who have made a difference in the Latino community. This year, Dr. Guliamo-Ramos was honored for his research and dedication to advancing the Latino agenda, shedding light on what's happening to Latinos with HIV.

During the event, they also honored Mario Perez, HIV and STD Programs division director(DHSP) in LA County. 

“Most of these events are not only for [the] community but also for potential donors. We want to educate them and let them know we need their help because we cannot do it alone,” said Contreras.