Sylmar : HIV Panel Members to Attend Forum

HIV and AIDS service providers are sponsoring one of the first public forums in the San Fernando Valley to be attended by members of the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV Health Services.

The commission is composed of 48 members appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. None of the commissioners lives in the Valley, said Sharon Mitsuyasu, who co-chairs the San Fernando Valley HIV/AIDS Consortium.

The public forum, to be held April 25, is significant because it marks one of the first times that members of the commission have come to the Valley to share information and listen to the concerns of its residents, Mitsuyasu said.

“Traditionally, we haven’t gotten much representation” at the county level, Mitsuyasu said. “So, for example, we haven’t been able to go to the consortium directly and say, ‘We really need transportation assistance out here for AIDS patients,’ ” she added, noting that the forum will provide a chance to address some of those issues.

Gaining access to acquired immune deficiency syndrome services and funding issues will be among the areas discussed, Mauricio Perez of the Valley HIV/AIDS Center in Van Nuys said. The forum will begin at 7 p.m. in the first-floor auditorium at the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, 14445 Olive View Drive, Sylmar. For information, call the San Fernando Valley HIV/AIDS Consortium at (818) 364-3205.