The Los Angeles LGBT Center has entered negotiations with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) to continue free HIV and STI testing, the former announced after an array of reports indicated testing would be cut.
News of the negotiations comes after the Center reported on Monday (January 27) that the county's Department of Public Health had cut testing for funding by $1 million from 2019 to 2020. Once a statement from LA LGBT Center CEO Lorri L. Jean made the rounds Twitter, as well as The Advocate, where it was revealed that the cut would be eliminate thousands of free HIV tests, word spread like wildfire. "As a result, starting tomorrow, the County will be responsible for ending almost all free STD testing at the Center, causing tens of thousands to go untested, undiagnosed, and untreated," Jean said in the statement.
As you might expect, the outcry and public pressure prompted a backlash and a new media statement from the Center was released, detailing that the two sides have reached a temporary agreement. "From phone calls to tweets and emails, their voices were heard and ultimately saved these vital services for our community," Jean added in a new statement.
In a report by NewNowNext, a source close to the situation revealed that the Center is readying another public advocacy campaign against the DPH in the chance that the funding is not permanently secured by March.
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