Our Stories Posts

Please join us in welcoming Anthony Velasco to the Desert AIDS Project medical team. Mr. Velasco is an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner and has been working in HIV care since 2010. Prior to joining the Desert AIDS Project, he worked as a clinical nurse supervisor at UC San Diego Health in an acute medicine unit specializing in HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, opportunistic infections, and AIDS-related cancers.

Mr. Velasco earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from San Diego State University, graduating top of his class. He is trained in two advanced practice nursing roles – Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist. In addition to being a board-certified Nurse Practitioner through the American Nurses Credentialing Center, Mr. Velasco was also awarded board certification in medical-surgical nursing and AIDS care nursing. In 2014, he was honored with the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses Career Mobility award. He belongs to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, and Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society of Nursing.

In each of his academic and professional endeavors, he derives the greatest joy from building relationships with his clients, and from collaborating with all members of the transdisciplinary team to offer caring, comprehensive, and compassionate care.

Mr. Velasco is passionate about global health and HIV/AIDS care and has participated in medical missions to Honduras and Haiti. He recently relocated to Palm Springs, September 2016, with his 20-lb cat, Mochi. Although he misses surfing and paddle boarding, he is very eager to explore the gorgeous hiking trails of the Coachella Valley. He is very excited to be a part of the Desert AIDS Project.

*As a part of our new EPIC E.H.R., patients of D.A.P. can click on the Patient Portal button at the top of the website to be taken to My Chart, an interactive tool for online advice from a provider, as well as access to health information and test results, the ability to make appointments, to request prescription refills, and more. Visit the FAQ page to learn more about My Chart. You can even download the My Chart app for iPhone or Android.

The female clients of Desert AIDS Project will be front and center, as they receive manicures, massages, and sisterly love during the second annual Women’s Empowerment Day on May 21 … and it’s going to be all about health and wellness for women living with HIV and AIDS.

They’ll learn more about their unique health and emotional issues from leading specialists. A favorite from last year’s event, Dr. Laveeza Bhatti, MD, PhD., Director of the Hep C/HIV Co-Infection Clinic at AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles, is returning with more good advice. Dr. Bhatti is an infectious disease specialist, who has worked with female HIV-affected patients for years. Dr. Bhatti will be joined by Jill Gover, PhD., director of Mental Health Services at The LGBT Community Center of the Desert. As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Gover specializes in addiction, anxiety, depression, aging, and LGBT issues.

“The Women’s Empowerment Day is important because we want our female clients to know we’re here to support their needs, just as we do their male counterparts,” says Brett Klein, Events and Retail Marketing Manager, who, along with Denise Marvel, Human Resources Coordinator, is organizing the day. Brett noted he and Denise want to introduce women to the many workshops, support groups, and alternative therapies offered at D.A.P.

Janine Bell, Substance Abuse Specialist who leads our Women’s Empowerment Group, explains that reaching women, who comprise about 5% of D.A.P.’s client base, is difficult because they’re not as “out” about their HIV-positive status as gay men. Many of them are low-income single mothers who don’t hang out around D.A.P.’s campus and mingle. “After completing their medical, dental or case management appointments, they bolt,” Janine observes.

That’s why Brett feels it’s important for D.A.P. to extend a special invitation to women to let them know that D.A.P. is here for them, too.

“We learned at our first empowerment day that women experience the disease and its medications differently than men,” Brett says. “And there are very few outlets for them to learn about HIV the way they know it and share that knowledge with others who are going through the same thing.”

Last year, Dr. Bhatti explained HIV from a woman’s perspective and fielded questions that were both illuminating and touching. There were tears and reassurance among the audience of about 18 women, who shared their experiences. Dr. Bhatti applauded the size of the crowd saying it was unusually large for an event held by an AIDS service organization for women.

The second annual Women’s Empowerment Day will be held from 9:30 AM to 4 PM. on May 21 at D.A.P.’s main campus. The “safe space” day will include a session on building confidence and coping skills, a back-to-work career building seminar, breakfast, lunch, manicures, and massages.  Childcare services are available on request.

If you’d like to attend, please RSVP on or before May 11 by calling 760.992.0419.

“Location, location, location” might be a realtor’s cliché but it still drives every retailer’s decisions about where to place their new store.

Location – to the third power — has driven Revivals Palm Desert to move from its location just off I-10, at 72-750 Dinah Shore Drive near Costco, and relocate seven miles south down Monterey Avenue to 72-885 Highway 111 near El Paseo. Still in Palm Desert, the new store will have the Westfield mall across the street and the posh El Paseo shopping district behind it. This popular corner at 111 and Monterey is awash in traffic that promises to drive Revivals sales skyward, according to Dane Koch, our Director of Retail.

“The move is all about location,” Dane says. “The store near Costco was so hard to find because we had no visibility from Dinah Shore.” With such heavy reliance on Costco shoppers, to sustain our business, the location offered little ability to grow. Expanding is essential for Revivals to continue its important contribution to D.A.P.’s diversified revenue stream to provide patient and client services.

“The new location on 111 offers great visibility. We believe we’ll retain our current shoppers while gaining new ones,” Dane smiled. “Being located in a strip mall with other successful retailers will greatly increase our traffic and sales. I believe we’ll see a corresponding improvement in the store’s profit. And every one of our 55 volunteers and six paid staff are committed to help us do that in support of D.A.P.’s mission.”

While he declined to elaborate, Dane hinted that this new location will have a closer affiliation with D.A.P.’s 100 Women annual giving program. Watch for details in future issues of DOSE …

Foot and vehicle traffic abound at the new location in the shopping center that’s anchored by Staples office supply center and Rite Aid pharmacy. At 15,000 square feet, the new store will be a bit smaller while still retaining the mod-meets-vintage flavor of Revivals, which sells new Mode furniture, along with gently used clothing, housewares, appliances and more.

While a formal Grand Opening date is still pending, the new location will have a “soft opening” on Saturday, May 28, offering a $25 coupon on every purchase of $50 or more. The coupons will be good for the entire month of June. The old location will remain open until very close to that date.

The health care world, including Desert AIDS Project, looks at nutrition as a key part of good health. That’s why Gustavo Wong, registered dietitian and certified exercise physiologist, joined us about eight months ago as yet another facet of D.A.P.’s holistic approach to the care of our patients and clients.

Food is medicine for all of us, particularly for those living with HIV. “As a way of eating to live a healthier life, I recommend less processed food while choosing more natural items from a specific array of food groups,” Wong says. “Those groups are vegetables, fruits, and whole grains as good sources of carbohydrates, along with protein from meats and healthy fats.”

As a primary guideline to healthier eating, Wong recommends the “plate method.” The basic idea is to have half of the plate devoted to non-starchy vegetables with a quarter for proteins and a quarter for carbs. However, Wong does tailor recommendations to the needs of individual clients. For example, some foods aggravate gastro-intestinal systems of certain patients, announcing their presence in the form of diarrhea, constipation, or nausea.

“Fats generally are the culprits,” Wong says, “so I want to make sure clients don’t have GI problems. If they do, I adjust their diet accordingly.”

The non-starchy veggies on half the plate include salads, asparagus, beets, mushrooms, broccoli, cucumber, and spinach. Denser carbs that make up a smaller part of the plate include beans, lentils, peas, winter squashes, sweet potatoes, bread, pasta, and corn. Red meat, chicken, eggs, fish, nuts and nut butters round out the plate with protein. On colder days, some people prefer to have vegetable soup, as a way of incorporating those all-important vegetables into their diet.

For breakfast, Wong recommends such items as cereal with nuts and fiber, such as flaxseed meal, or by adding some bran. Regardless of which meal, we all still need the foundation of “macronutrients” – carbs, protein, grains, and healthy fats – to help build a strong immune system. And taking a lot of supplements is no substitute for a balanced diet.

Neither is processed food. Wong insists that the nutrients that have often been removed, limited, or destroyed in food processing are essential for all of us.

Click to watch the tasty video 

That’s how clients of Desert AIDS Project describe the prevalence of crystal methamphetamine –commonly referred to as meth, crystal, Tina, ice, or glass, among other street names – in the Coachella Valley. Just as crystal meth has become a social problem on a global scale, our clients insist it plagues many of the people D.A.P. seek to provide medical care and social services.

Ray Robertson, Client Wellness Services Center Manager, knows this all too well. He was already a certified recovery counselor with about 20 years of experience leading a local, residential treatment facility before coming to D.A.P. more than five years ago. Having earned 29 years of sobriety himself, Ray sensed that addiction is an issue among many of our patients and clients living with HIV, who need a way back to a safer, saner life.

So he established the “Crystal Meth Action Team,” which held its first meeting this summer. Ray knew that D.A.P. had previously organized the “Crystal Meth Task Force” some years ago, to take on its use valley-wide. However, the task force dissolved in part because its mission was too broad and because it actually scared off some of the people it wanted to attract. When people encountered the Crystal Meth Task Force at the popular Thursday evening street fair in downtown Palm Springs, they thought they were being targeted by the police.

“We’re not going to ferret out users and bring them to judgment day,” Ray told team members at an initial brainstorming session. “What we’re going to be doing is opening doors to recovery.”

The Action Team’s primary goal is to develop strategies for creating a compassionate, nonjudgmental space where clients will feel welcomed and safe in sharing. No matter whether they use crystal meth themselves or have someone in their life who does, the Action Team members want to see that clients receive the help they ask for … whether that is simply more information, a chance to talk with someone who understands, or to actively engage in care. At the first gathering, members shared their experiences with meth and other substance use. Some are in recovery while others haven’t “used” but have watched friends and loved ones wrestle with substance abuse challenges.

Team members also discussed why they joined and what they believe should be done for those in the grips of this powerful habit. Many spoke from experience:

“I got HIV from sharing a needle I used to shoot crystal.”

“When you’re ‘slamming’ meth, it takes over and you forget everything else.”

“When you use meth, there are three possible endings: dead, in jail, or in recovery.”

Be they former drug abusers or “normies,” who’ve never used, team members agreed that users must be offered an avenue to recovery that’s safe, humane, and free from judgment or stigma. During the first meeting of the Crystal Meth Action Team, Ray diagrammed this concept for how recovery might begin to happen:

“Let’s open a corridor to doors – and behind each door is yet another recovery option.
Let’s make it comfortable for anyone to open those doors without fear of repercussions.”

The diagram resembled a pathway leading north with several roads intersecting it along the way. Ray labeled each of those connectors as team members suggested services: a helpline; education, outreach, and mentoring; referrals to 12-step programs such as Narcotics Anonymous; safe social connections; strategies to break the connection between sex and meth; housing options during recovery; and literature describing meth’s effect on the body, particularly when HIV-positive. Several team members were enthusiastic about the books “Chasing the Scream” and “Overcoming Crystal Meth Addiction,” the latter showing what the drug does to brain chemistry and physiology.

Team members are, understandably, concerned because of the unfortunately all-too-common link between meth and HIV. The New England Journal of Medicine calls meth an extremely strong stimulant that provides an escape from stress, depression, alienation, and loneliness. It increases sexual arousal while reducing inhibition and judgment. The drug often crosses paths with people who are under tremendous emotional duress because of their illness. Throw in homophobia and stigma attached to HIV, and you have a perfect storm touching down in the Coachella Valley.

Medical trials suggest that people living with HIV who are also using meth often have lapses in their antiretroviral treatment, which might make their infection drug resistant. It can also rearrange the brain chemistry causing psychosis and depression so that users cannot feel good without pharmaceutical help. “People struggling with addiction are in emotional pain and the remedy they turn to is as harmful as it is habit-forming,” Ray says. “As holistic healthcare providers, we want to address all parts of what is causing pain for our clients and patients, helping them back to full and healthy lives.”