Gov. Cuomo reveals plan to lower AIDS cases
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has released a plan to lower the number of AIDS cases in the state by 2020. Ty Thompson has been HIV positive for seven years, and has been homeless for most of that time. He now
News 12 Staff
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Apr 30, 2015, 6:41 AM
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Updated 3,282 days ago
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo has released a plan to lower the number of AIDS cases in the state by 2020.
Ty Thompson has been HIV positive for seven years, and has been homeless for most of that time. He now works at a nonprofit group in Brooklyn that tries to help gay men in the city.
Thompson says that Cuomo's new plan to dramatically lower the number of AIDS cases is good, but it also needs to focus on housing.
Along with helping HIV-positive people find affordable housing, the plan includes expanding HIV testing, clean-syringe access and sexual-education requirements.
Michael Camacho, the director of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Boerum Hill, is optimistic of the plan. He does say, however, that more free testing options and locations are needed in Brooklyn.
According to the state's Department of Health, an estimated 132,000 people are living with HIV in New York, 33,000 of whom are believed to be in Brooklyn.
With better testing and treatment as part of Cuomo's plan, the goal is to reduce new infections by 75 percent.
