Minneapolis nonprofits say federal funding cuts could hurt HIV prevention work

Adrianne Jackson, 39, regularly gets tested for HIV after witnessing a family member contract the virus.

“That’s what made it possible for me to understand how it’s contracted and where to get tested,” Jackson said.

Thanks to an HIV prevention clinic by the Aliveness Project and the Indigenous Peoples Task Force at the American Indian Center recently, Jackson was able to get her test for free.

But free clinics like these are in jeopardy after the Trump administration has threatened to cut $700 million in funding for HIV prevention from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The move would affect hundreds of clinics and organizations nationwide.

“If they did that it’d be a horrible decision,” said Jackson. “Events like this make it possible for people who don’t know where to get tested to get help.”

The federal cuts come as two other Minnesota nonprofits, Rainbow Health and the African American AIDS Task Force, closed last year, in part due to state funding cuts. The Aliveness Project took over case management for many of those clients.

The Minneapolis nonprofit has worked for 40 years to help people living with HIV through case management, food and housing support, free testing and low-cost medications.

The increased caseload coincided with boosts in funding that more than doubled the organization’s budget from last year. Among those new funds was a $2 million grant from the city of Minneapolis initially meant for Rainbow Health that was transferred to the Aliveness Project via a vote by the City Council in July.

The organization also received more funding from the Minnesota Department of Human Services — which remains its biggest funding source — to grow case management and introduce benefits counseling to help clients navigate insurance. The funding also paid for six new programs, which included a direct financial assistance program and the AIDSLine information and referral help line, which was previously offered by Rainbow Health.

Of the $15.5 million the Aliveness Project receives, nearly $700,000 a year comes from the CDC, paying for the bulk of the organization’s HIV prevention work, including the free clinics, said Dylan Boyer, director of development.

“Our prevention work, and this includes our harm reduction program, costs about $1.1 million,” he said. “Any cuts from the CDC would completely disrupt our entire prevention program.”

That work, which includes providing medication and free HIV tests to clients, is a cost-effective way to help slow the spread of HIV, development manager Sonya Bieza said.

“It’s just such a slap in the face,” she said. “A lifetime of medical costs for a person living with HIV can be in excess of $500,000 — who has $500,000?”

Minnesota has close to 10,000 residents living with an HIV diagnosis, according to the state Department of Health. The state estimates another 1,100 Minnesotans have HIV but are unaware.

A report released by the agency last year showed 324 new infections statewide in 2023, which was a 24% increase from 2022 and the highest increase in more than a decade.

New HIV cases disproportionately affect communities of color, with 66% of new cases being nonwhite patients. Men who have sex with men and people who use intravenous drugs are more at risk of contracting the virus.

The HIV prevention and care team with the Indigenous People’s Task Force is in the fourth year of a five-year contract with the CDC that pays the organization $441,000 per year. Calvin Hylton, the team’s HIV program manager, said the funding allows the organization to target HIV prevention efforts and resources on Native American adults who use intravenous drugs.

The loss of funding for the last year would be devastating, and derail the progress they’ve made over the last four years, Hylton said.

“Our program tests on average over 700 people each year for HIV and connects people living with HIV to critical resources to decrease their viral load,” he said. “Our piece of that effort would be completely disrupted and put our community in jeopardy and at risk for another HIV outbreak.”

At the recent clinic, Mayor Jacob Frey said the cuts aren’t just hitting public health programs. He cited a letter from the Trump administration weeks ago threatening to cut all federal funding to the city.

“We’re talking about $70 million,” he said. “This is money for things like emergency management; this is money that supports our bomb squad … this is money for affordable housing and shelters and health care for our communities.”

Another letter came the next day rescinding many, but not all, of the proposed cuts.

Despite the uncertainty, the Aliveness Project clinic will remain open, Bieza said.

“We’re just leaning on our community more than ever,” she said.

About the partnership

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for a free newsletter to receive Sahan’s stories in your inbox.