← ‘The Other City:’ AIDS in D.C.

Photo 10_2

By Deborah Creighton Skinner | Published April 29, 2010 | Full size is 500 × 333 pixels

Jose Ramirez (left) and Ron Daniels (center) are central figures in the movie. Daniels contracted HIV/AIDS from an infected needle when he was a heroin addict. He thought it was a disease that happened only to white gay men. Now, as a reformed drug user, he is the needle exchange coordinator for Family & Medical Counseling Service Inc. Seven days a week, he works to exchange used needles for clean ones to help keep drug addicts safe from HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that a third of HIV cases in D.C. can be traced to dirty needles. Among blacks in D.C., the largest proportion of deaths occurred among those whose HIV/AIDS was attributed to intravenous drug use (34.2%) followed by heterosexual contact (29.6%).

Jose Ramirez (left) and Ron Daniels (center) are central figures in the movie. Daniels…