LOS ANGELES HUNGER STRIKE FOR TREATMENT ACCESS; 28 ORGANIZATIONS FORM COALITION FOR COMPASSION

Hunger strikers urging the Food and Drug Administration to speed the release of safe experimental drugs moved their protest to a site in West Hollywood after 20 of them were arrested "for reasons of encampment" outside the Federal building at the Los Angeles Civic Center.

The strikers are supporting the demands of the Coalition for Compassion, a coalition of 28 gay and lesbian community and AIDS service organizations. The Coalition launched it "Compassion = Life" campaign "to focus upon responsive use of drugs and to alert the nation to the immediate need to make medical treatment available to people with AIDS. "

The hunger strike had been planned to consist of 24-hour shifts of concerned citizens and celebrities at the Federal building, to bring attention to treatment development and access issues. But in addition to the rotating shifts, two persons with AIDS have fasted for three days, and are continuing. They are being monitored by physicians.

The hunger strike began at 10 AM on August 9 outside the Federal Building. Federal officials ordered the people to leave by 6 PM that day. After 20 arrests on August 9 and 10, the strikers were granted sanctuary in the City of West Hollywood and moved to their current location at Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Boulevards, while negotiating to return to the Federal Building site.

The hunger strike is only one aspect of the Coalition for Compassion campaign, a movements which hopes to spark similar organizing in other cities. So far we have seen no press coverage outside of Los Angeles, where the protest has been reported by the Los Angeles Times and on local television. But word spread nationally, since AIDS Project Los Angeles is both associated with the Coalition for Compassion and also one of the 15 national organizations which drafted the consensus statement on the parallel track (see "DDI, Parallel Track Negotiations," in this issue).

For more information about the hunger strike or the Coalition for Compassion, and about how you can help, contact Rodney Scott, West Hollywood Cares project director, at 213/659-4840. You may need to leave a message as he is usually at the site.