Aging and HIV Institute

05/19/2026

A new AgingOven.com analysis examines how internalized ageism shapes engagement in care and how HIV and aging systems respond when identity and eligibility do not fully align. The piece explores how these patterns influence participation in services, system interpretation of behavior and long-term engagement in care.

https://www.agingoven.com/p/internalized-ageism-and-system-design

05/05/2026

Grateful to have been part of "Aging and Thriving: We the People, All the People," held May 5, 2026 at the DoubleTree Hotel Center City in Philadelphia.

Thank you to the Philadelphia Aging and Thriving Planning Collective, the Philadelphia Department of Health (Division of HIV Health), and the Health Federation of Philadelphia for bringing together a thoughtful and engaged community around aging, HIV, and whole-person wellness.

A special thank you to our friend and colleague Waheedah Shabazz-El, pictured here with Jax Kelly, for the invitation to deliver the plenary:
“Internalized Ageism, HIV, and Access to Care in Senior Programs.”

The conversation we explored in that session continues in this AgingOven piece:

🔗 https://open.substack.com/pub/agingoven917/p/internalized-ageism-and-system-design?r=74re1s&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

The analysis examines how internalized ageism shapes expectations about health, how those expectations influence engagement in care, and how systems interpret that engagement as behavior without accounting for identity. It traces how this interaction plays out across HIV care and aging services, and what becomes visible when those systems are not designed to recognize one another.

Appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this conversation and to continue advancing this work.

05/03/2026

Yesterday in Riverside, Aging and HIV Institute (A&H) had the privilege of convening a powerful cohort of leaders at the Cultivate Leadership Training hosted at TruEvolution.

Through this four-hour, interactive institute, we worked with eleven people living with HIV to explore a simple but often underrecognized truth: lived experience is expertise. And when supported and structured, that expertise can shape systems, inform decisions, and strengthen accountability across HIV care and aging services.

From grounding in the legacy of the Denver Principles to navigating real-world leadership spaces and understanding how decisions are made, participants engaged deeply with what it means to move from presence to influence.

We are especially grateful to Alicia Downes, LMSW, Director of Federal Programs at AIDS United, for leading the national Cultivate program and for honoring us with her presence and partnership in this work. Her leadership helped create a space where participants could recognize their own capacity to lead within planning councils, advisory bodies, and systems of care.

This training is part of Aging and HIV Institute’s DunDun Project, an initiative focused on lifting up community voice and translating lived experience into systems-level impact. What we saw yesterday was exactly that in motion: individuals stepping into their authority, preparing to show up not just as participants, but as decision-makers.

Thank you to TruEvolution.org for hosting and for your continued commitment to community-driven leadership in the Inland Empire.

This is how change happens. Not by speaking for communities, but by creating the conditions for communities to lead.

04/28/2026

We are grateful to Senator John Laird for his leadership in establishing the Senate Select Committee on LGBTQ+ Older Adults and for creating space to address the healthcare and support needs of a generation that too often remains unseen in policy design.

It was an honor to meet Senator Laird and to recognize his authorship of SB 258, the HIV and Aging Act. This legislation amends the Older Californians Act to designate people aging with HIV as a population of greatest social need. That designation matters. It moves visibility from concept to accountability.

Aging and HIV Institute was invited to present during Panel 1 on the healthcare and support landscape for LGBTQ+ older adults. Our focus was on coordination across health and aging services, persistent data gaps, and the communication barriers that continue to fragment systems. We also addressed the broader national policy landscape and the federal pressures that shape what is possible at the state and local levels

What emerged clearly is this: the challenges facing LGBTQ+ older adults, including those aging with HIV, are not isolated issues. They are patterns that reflect how systems are designed, funded, and implemented.

We appreciate the Committee’s commitment to examining these issues at a structural level and to elevating the voices and needs of those who built the movement.

04/17/2026

Medicare drug pricing reform is moving forward through CMS’s proposed GUARD Model. Most discussion has focused on cost, savings, and innovation.

What is less examined is how these policy changes interact with populations whose care depends on long-term treatment stability.

Older adults living with HIV are one such population.

In this AgingOven.com piece, we examine the GUARD Model through a systems lens, focusing on how pricing design and access protections operate together in practice. The question is not whether reform is needed, but whether it is being designed with sufficient attention to conditions where medications are not interchangeable and stability is essential.

Read the full analysis:
https://open.substack.com/pub/agingoven917/p/when-cost-control-meets-clinical?r=74re1s&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

AgingOven is a writing space of the Aging and HIV Institute where ideas about aging, HIV, equity, and policy are given time to form and rise. Edited and written by David “Jax” Kelly, Founder, President and CEO of the Aging and HIV Institute. Click to read AgingOven, a Substack publication. Launc...

04/16/2026

Aging and HIV Institute (A&H) is looking forward to contributing to two sessions at On Aging 2026 this month in Atlanta.

Centering Lived Experience: A Model for Inclusive Aging & Disability Policy

From Stigma to Systems Change: HIV Equity in California’s Aging Policy

Together, these sessions reflect our focus on how lived experience and HIV advocacy can inform stronger, more inclusive aging systems.

At A&H, we approach this work through the lens of visibility with purpose, ensuring that HIV is named when doing so advances equity, strengthens systems, and improves outcomes for older adults.

We look forward to engaging with colleagues working to move these conversations from framework to implementation.

https://asaging.org/on-aging

American Society on Aging

04/12/2026

The Aging and HIV Institute (A&H) will be presenting for the first time at On Aging 2026 in Atlanta this April.

We’re looking forward to engaging with colleagues from across the country on how aging systems can better reflect the realities of people aging with HIV.

Our work is grounded in a simple idea: visibility with purpose. Naming HIV within aging frameworks is not symbolic, it is essential to equity, training, and accountability.

For those interested in the policy side of this work, we’ve been exploring these questions through AgingOven.com, where we examine how systems design and public policy intersect.

We look forward to connecting with others working at the intersection of aging, public health, and systems change.

Learn more: https://asaging.org/on-aging

American Society on Aging

02/23/2026

Today the Aging and HIV Institute released a new AgingOven analysis titled “Political Interference as Design: What the HIV Research Disruptions Make Visible.”

The piece examines how sudden federal decisions affecting HIV research reveal deeper system design vulnerabilities. These disruptions are not only scientific setbacks. They show how governance instability travels through research, prevention, and care structures in ways that directly affect older adults living with HIV.

The analysis uses a recent case study as a diagnostic instrument to show where systems rely on discretion instead of safeguards, and why visibility and continuity remain essential for equity.

Read the post and case study at the link posted in the comments.

02/19/2026

Access to HIV treatment is not optional. It is essential public health infrastructure.

The Aging and HIV Institute stands in solidarity with people living with HIV in Florida as the state considers cuts to its AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). Advocates warn that more than 16,000 Floridians could lose access to lifesaving medications if proposed changes move forward.

We also recognize and support Florida legislators who are working to address the reported $120 million shortfall and stabilize the program through the state budget process. ADAP is a critical safety net. Filling this gap is both fiscally responsible and necessary.

For Floridians: the public comment period is open through March 4. This is a moment to speak up.

For colleagues outside Florida: share the resources, amplify the call, and support coordinated advocacy.

Medication continuity is community stability. Public health depends on it.

Links to resources in the comments.

02/19/2026

We’re calling on state leaders to invest $26M to protect transgender health care in California. Transgender youth deserve stability.

Families deserve certainty.