Me. And what I’m reading. And what I see, and why you should care.
I’m 26 years old, and I live in New Orleans. Before that I lived in Morocco as a Peace Corps volunteer. I have seen a lot of heart-breaking things, but what I am most concerned with is how to affect change in the communities I live in. Right now, the biggest problems I see in New Orleans is the HIV/AIDS crisis and the plight of homeless citizens.
I work for a non-profit that does quite a bit for the HIV affected community, but I am seeing a definite lapse in combating HIV/AIDS in the black community. There is evidence that African Americans account for half the HIV infections in the U.S., but I don’t hear us talking about it. I think there is still a large amount of stigma surrounding the disease, and the idea that HIV/AIDS is a “gay disease” or a “white disease,” is causing a great deal of harm to whatever efforts are being made to educate in our community.
Where is the clergy on this?
The religious community has been a huge part of garnering support for issues that concern African Americans. We saw this in the civil rights movement, in presidential elections, and in specific recent cases in which great injustice was being done. HIV is a disease that is preventable. We are failing ourselves, quite literally watching each other die.
So, “What can I do?” you might be asking?
Support HIV/AIDS organizations in your city.
This could mean donating your time to help deliver services like condom distribution, HIV rapid tests, or simply donating money to the organization. What’s important is that you get involved.
Learn about it, then teach a friend.
HIV/AIDS education is one of the most important parts of prevention. In my opinion, this is one of the easiest things you can do to help in the fight against HIV. By simply talking to your friends about this epidemic, you can help erase stigma, eliminate myths about people with HIV, raise awareness about the disease, and empower others to make better decisions about their behaviors.
Be open-minded, and include EVERYONE- we are ALL affected.
I think the most important thing I have learned about HIV/AIDS comes from the situation in Uganda. Literature on the epidemic counts Uganda among those states who have made successful strides against HIV. Uganda’s claim to fame is the “ABC” strategy, a policy that included teaching about:
A- Abstinence
B- Being Faithful
C- Condoms
They even came up with their own term for being faithful- “zero grazing”. Zero grazing is an agricultural phrase relating to grazing of animals in pasture. With limited land, the farmer puts the cow or goat in a stall and hand-feeds the animal fodder that the farmer cuts from the farm. This is common in Uganda and western Kenya–whereever the population density is too high to support grazing cattle on open lands.** Because many livelihoods are agriculture based, many people understood the term, and took it tongue-in-cheek as a way to remember to stay safe by limiting their number of partners. There is a lot of debate on what part of ABC actually contributed to the decline in HIV rates, but I happen to believe that it was a combination of the three. Everyone was included: those that could be abstinent had a stake in policy as well as those who could not stop having sex. Limiting partners was put into language that was not only easy to understand, but encouraging to promote. I think it’s important to remember this when making, and implementing policy that has to do people’s sexual behaviors.
The homeless situation of New Orleans is serious. That combined with HIV/AIDS, is no joke. I don’t have a lot of ideas to kick around about that. What I’ve learned from volunteering at our shelter here is that this is not a problem caused by Katrina, but one that is exacerbated by its impact. Many of the women at the shelter have been homeless before due to loss of a relative, loss of a job, injury that forced them out of a job… It’s a cyclical problem that needs some creative solutions. I heard a talk-radio host say, “screw the homeless” today. I wish she could understand that shuffling people into bunkhouses does not help the problem, it only covers it up. There has got to be a better way.
That’s all for now. Please post comments, suggestions, solutions…
Later this week: Who is Helen Epstein? What is the Invisible Cure?
** This is my professor’s corrected explanation. Thanks Dr. Murphy!
