Team New Mexico Youth Service Day (part 1)

Gathering of Nations 2009

Take an 80 degree day with a 40 mile-an-hour wind, add drumming and chanting, brightly adorned dancers, the aroma of fry bread and Indian tacos, turquoise and silver for miles, smiles on faces smooth and wrinkled - and you have the 27th Gathering of Nations Pow Wow in Albuquerque, the largest Native American event in the world and AmeriCorps/National AIDS Fund New Mexico was there!

How honored we were to attend this celebration of Native Americans and First Peoples at the invitation of the New Mexico Hepatitis Alliance, Navaho AIDS Network and First Nations Community Healthsource. This collaboration of healthcare non-profits offered information on HIV, viral Hepatitis and STD’s, as well as condoms, lubricant, dental dams and red ribbons. It was amazing to see those condoms jump out of their basket and into people’s pockets! With almost 14,000 in attendance, the majority of them representing over 200 Native tribes and clans from the United States and Canada, the potential for education was great.

Helping to staff the booth, we spoke to elders who giggled and covered their mouths in embarrassment as they realized our information concerned SEX, to young folks who surreptitiously palmed condoms as they smilingly pretended to listen to our spiel, to little ones grabbing at freebees as we struggled to retrieve the condoms and substitute the red ribbons! However, many people young and old, Native and non-Native took our information and asked relevant questions. AmeriCorps/NAF New Mexico helped make a difference at the Gathering of Nations 2009!

By Bo Keppel

Tulsa's National Youth Service Day!

Team Tulsa went to Kendall Whittier Elementary School. According to the most recent data I could find on Tulsa Public School's website, over 80% of the children at Kendall Whittier are on free or reduced lunch programs, meaning they are at or below the poverty line.

The service we provided consisted of working in their clothing closet. This resource is available to the students to receive clothing if they are in need. It is also available in case the younger children have accidents during the day. We moved the winter clothes out, put summer clothes in, and refolded and organized everything that was there. We even had a parent come into the closet and inform us she had just gone through her daughter's old clothes and wanted to donate them to the closet!

We really enjoyed this service day. It was so fulfilling to be part of something that was benefitting children in our community. The school is about four or five blocks from my house, so it definitely had a personal impact on me. I did volunteer work for this school while in college, but never knew the clothing closet existed. Sara has already planned a meeting with our contact to help with future Fifth Days for this and next year's teams! Plus, there was a rare sight to be seen: I wore my AmeriCorps shirt! :)

Samantha Young
Team Tulsa!

"Let Us Not Forget"

Team Indianapolis' documentary DVD, designed to raise the awareness level within all communities of people that HIV/AIDS is still a serious threat to health and life, received even more data and facts undergirding the premise used to support the need for this project. We want to share that information with you to assist with your "talking points" in the valuable work you are doing in your communities.



NEWS RELEASE
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER CDC ANNOUNCED THE U.S. HIV EPIDEMIC IS MUCH LARGER THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT, PUBLIC’S SENSE OF URGENCY IS DOWN, EVEN AMONG SOME HIGHER RISK GROUPS

Sense of Personal Risk Falls for Young Adults, Testing Rates are Stagnant

Amidst Call for Stepped Up Focus on Domestic HIV/AIDS, There is Public Support for More Spending and the Public Believes Greater Efforts on Prevention Will Make a Difference


Washington, DC – Less than a year after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recalculated the size of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and announced that there were 40 percent more new HIV infections each year than previously believed, a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Americans’ sense of urgency about HIV/AIDS as a national health problem has fallen dramatically and their concern about HIV as a personal risk has also declined, even among some groups at higher risk.


Key findings of the survey include:

The share of Americans naming HIV/AIDS as the most urgent health problem facing the nation dropped precipitously from 44 percent in 1995 to 17 percent in 2006 and to six percent now.
CDC estimates that HIV rates are seven times higher among African Americans and three times higher among Latinos compared to whites. While these groups are more likely than whites to see HIV/AIDS as an urgent problem, fewer say it is a “more urgent” problem for their community now than in 2006 (declining from 23% to 17% of all adults, 49% to 40% of African Americans, and 46% to 35% of Latinos).
The share of those ages 18-29 who say they are personally very concerned about becoming infected with HIV declined from 30 percent in 1997 to 17 percent today; personal concern among young African Americans declined from 54 percent to 40 percent over the same time period.
More than half (53%) of non-elderly adults say they have been tested for HIV, including 19 percent who say they were tested in the past year. Testing is most common among adults under the age of 30, with three in ten young adults and nearly half (47%) of young African Americans reporting having been tested in the past year. However, reported testing rates for all these groups have not changed much in the past decade.
“Many indicators of urgency and concern are moving in the wrong direction, including for higher risk groups,” said Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman. “The survey underscores the need for a new focus on domestic HIV,” he added.

At a time when there have been calls for increased attention to the domestic HIV/AIDS crisis including the recent Obama administration announcement of the five year public awareness campaign, Act Against AIDS, the survey also finds public support for more spending..

Half of the public thinks that the federal government is spending too little on domestic HIV/AIDS, while just five percent say it spends too much. More than a third (36%) of Americans say they have personally donated money to an HIV/AIDS-related charity, including nearly half (45%) of African Americans, and there is confidence that new efforts in prevention will make a difference.

While down somewhat from 2006, public support for continued or increased government spending on HIV/AIDS is notable considering the current economic recession and a decline in reported visibility of the domestic epidemic. The share saying they have heard, seen, or read “a lot” or “some” about the problem of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. in the past year declined from 70 percent in 2004 to 45 percent in 2009, and the share that saw “a lot” was cut in half for not only the general public, but also among African Americans and Latinos.

Despite a polarizing debate in recent years about such issues as abstinence and condoms, six in ten Americans believe that spending more money on HIV prevention in the U.S. will lead to meaningful progress, and about half believe the same about spending on treatment.

Some Signs of Progress, But Misconceptions And Stigma Remain

The survey indicates some signs that HIV/AIDS in the U.S. may carry less stigma than in the past. For instance, there has been a slow and steady increase since the late 1990s in the share of people who say they would be very comfortable with a coworker who has HIV/AIDS (44% now, up from 32% in 1997). However, stigmatizing attitudes towards people with HIV have not gone away; fully half (51%) of the public says they would be uncomfortable having their food prepared by someone who is HIV positive.

Misconceptions may be a factor in stigma, and several remain when it comes to correct information about HIV transmission. One-third (34%) of Americans incorrectly believe or are unsure whether HIV can be transmitted by one of the following actions: sharing a drinking glass (27%), touching a toilet seat (17%), or swimming in a pool with an HIV positive person (14%).

Confusion about HIV transmission may contribute to discomfort around those who are HIV positive. People who harbor misconceptions about transmission are more likely to say they would be uncomfortable working with someone with HIV (43% versus 13% who correctly answered questions about transmission) and more likely to be uncomfortable having their food prepared by an HIV positive person (71% compared to 40%).

A significant share of the public also harbors misconceptions about prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. Nearly one in five (18%) do not know there is no cure for AIDS and about one-quarter (27%) believe or are unsure whether former professional basketball player Magic Johnson has been cured of AIDS. Additionally, a quarter (24%) believe or are unsure whether there is a vaccine available to prevent HIV infection. Many of these misconceptions are more common in the African American community, including that Magic Johnson has been cured (37% of African Americans think he has been cured or are unsure), that there is a vaccine available to prevent infection (36%), and that there are drugs available that can cure HIV and AIDS (30%).


Methodology

The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted January 26 through March 8, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 2,554 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (N=1,951) and cell phone (N=603, including 214 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The survey includes oversamples of African American and Latino respondents as well as respondents ages 18-29. Results for all groups have been weighted to reflect their actual distribution in the nation. The margin of sampling error for the overall survey is plus or minus 3 percentage points, for whites it is plus or minus 4 percentage points, for African Americans it is plus or minus 5 percentage points, and for Latinos it is plus or minus 6 percentage points. For results based on other subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher.

The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit private operating foundation, based in Menlo Park, California, dedicated to producing and communicating the best possible information, research and analysis on health issues.

Charlotte National Youth Service Day

Written By Shmekia Dameron of Team Charlotte

Team Charlotte spent the day at Southwest Middle School in Gastonia with the students for National Youth Service Day. The day was great! We started the day off by presenting the entire staff with appreciation cards from AmeriCorps (Team Charlotte) and Communities in Schools, going door to door thanking them for everything they do for the students. We also delivered along either a muffin or crème cheese Danish along with the cards. The staff was very appreciative.

The students had a Fun Day at school on that day where they had a variety of fun things to do outside on the field. We Team Charlotte members set up a table in the auditorium with information about AmeriCorps. After classes were done eating lunch, the teachers brought their students to view our table and we explained to them what it is we do and why. We talked to the students about why serving is so important and they all seemed to agree. We told them about National Youth Service Day, and asked them to try and do something nice for someone in order to give back to the community.

We had a Wheel of Choices game, which had different categories- Contraception, AIDS, & STD’s, Abstinence & Peer Pressure, Teen Pregnancy etc. A few students from each class spun the wheel, read the question aloud, gave their answer and we discussed them. The team had a wonderful time with the students and we all enjoyed going back to middle school for a day!

Repost: Bar Outreach for Team Detroit

Hello all,
As a student at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, I also write a blog for them that covers some aspects of student life. I recently wrote a post about doing bar outreach at a local bar in Ann Arbor, and I wanted to share it with you! Please check it out:
http://umichsph.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/bar-outreach/

Team Indy / Extreme MakeOver ~ Home Edition

Here’s some cool news we want to let you know regarding a “once in a lifetime” opportunity for NAF’s Indianapolis AmeriCorps team.

Extreme Makeover – Home Edition will be honoring a family of heroes in Indianapolis as part of ABC’s 2 – Hour Season Finale by doing an “extreme makeover” of their home. All six of us decided this would be a great service opportunity as well as a chance to work with hundreds of other volunteers who have a common goal...... and so we applied……and were selected to be on the team! We will be working the third shift (10pm to 6am) on Thursday night, April 2nd, which will be the last shift before the family is brought back to take possession of their new home.

We’ll learn who the family is and where the worksite is, this Friday, March 27th, when the knock on the door of the family’s home is made by Ty Pennington (whom I shall stalk from a distance)! We’re certainly excited about being a part of this and hope to somehow work AmeriCorps into conversations with the Production Crew in an attempt to get recognition for the Program. Stay tuned!

Tommy

Isiah the Prophet's Poem "HIV"

This is from one of our recent team days.

Hello fellow Americorps(ians) I hope that every one's service year has been what they expected, and if not you made it futher than some, so congradulations on completing over 50% of your service year. I happen to be very proud of myself and my team (DETROIT). This coming week is WOMEN & GIRLS HIV AWARENESS DAY! and since women are the highest growing rate of HIV cases let's get things done.

A GREAT conference I attended recently

Hi, I'm Bo Keppel, an AmeriCorps National AIDS Fund member in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In December I received a full scholarship to attend the National Rural Health Association's annual Rural Minority and Multicultural Health Confernce in Albuquerque. It was a fantastic conference and I urge you to apply for a scholarship next year when it will be held in Memphis, TN. There were many excellent presentations and LOTS of great information and goodies to share with clients.

A presentation of particular interest was the one on rural women and HIV. Here's the summary I wrote for my AmeriCorps and health department bosses, just to whet your appetities:
____________________________________________________________________

HIV/AIDS Prevention for Women Living in the Rural South, Mary Bowers, MSW, DOHHS, Office on Women’s Health Public Health Advisor

Women represent a growing number of individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the US, and HIV/AIDS is increasingly affecting women, adolescents, and minorities in rural and Southern areas of the country. These facts were made concrete through a presentation of United States maps representing population dispersal, racial dispersal, poverty, unemployment, hospitals, rural health clinics, and much other data. The presenter listed the disparities of sexism and racism, oppression, stigma, poverty, under and unemployment, crime and incarceration, limited resources and geographic isolation as barriers to preventing HIV infection among rural women of color. We must also take into consideration the gender-based, cultural, socio-economic, psycho-social, geographic and biological risk differentials for women, as well as the risk violence against women adds.

What can we in prevention do? We must reach women where they are, in workplaces, hair salons, bars, daycare centers, schools, public assistance offices, church, home. We must provide woman-centered services through a gender-centered approach by communicating in the standard community language which is non-condescending and non-judgmental; by building women’s self-esteem and self-determination. We must push for the development of microbicides and other female-controlled barriers. As part of prevention we must also work to see women receive routine wellness checks which include risk assessment and counseling, STD testing and reproductive health check-ups.

This complete and relevant presentation was offered in PowerPoint, a copy of which I have received from the presenter. If you are an AmeriCorps National AIDS Fund member working with rural women and would like a copy, please email me at roberta.keppel@state.nm.us and I'll send it to you

If you'd like info on next year's conference or the National Rural Health Association, go to their website at http://www.ruralhealthweb.org/.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Team Charlotte went above and beyond the call of duty helping out with two full day testing events for NBAAD. HIV/AIDS rates are high among the African American community, so our team tried to test as many people as we could. We first teamed up with the Mecklenburg Health Department's testing event at Johnson C. Smith University, a historically black University located in the heart of Charlotte. The day included testing 81 students and doing outreach around the campus. We even managed to get our feet on the evening news (they were trying to keep things confidential)! The following weekend the team traveled to Rock Hill, SC, to give Catawba Care Coalition a helping hand in their testing event with Clinton Jr. College, another historically black school. Although we had high hopes in continuing to test the same number of people as last year, the day was still successful because we managed to test 18 individuals. The team was in great spirits and had high energy for both events and we might have even recruited some new members for next year!

MLK Jr. National Day of Service, Team Chicago

For Martin Luther King Day, Team Chicago assisted with a Chicago Cares day of service event that began at the United Center. Although I have to admit that the mood among our team members at first was far from jubilant due to the cold and early morning start time, the positive atmosphere that soon flooded the United Center as the day got rolling definitely lifted our spirits. As “Roadies”, we were assigned to checking in volunteers, answering their questions and helping them find their buses, which would be heading out later that morning to various sites around Chicago. It was definitely a hectic morning trying to keep up with the thousands of people who came to the United Center that day, but we found that most people were smiling and happy to be there, and we were happy to do what we could to assist them. It was certainly inspiring to see so many people dedicating their time and energy that day to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and that spirit of service permeated our team experience. I think that we all felt that there is something special about being in Chicago during this point in the history of our country, for although there are many hardships there is also great opportunity to be of service to our communities.

Bronwen White
Team Chicago

"Together We Can" Team Charlotte's MLK Day of Service!!

Team Charlotte worked with Hyaets Inc. to have a successful MLK Day celebration. Hyaets is a small non profit organization based in the Enderly Park Community on the west side of Charlotte. This is an impoverished community, where the children deal with a struggle of violence and unity on a daily basis. The team members of Hyaets Inc. work to provide a safe place for the children of the neighborhood and to be good neighbors in the biblical terms.
For our day of service we really reached inside of ourselves to come up with a day focused on the great works of Dr. King. The day, entitled “Together we can”, was focused on two of King’s most popular teaching themes, unity and nonviolence. We had children from Enderly Park and from a local church’s youth group as our audience for the day, aged 3-18. We began at noon with a quick lunch prepared by none other than the lovely ladies of Team Charlotte and a few volunteers. The youth of the Hyaets community and of Park Road Baptist Church came together to learn more about the life and legacy of Dr. King. We began with a speech outlining the life of Dr. King. Next we moved to a game with quotes by King. This gave all participants the opportunity to really think about the things Kings said and how they are still relevant to all of our lives today. Our next activity was a puzzle activity that was all about unity and working together, the students LOVED it and they really understood the point of the activity.
In addition to all of that fun, we left the warmth of the building to brave the cold and be Guerrilla Gardeners in the Elderly Park community. We roamed the streets of the neighborhood with our shovels planting pansies at abandoned houses and lots also for some friendly neighbors who enjoyed our company. This was a huge success, the children had a wonderful time, and the whole team enjoyed themselves as well; there was even a student who had such a good time that she believed she had found her calling to be a gardener.
As we wrapped up our day we listened to the entire I have a Dream speech as we watched a slide about the Civil Rights Movement, with a concentration on the nonviolent protest that King lead. After viewing the slide, it was time to reflect, the floor was open for discussion about what we had seen and heard during the day. In the slide there was a photo of President Obama and during the discussion one of the students said “Tomorrow part of Martin Luther King’s dream is going to come true when Barack Obama becomes President”. Although this was a simple statement you could tell that many of them hadn’t made that connection before that moment. It was so wonderful!
We all enjoyed ourselves and each of us made a special connection with at least one child! My favorite part of the day was seeing each of my teammates just jump right in and give there all to each child and activity! It took a lot out of us but we really worked as a team and the day was a big success. Having Maggie there to share the day with us made it that much better. The whole experience made a lasting impression on Team Charlotte as a whole and I’m sure we touch a few kids’ lives.

Solita Jefferies
Team Charlotte

MLK Day of Service-Team Indy

Team Indy’s MLK Day of Service was wonderful. We started out with a business-oriented meeting about our long-term project in the morning and served during the afternoon. For me, it was truly a rewarding afternoon. I was thrilled to return to my alma mater, the place that truly taught me about life, becoming an adult, and giving back to the community.
Our service hours consisted of an HIV 101/ HIV panel discussion for a group of girls in a medical magnet program here in Indianapolis. In my everyday work, this is all I do. I talk to youth about HIV, STDs, and safe sex. But, what made the day special was having my entire team beside me in concert, passionately talking to these eight young ladies about HIV and the importance of our work during this service year. Aside from that, it was refreshing to watch my team members take command of their portion of the discussion and deliver it effortlessly.
When we were finished with our presentation, we opened the floor for questions. The ladies were not shy at all. They asked intelligent, blunt questions until they had no more. As time wound down, we passed out HIV and STD pamphlets that covered the bases of transmission and how to protect yourself from infection as well as free testing cards.
The next day, when I read my email, there was one from my high school teacher that allowed us to give our presentation during her class. It read, “Hey there Jamie! It was so special to have you back in class (smile). Thanks for bringing the calvary, the students loved it. Love you lots.”
After I was done reading it, I knew we had accomplished what I had envisioned for the day.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!!!!

This year for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Team Tulsa marched in the parade with my host site, HOPE Testing Clinic. We all wore red for HIV/AIDS awareness. During the parade, we handed out lollipops with information about HIV testing for Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day that is coming up on February 7, along with other clinic and testing information. We also handed out information about the Oklahoma HIV/STD Hotline that is answered during the day at HOPE. We carried my clinic's banner that encourages people to get tested (which I did trip over while carrying!). This year's parade was the biggest in Tulsa's history. Not only were people celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., but President Obama's picture was on many of the floats as well. This extra significance made the parade all that more meaningful for myself, and the others involved. All the local television stations were there, and I had a few people tell me they saw us on tv. It was just an awesome feeling being involved in the biggest MLK parade ever in Tulsa, the day before President Obama's first day in office all while getting the word about about HIV testing in Tulsa.

Samantha Young
Team Tulsa

Team DC - MLK Jr. National Day of Service

Team DC spent our MLK Jr. National Day of Service volunteering at the DC Health Expo held at the huge convention center in downtown DC. While most of our agencies had their own booths at the event, we volunteered our time to the National Kidney Foundation. They had a large segment portioned off for their work which was identifying a person's BMI, taking blood pressure, filling out a questionnaire to assess risk for kidney disease, and offering people a chance to speak with the eight volunteer doctors on hand.

We were assigned to assist people in making their way around to the various centers. We provided answers to people in line, assisted in filling out the questionnaire, and took them to the consultations with the doctors. A few of us had the opportunity to chat with people while they waited in line for their consultations. Often times, the clients would remark on how nice it was for the doctors to offer their time and how happy they were to be able to see a doctor as they didn't have health insurance. A lot of people took their kids with them to talk to the doctor about problems that were not kidney related.

This service day turned out to be really nice as we got to meet several interesting people who were also volunteers, spend time working in the larger community (which we often forget about as we our the bubble of our own agencies), and walk around and visit other booths at the Expo (some definitely walked away with good loot). It was also really good to see medical professionals volunteering their time and being friendly and courteous to the clients they saw at the NKF booth and in the whole convention center. Finally, it's just always nice to spend an extra day and connect with our team members and we are all so busy during the week! These extra events allow us to learn about different corners of DC as a team that we might possibly not have a chance to experience.

The day showed us that there is a very real need in the DC community for proper healthcare. Over 1000 people went through the National Kidney Foundation booth and were provided with potentially life-saving information so the event was really powerful. Although non-profits, foundations, and community-based agencies can give people incredibly important knowledge and tools, it is obvious that real social change will only come through collective action at all societal levels.

Team Detroit MLK Day

MLK Day 2009 for Team Detroit was a day of collaboration with another AmeriCorps group, City Year Detroit. City Year always puts on a big event for MLK Day and we decided to join them in their day of service after meeting them at an AmeriCorps Teams in Michigan Conference. Our team members gathered early in the morning in downtown Detroit for a kick off rally for the day of service. City Year recruited all kinds of folks to volunteer for a day of service in commemoration of Dr. King. They were not all necessarily students who had the day off, but rather individuals who were teachers, businessman, young and old who wanted to come together for a day of service and action in the Detroit community.

After the rally, we were stationed at the Holistic Community Development Center with other City Year members. The Holistic Center is a place for the members of the community to get involved with everything from prayer to dancing to educational as well as community engagement projects. The building was quite old and needed a bit of cleaning and organizing. Half of the group worked on cleaning and organizing a closet that had been neglected for several years and needed much TLC. The other half of the group worked on cleaning up a kitchen in preparation for another AmeriCorps team who was scheduled to come in and paint the room. Both groups worked hard at sorting, cleaning, dusting, mopping and making the Holistic Center spic and span. We all worked up a healthy sweat and met some new friends during the day. Overall, cleaning up the Holistic Center went very well and the people there were very, very thankful for all the help we provided that day. MLK 2009 was a great way to meet other AmeriCorps members and to improve our Detroit community!

New Mexicans Represent MLK & Obama!!

Team New Mexico had an awesome Martin Luther King Jr. Day!! We were less one member because Bo was sick :( The boys and I worked with EcoVersity, in Santa Fe, on a service event that took only three days to organize and ended up attracting 60 people! EcoVersity focuses on sustainable living and ecological responsibility through education programs offered throughout the year. On a tour of their facilities we learned how to make bio fuel out of algae from a fascinating ten-year-old, how bees store honey for the winter, and that some turkeys just can’t stop gobbling (and Becky thinks it's hilarious)!

For the service part of the day we weeded the greenhouse. One would think this is a fairly simple task, but no. It took four of us all morning to clear out the grass and nasturtium of a pretty small area. Both plants had overgrown their space and were beginning to kill the other greenhouse plants. Although there was physical labor involved, the greenhouse was 80 degrees and humid (Stephen and I felt at home), and there was soothing music playing as we worked. We did encounter some difficulties when stinging nettles gave Stephen a massive rash on his hands and arms! Luckily, a woman had just stopped in to warm up from outside and told us a natural remedy was the juice from the nettle leaves themselves. Pauly was brave enough to help Stephen and massage the leaves until the juice came out while Ben volunteered to finish the job Stephen had started – woohoo teamwork! Unfortunately, the nettles also stung Ben and gave him a small rash on his arms & hands, but it did not get nearly as bad as Stephen’s. Luckily, the ten-year-old girl came around at this time and gave both the boys some algae oil (the bio fuel I had mentioned earlier) which is also apparently a good skin remedy and has many other uses.

Around lunch time we found out that most of the plants we had weeded would be back and overgrown in less than two weeks! This fact was slightly disappointing considering all the work we had done. For lunch we had homemade vegetable soup with green chili (a New Mexican favorite!) and got to talk with the other volunteers. Then we went on a tour of the grounds where we learned about all of the projects EcoVersity runs. This included spending almost an hour talking to the ten-year-old about her algae project.

In all, we had a fun day where we actually learned something about the environment and felt like we were doing our part. We all look forward to the next adventure of Team New Mexico!!

OBAMANOS!!

Happy 2009 from Team Chicago!!

World AIDS Day Team Tulsa

Monday, we kicked off the first day of a week-long World AIDS Day event at my host agency, The University of Tulsa. With campus wide sponsorship and support, I planned and facilitated a three day testing challenge at which Sam, Erica, and I tested a total of 38 students during lunch over a three day, 12 hour period. Students received free t-shirts for being testing and several professors offered extra credit to students who volunteered at and attended the main even. 

The week ended with an evening dinner and a panel discussion.

I am still receiving phone calls and compliments about the impact of the event on those in attendance. Everyone was really moved by the stories of the guest speakers which consisted of two heath professionals/prominent community members who are both infected with HIV, the regional rep. of the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt (who spoke about the panel displaying fallen Tulsans), and a local doctor working in the field for over 20 years who provides groundbreaking client care to over 350 local HIV patients. 

There was such a surreal quality to the evening, every aspect of this event made this epidemic feel so urgent and important. I was especially moved to see one speaker become emotional when he realized that someone featured on the AIDS Quilt was a very close friend of his. Another speaker shared her story of being infected by her college sweetheart when she was only 21 years old.

Yolanda Arnold

Team Tulsa

World AIDS Day - Team Indy

World AIDS Day: December 1, 2008

Part One
Church of grandeur.
Prestige, Responsibility, and Power walk through the doors
In the form of the leaders and directors in HIV prevention and outreach in Indiana.
The guests make a small dent in the large sanctuary
With their new red-ribbon pins adorning their lapels.

The atmosphere is mellow –
Fueled by the AIDS Quilt which invites reflection
And the names of Hoosier victims that scroll across the screen.
Candles are passed.
The choirs sing.
The pastor opens the podium for the professionals to share the facts:
HIV IS in our state; it has left its mark; and it shows no discrimination.
Then to the video and discussion on HIV in Kenya that briefly takes us to another place.
We sing; we pray; and we conclude: “remembering, bearing witness, and living hope.”

I cut out early to make it to a second event.

Part Two
At the other end of the city, I enter a public building.
The room is packed.
I find myself as the minority and can quickly count the white people in the room.
I recognize clients, fellow case-workers, and volunteers.
The dinner, the music, and the stories have passed.
I take my seat just in time for the fashion show to begin.

It is a celebration of life, of those who have fought and continue to fight the battle in their bodies and in society.
Of those whose lives have been affected, but still find reasons for joy.
The energy is high.
I find myself at ease and honored to be a part of something so profound.

The moment I had been waiting for finally arrives.
The client I had been seeing for months was about to present.
Though he and I had spent hours discussing employment, income and housing,
Medications, side-effects, drugs, and struggles
Tonight was the night I was able to see his passion.
Tonight was the night he was not known as an HIV survivor, unemployed, or too sick to make his appointment.
Tonight he was a much anticipated fashion designer.

I could not have been more proud.
I was deeply touched by the support he received in that venue –
Support that could propel him through the difficult days ahead.
This is what is needed, I thought; this is what it is really about.

A Reflection
The contrasting events each served their purpose.
The first, an atmosphere for professionals to remember;
The second, a place for clients to celebrate.

I drove home with an appreciation for diversity in Indianapolis.
Many different people dedicated their evenings to the AIDS cause.
I was encouraged to see their support and excited to witness their advocacy.

But I also drove home with the recognition for the need of unity;
Why two starkly different events
That separated races and classes?

I realized that Indianapolis has room to grow –
Not only in testing, educating, and caring for the masses,
But also in sharing, supporting, and celebrating with one another.






By:
Amanda Quillen
Team Indianapolis
National AIDS Fund/ Caring Counts AmeriCorps 2008-2009