Welcome 2009-2010 NAF AmeriCorps/Caring Counts Members!

Now that you have been on and local for a full month, what thoughts would you like to share with other teams regarding your service activities to date? Please don't wait--start the fun today!

Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in Santa Fe

Hard work paid off for AmeriCorps/National AIDS Fund Team New Mexico! In January we decided our LTP would include a Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt display. Becky served as liaison with the Names Project and on Wednesday morning, June 24 under the engineering guidance of Martin Walker, our City Supervisor, the team hung eight panels of the AIDS Quilt. Some months ago, we had selected two panels that had special significance for us and invited others from the community to select some. When the quilt was hung, we were overwhelmed with emotion at the panels we had chosen, as well as those selected for us by the Names Project. But this was only the beginning!
On Thursday evening and with the quilt as a backdrop, a local theater group, directed by a friend of Bo's, presented a play called "The Yellow Boat" written by David Saar about his son who died at age 5 from AIDS, having contracted the virus from contaminated Factor 8. The play was attended by about 50 people who joined the cast and team for refreshments following.
The piece de resistance, however, was presented on Friday evening: The Red Ribbon Fashion Show. Stephen Roussel, our Team Coordinator and show producer, had previously recruited local designers to create fashions for this event. Becky, Ben and Stephen, along with community friends, modeled the outfits while Pauly served as stage manager and Bo as caterer. Following the show, the New Mexico Gay Men's Chorus serenaded while folks enjoyed the spread!
Saturday afternoon during Santa Fe PRIDE, over 130 people came to view the quilt in silence. During the entire four days the quilt was on display close to 350 people came to honor those memorialized by the quilts made by friends, lovers, parents, children, siblings, husbands, wives. Team New Mexico honored them as well by reading the names before dismantling the display, folding the panels and boxing them for return to the Names Project.
Two hundred and fifty dollars was collected during the display and will be donated to the Santa Fe Mountain Center's Meditation Garden in honor of Kahlo Benevides.
Mounting an AIDS Memorial Quilt display is an intensely moving experience, one which deeply reinforces the significance of the work we do as AmeriCorps/National AIDS Fund members.
Submitted by Bo Keppel

We're so excited and we just can't hide how much we love our LTP!

Team Charlotte, an all female team, embraced our lack of testosterone and decided to form a women’s service group with clients from the different areas that we serve. It has been named “positive women doing positive things” and that is exactly what we have been doing for the past month alongside our new friends. Every Friday we meet and do a service project in one of the four counties that we serve. We have been getting our hands quite literally dirty, but not without lack of laughter and forging new relationships.
Our group has clicked better than we ever thought it would. Even at the first meeting our women were open and talking so much we had to bring it to an end so we could get instructions for our service project. That day we painted flower pots and potted plants to give to a local crisis center. While we were working we were surprised to hear that one of our women has a beautiful singing voice. We convinced her to sing for us while we worked, and she has been singing while serving ever since.
A different woman from our group shared with us her talents for our next service day. She is a cake decorator and she came with cupcakes and multicolored icing to teach us a few techniques. We had a great time decorating cupcakes to give to the House of Mercy, a local living facility for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, our group was pleasantly surprised when there were multiple extras and soon we were enjoying our creations.
Next, we headed down to Rock Hill to give back to the Catawba Care Coalition, an AIDS service organization that resides in South Carolina. Our members that are placed there realized that there was a need for a new bench so clients can have a comfortable place to sit and wait for their transportation. With tools and bench pieces in hand we constructed a bench to be placed outside. Also, that day served as an educational day as we listed to Dr. Wess give a presentation about drug adherence before lunch. We all learned something new from the presentation, not to mention the chili and baked potato bar they brought was amazing.
We then met in the great state of Mecklenburg County and worked pulling weeds for the local day shelter’s organic garden. Even though it was ninety degrees and the air was thick the group pulled through, and literally pulled hundreds of weeds in a matter of an hour. Moving into the AC the group then made an art project for RAIN, an agency that serves thirteen counties and has in some way touched the lives of all the women in our group. We each painted small canvases, putting them together to form a modern version of a quilt that will hang in the RAIN waiting room as thanks for all the men and women they serve.
In just a few days we will sadly have our final meeting with the women. We are all very sad to see the group end. It also makes it harder when the women say comments about how this has been such a great thing and they don’t want it to stop. We hope to at least end it on a high note with a nice lunch and activities to reflect on all we have accomplished. Our hopes for this group are that through this experience they will realize the importance of service and do more in their communities. We feel like the women of the group have given gifts to us, and we hope we have given some to them in return. We know for sure that we brought together a strong group of fourteen women who will always be connected from here on out.

Thought this was worthy of sharing with the collective. The need for the work we do continues...

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Opinion

'Complacency,' 'Stigma' Hindering Efforts To Reduce HIV/AIDS in Black Communities, Opinion Piece Says

"Nearly 30 years after the discovery of HIV and AIDS, the epidemic is still ravaging black neighborhoods in Baltimore and across the nation," Kevin Fenton -- director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention -- writes in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece. Fenton writes that "complacency about HIV and the continued stigma associated with the disease are hindering progress by preventing too many African-Americans from seeking either HIV testing and treatment or support from their friends and family," adding that "this is a challenge that can be overcome."

According to Fenton, the Obama administration last month "took an important step in confronting the United States' HIV epidemic" when CDC and White House officials announced a five-year campaign called Act Against AIDS, which is "designed to refocus the nation's attention on the HIV crisis here at home." Fenton notes that 14 black civic organizations -- including NAACP, the National Urban League, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the National Council of Negro Women -- are "joining the CDC to increase knowledge, awareness and action within black communities across the country." He adds that the campaign "will harness the strength and reach of these organizations by enhancing their ability to make HIV prevention a core component of their daily activities."

"By raising the visibility of HIV and AIDS, the new campaign also aims to confront and overcome the fear and stigma that help keep HIV alive in black communities," Fenton says. He adds that he has "been encouraged in recent years to see black leaders, including black faith leaders, speak out more openly across the nation about the need to confront HIV and the stigma that persists surrounding this disease." Fenton writes that "[e]nding this epidemic will require not only frank and difficult discussions about HIV but also a shared sense of responsibility and commitment," concluding, "All of us can and must be part of the solution" (Fenton, Baltimore Sun, 5/27).

Team Charlotte goes to Raleigh

With the AmeriCorps caring counts team moving from Charlotte to Raleigh, we took the opportunity of AmeriCorps week to promote what AmeriCorps has meant in Charlotte. We as a team took a short road trip to Raleigh and met with the new operating site, The Center for Health Policy at Duke University. We were really excited to offer whatever help that we could while the new city supervisor is taking on the hard task of establishing a team. For the afternoon we answered many questions ranging from what activities are best for 5th days, to the different projects that are being undertaken for the Long Term Project. To add some further insight, we were accompanied by our city supervisor Patty and last year’s team coordinator, Katie. It was a great day of reflection and collaboration of ideas. The next day Team Charlotte along with Katie and Patty enjoyed doing what we as AmeriCorps members do best, hands on service. We began the day splitting up in three groups and delivering meals for the Raleigh branch of Meal on Wheels. Afterwards, we regrouped and headed over to the Raleigh food bank, where we inspected over 9,000 eggs to ensure quality for distribution. At this point our trip came to a close as we drove back home after an eventful two days.

The Better Way Foundation has introduced the First National HIV/AIDS Online Support Group run by positive individuals who care to help those with HIV live longer, better, healthier lives.

www.livingwithhiv.ning.com

National AmeriCorps Week / Team Indy

May the child in us never go away!  

National AmeriCorps Week in Indianapolis was observed by Team Indy along with the Boys & Girls Club and Grow Indiana, two State sanctioned AmeriCorps programs.  Working with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. forty-six members convened at Washington Park (the original site of the Indianapolis Zoo) to help facilitate the ultimate plan of planting 2,000 adolescent aged trees in various locations in the Indianapolis vicinity.

Working in tandem with members from the other two Americorps teams, we unloaded and sorted every tree according to its species.....there sure is a lot more to a tree's name than what most of us grew up learning.  Probably the highlight of the day for Team Indy was being assigned to fill the landscape truck's  water supply.....from a fire hydrant!  Here's where the little boy and girl in each of us came out.

Whether it was thoughts of firemen and their hoses or perhaps just playing in the powerful stream of water that an open hydrant produces, this was pretty exciting.  After being instructed on the "how to", we proceeded to "get 'er done".  A funky looking tool, a fifty foot hose and a fire hydrant lay waiting for us to tackle.  Needless to say, as has been the case all year long, each of us simply assumed a place somewhere in the project and proceeded to facilitate the transfer of water from the hydrant to the huge reservoir inside the Keep Indianapolis Beautiful truck.  We had already had an opportunity to work with these folks just a little over a month ago in the neighborhood clean-up project which was part of the Extreme Makeover Home Edition master plan.

Once all the water was transferred to individual buckets, all of the AmeriCorps members began the tedious job of watering hundreds of growing trees that we had just sorted by species.  About half-way into the watering project Mother Nature decided she wanted in on this Beautification project and began to bless us with beautiful but cold rain.  (Editor's Note:  The truth is Mother Nature's contribution was in response to Jamie's incredible rain dance she performed when a mouse scampered out of the high grasses while we were transferring the water from the hydrant and headed straight for her feet.)

Once the work we were asked to do was complete everyone journeyed to a local city park where, under a shelter we shivered, ate lunch provided by the State Office of Faith Based & Community Initiatives, and had an AmeriCorps Recognition service that the Team Coordinators facilitated. Not only did we have another super Fifth Day kind of moment with one another, we were able to meet others who simply want to give back to our community in a tangible way that will make a positive difference! 

AmeriCorps Week Team Tulsa!!!!!!

For AmeriCorps week, Team Tulsa went to Tulsa Community College and spoke to a Developmental Psychology class about AmeriCorps. We discussed our team, host sites, and duties. We addressed the education award, what we have done for 5th days, and our long term project. We also told them about other AmeriCorps programs in Oklahoma that we knew about. We passed our general AC information that included fact sheets, bookmarks, and stickers. The class was very responsive. A few people asked general question, but most of them were curious about HIV/AIDS statistics in Tulsa and where they could get tested.
During the week when Cory went to schools with the Red Cross, she passed out information about AmeriCorps to her classes. They were mostly high schoolers and a few younger kids.

AmeriCorps Week in New Mexico

On Tuesday, May 11th Team New Mexico conducted a recruiting effort on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The day was bright and sunny with highs around 95, but the wind never stopped and we had found trees under which to set up our table so we were not uncomfortable. Once Stephen and Bo, the two white, really white, non-burn-proof Anglos, doused themelves with 45 SPF sun screen, we were ready for business.

Unfortunately, UNM students were not ready for us, despite the great AmeriCorps "Getting Things Done" poster and the eye-catching signs Becky made announcing we had JOBS and listing some salient statistics from the website. The students seemed much more interested in getting to their exams (duh!)

Undeterred, Bo set out to accost students where they sat at lunch, studying in groups, running across the quad. She distributed about 50 information sheets made up from the website and answered questions from “Can I do dental hygiene as part of AmeriCorps?” (“Probably not “) to “Do they really pay for graduate school?” (“Partially.”) She also spoke with several folks whose sister, brother, aunt, daughter, grandson, boyfriend, etc. was currently, had been, plans to, etc. I get involved in AmeriCorps.

Stephen and Pauly in the meantime, posted another 50 info sheets on all the kiosks they could find in their 45 minute tour of the campus while Becky and Ben staffed the table, just in case someone stopped by – and about ten folks did. As we were leaving we were stopped by a student on a bike who asked us “Are you guys AmeriCorps?” (It amazed Bo that he had recognized us until Ben pointed out that our AmeriCorps tee shirts had probably clued him in!) He said he had signed up for one of the forest programs and was having his phone interview the next day. What he really wanted to know was if it was fun and if we thought he could survive it for 10 months. We told him, Hey, we were surviving it for 11 months and loving it and we were sure he would too. He seemed cool with that, thanked us and rode off!

We all then went to an Italian restaurant for lunch to talk once again about what a great team we are, how much we have accomplished (well maybe not so much that day!) and how much we love being together. Ben and Bo left early to get Ben to his exams in Santa Fe (!) by 5PM!

Overall, another great effort by Team New Mexico to spread the word on what terrific work AmeriCorps can do.

By Bo Keppel

Team New Mexico

Team New Mexico Youth Service Day (part 2)

Our Youth Service Day started out with the team meeting at Bo’s house at eleven in the morning on Friday, April 24. We helped out at an Earth Day fair that was being hosted in Taos with the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. The five of us squeezed into her Forrester like contortionists and took off on the hour and a half drive up north. When we arrived, one of the first things we noticed was the wind; Taos was surprisingly windy that day.
When we got to Taos Charter School, we saw that almost everything was being held outside. There were maybe twenty people within view, most of them volunteers, so we weren’t necessarily impressed by the amount of people in the beginning. We walked around a bit looking at all of the projects being presented by the students and volunteers. The things that they had been doing to save the planet were very interesting and the children were more than willing to demonstrate their designs and ideas to us. There were five main stations of projects that were to be done: mulching, composting, tree planting, weed recognition, and reusable bags.
The first boy we talked to had a lot to say about palm oil and the effects harvesting it has on the environment. After his presentation, it was time to learn how to lay mulch. We shoveled wood chips onto newspaper for about half an hour; with all the helping hands of other volunteers and kids, this task was easily completed. We wanted to help with building a compost bin but there were more than enough hands there as well. We decided to take a look at the newly-built greenhouse; its opening was one of the biggest events happening that day. There were just a few seedlings around but it looked like they were on a great start. After that, we walked over to where some people were digging holes for new trees so we saw that as an opportunity to get our hands dirty, literally.
While we were planting a fruit tree, out of nowhere a small tornado flew over the parking lot and around the wooden fence that secluded the garden from the world. It was incredibly breath-taking, scary, and exciting all at the same time, we had a good laugh about it afterwards. We then walked into a classroom full of children learning about local weeds and how they reproduce, grow, and if they’re dangerous. A sixth-grade boy taught us how to compost using nothing more than egg cartons, fruit peels, and earthworms. He said that his class had started their own composting bin, making it out of plastic containers and different materials, and that they got the entire school involved and that now every classroom has a compost bin of their own. The final station was the “make your own” reusable shopping bag out of recycled materials. We were so tired by this time from the overwhelming, yet enjoyable duties that we opted to call it a day.


All in all, we had a great day. It’s always great to see a younger generation doing their part of saving the world, and just to see a different way of living. It’s exciting.

-Pauly and Team NM

Many lives, One road, Walk Together

The lovely ladies of team Charlotte participated in the 13th annual AIDS Walk Charlotte on Saturday, May 2, 2009. AIDS Walk Charlotte is the largest HIV/AIDS awareness and fundraising event in the Carolina's. All the money raised stays here in our community and goes to RAIN, my host agency, who serves clients in 13 different counties in North and South Carolina. We were able to meet Greg Louganis, the Olympic diver, and hear his story of living HIV-positive. People from all walks of live came out to show their support, from infants to senior citizens, high schools and colleges, community leaders and churches alike. With just over 3,000 participants we collected over $215,000! RAIN plays a very important role in the lives of our friends with HIV here in the Charlotte area, Team Charlotte is excited to have been a part of such an amazing day!

Team Indianapolis Survives Global Youth Service Day...Barely.

Kids. Who doesn’t love them, right? Well, hopefully team Indy still loves them after our experience at Clark-Pleasant Intermediate School. For our Global Youth Service Day experience, we teamed up with the Peer Helpers of Whiteland Community High School. The Peer Helpers had organized a pirate themed evening full of activities to help the Clark-Pleasant Elementary School fourth grade students transition to the Clark-Pleasant Intermediate School fifth grade. It was so great to be able to work with high school students that had already fostered a love for service.

When we arrived at Clark-Pleasant Intermediate School, I think each member of Team Indianapolis was thinking, “Save me.” The first thing we saw was a cafeteria full of little fourth graders running around and doing art projects along side a large group of turquoise shirt-clad high school Peer Helpers. Wow. There was a lot going on. We were led to an auxiliary room where we met Alex, a Peer Helper with the phrase “future leader” written all over his face. Not literally, but let’s just say Alex knew what was going on at all times.

While the rest of the Peer Helpers were working with the kids in the cafeteria, Team Indy made a game plan…regarding the games. Yup. That’s right. We were put in charge of the game room. In other words, mass chaos. We had Red Light-Green Light, Down by the Banks, Salt and Pepper, and Parrot Parrot Pirate (formerly known as Duck Duck Goose). It’s definitely been a while since any of us have played these games. After a brief refresher from our man Alex, we were ready to go…or so we thought.

The kids starting coming in droves, and they immediately ran toward the twenty plus balloons in the center of the room. (SIDENOTE: Never EVER give balloons to fourth graders. Trust Team Indy. It’s not a pretty sight.) With the help of the Peer Helpers, we calmed the kids down, recovered some of the balloons, and split the kids into groups.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!! The next thirty minutes were such a blur I don’t think I can adequately recount them. I did, however, learn that I didn’t fully remember the rules of Duck Duck Goose. How soon we forget…right? In all seriousness, I think the fourth graders really enjoyed this portion of their evening. It was easy for them to let loose, meet some new friends, and have fun. It was also a great opportunity for the Peer Helpers to get exposure to AmeriCorps and see how they can use their passion for service in the future.

After the games, we helped the Peer Helpers gather the kids and shooed them back into the cafeteria. It took us a while to catch our breaths and register what just happened, but in the end I think everyone, Team Indy, the Clark-Pleasant Elementary fourth graders, and the Whiteland Community High School Peer Helpers, truly enjoyed the experience.

Emily Kitchin
Team Indianapolis
National AIDS Fund AmeriCorps/Caring Counts 2008-2009

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.