Yolanne Almanzar and Stephanie Garay will cover programs that assist newly released HIV-positive inmates from South Florida jails. These linkage programs test and counsel for HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases. Then, it follows up to make sure that the newly released inmates know where to receive treatment after they have been released back into their communities. The programs are federally funded and operate through the Florida Department of Health.
We have left messages with several programs in Broward and Miami-Dade counties because we would like to do interviews on-site for our video. We have also tried to contact a director of another program that is funded through a grant that performs the same services for newly released inmates.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Baby Steps
It's amazing how little I know about the city I've been living in for the past four years. This class has really allowed me to explore my own personal knowledge with AIDS. As copy editor, I've been able to read the different articles from my peers and learn about different organizations fighting to make a change as well as the locals who are dealing with the challenges of this epidemic.
I think the best part about this class is that it's driven the point home that individuals can make a difference in a worldwide epidemic. It's about spreading awareness and creating a forum for people to communicate the improvements that need to be made to help those infected and those affected.
As far as multimedia, I feel I still have a lot to learn. This is my second time creating a blog and it's a bit more visually appealing. I still find myself stuck on creative ways to upload visuals or playing with colors. I find I get very frustrated. It's difficult enough trying to find the right words to write a story, now I'm battling a completely new way to communicate with my audience. I hope my patience will improve because I am curious and eager to learn.
I am very excited about the upcoming video project we have. I've never made one, but I think it's time the opportunities be created for print journalism majors. We're living in a multimedia type of world and to not prepare student journalists for that world would be a great disservice. I look forward to the shooting, the editing and the process of creating a visual story that can reach people in a way print words can't.
I think the best part about this class is that it's driven the point home that individuals can make a difference in a worldwide epidemic. It's about spreading awareness and creating a forum for people to communicate the improvements that need to be made to help those infected and those affected.
As far as multimedia, I feel I still have a lot to learn. This is my second time creating a blog and it's a bit more visually appealing. I still find myself stuck on creative ways to upload visuals or playing with colors. I find I get very frustrated. It's difficult enough trying to find the right words to write a story, now I'm battling a completely new way to communicate with my audience. I hope my patience will improve because I am curious and eager to learn.
I am very excited about the upcoming video project we have. I've never made one, but I think it's time the opportunities be created for print journalism majors. We're living in a multimedia type of world and to not prepare student journalists for that world would be a great disservice. I look forward to the shooting, the editing and the process of creating a visual story that can reach people in a way print words can't.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Relevant Links for Treatment
Advanced treatment for HIV is allowing people to live longer. Whether it's the right diet, the right medications or the right price, these different organizations can help you find what you're looking for.
http://www.thebody.com/content/art40477.html
http://www.careresource.org/careandtreatment.html
http://www.positiveconnections.org/
http://www.thebody.com/content/art40477.html
http://www.careresource.org/careandtreatment.html
http://www.positiveconnections.org/
The B-HIVE Project Starts a Buzz
They seem like unlikely advocates for HIV and AIDS awareness in South Florida.
Most of these college students are under 20, dealing with the stress of roommate conflicts and their top priority is graduating on time.
But for the past two years, Leaders in Residence, a student dormitory hall at Florida International University, has been educating its college peers about the facts of the disease and its affect on the South Florida community through The “Be HIV Educated” Project, also known by the acronym B-HIVE.
Most of these college students are under 20, dealing with the stress of roommate conflicts and their top priority is graduating on time.
But for the past two years, Leaders in Residence, a student dormitory hall at Florida International University, has been educating its college peers about the facts of the disease and its affect on the South Florida community through The “Be HIV Educated” Project, also known by the acronym B-HIVE.
“There’s still a lot of myths surrounding the disease and we’re trying to change that,” said Monique Tavarez, a senior who has lived in the hall for two years.
It started in 2005, when Tamara Marryshow, a resident assistant on campus, felt a change needed to happen.
Marryshow was a college junior then and involved in a host of extracurricular activities. But as her time at college was nearing its end, she was concerned that the FIU community was not taking a stand on an issue that affects thousands of local residents.
“There were no awareness programs to educate people about HIV and AIDS,” she said.
She knew that she wanted to start a movement that would motivate others to continue making a difference when she was gone, while providing a forum for education.
The structure of the program was simple: year-long fundraising efforts through car washes, pizza sales and raffle tickets would allow the project to make a hefty donation to a local organization and a day-long event on World Aid’s Day would satisfy the educational component through free HIV testing, speakers and testimonials from those who have the disease.
With the help of Marryshow’s close friends, the project raised almost $3,000 for the Children’s Home Society of Florida, an organization that helps families whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS.
The following year, Marryshow got her own Leaders in Residence students involved and made it their project. The chosen beneficiary since then has been The Center for Positive Connections, a facility in Miami Shores that provides various services like holistic health treatment, counseling and job assistance.
“There were no awareness programs to educate people about HIV and AIDS,” she said.
She knew that she wanted to start a movement that would motivate others to continue making a difference when she was gone, while providing a forum for education.
The structure of the program was simple: year-long fundraising efforts through car washes, pizza sales and raffle tickets would allow the project to make a hefty donation to a local organization and a day-long event on World Aid’s Day would satisfy the educational component through free HIV testing, speakers and testimonials from those who have the disease.
With the help of Marryshow’s close friends, the project raised almost $3,000 for the Children’s Home Society of Florida, an organization that helps families whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS.
The following year, Marryshow got her own Leaders in Residence students involved and made it their project. The chosen beneficiary since then has been The Center for Positive Connections, a facility in Miami Shores that provides various services like holistic health treatment, counseling and job assistance.
Former Executive Director James Konschnik said the center had been devastated by cuts in federal funding and the students’ donations have been used to fund scholarships for those who cannot afford to pay for the center’s services.
"We are so grateful to the students of FIU for their help," he said.
Now that Marryshow has graduated, students like Rachel Alexander have stepped up to ensure that B-HIVE continues to be successful.
Alexander, who helped out in homeless shelters throughout high school, said that volunteering locally motivates people because they see results.
“It isn’t just handing a check to a random person. You actually see the person’s face and the impact of what you’ve done,” she said.
Though she’s never known anyone with the disease, the project inspired her to take on more responsibility, such as leading a trip to the Gay Men’s Health Crisis center in New York last March. After spending a week with the HIV positive community, Alexander said it allowed her to put faces to a “human disease that affects us all.”
“It has no boundaries. Ballet dancers, multimillionaires, homeless people—it can happen to anyone,” she said.
Stephanie Hernandez, this year's B-HIVE director, got involved the same year as Alexander. She admits that she was swept up into the program by her resident assistant, Marryshow.
Her motivation changed after she saw her first B-HIVE testimonial. Though she does not remember the exact words anymore, she said she can still remember the woman’s emotion.
Alexander, who helped out in homeless shelters throughout high school, said that volunteering locally motivates people because they see results.
“It isn’t just handing a check to a random person. You actually see the person’s face and the impact of what you’ve done,” she said.
Though she’s never known anyone with the disease, the project inspired her to take on more responsibility, such as leading a trip to the Gay Men’s Health Crisis center in New York last March. After spending a week with the HIV positive community, Alexander said it allowed her to put faces to a “human disease that affects us all.”
“It has no boundaries. Ballet dancers, multimillionaires, homeless people—it can happen to anyone,” she said.
Stephanie Hernandez, this year's B-HIVE director, got involved the same year as Alexander. She admits that she was swept up into the program by her resident assistant, Marryshow.
Her motivation changed after she saw her first B-HIVE testimonial. Though she does not remember the exact words anymore, she said she can still remember the woman’s emotion.
“I could just tell by the look on her face that she was so grateful,” she said. “The center helps her and we help the center.”
In the past two years, the students have raised over $6,000 for the center.
Alexander and Hernandez are now roommates. Their room is overflowing with bees, the honorary mascot of the project. There are flyers with bees on them scattered on the floor, bee cutouts pasted to their doors and even plastic piggy banks painted with the black and yellow striped jacket of the insect.
Alexander and Hernandez are now roommates. Their room is overflowing with bees, the honorary mascot of the project. There are flyers with bees on them scattered on the floor, bee cutouts pasted to their doors and even plastic piggy banks painted with the black and yellow striped jacket of the insect.
Typically, students are only allowed to live in the Leaders in Residence hall for one year. But for the first time, student mentors can return and guide the new students in the community’s traditions.
Both women said they want the new residents to feel invested in the project. Hernandez said the hall is the core support for the program.
Though students have to juggle a lot with their responsibilities as committee members, Alexander said the bonus is connecting with hall mates in a deeper way than in other college dormitories.
Both women said they want the new residents to feel invested in the project. Hernandez said the hall is the core support for the program.
Though students have to juggle a lot with their responsibilities as committee members, Alexander said the bonus is connecting with hall mates in a deeper way than in other college dormitories.
"Working with peers who care, I've learned that a common goal is more important than anything else. It really brings people together," she said.
Rosemary Artigas, one of the new students in the hall, said the project is what initially drew her to live there.
"The idea that this hall dedicates itself to service of others in our community was amazing. I knew I wanted to be a part of that," she said.
Alexander said that the ultimate goal is to have it become a larger, campus-wide event and that there are some students interested in starting the project at the University of Miami.
Artigas, who has helped out at pizza sales, said the hard work is worth it because of the program’s potential growth.
“I just know that this will be huge one day and it’s kind of cool to know that we’ll be the founders,” she said with a smile.
It's Time for the Talk
Picture a South Florida retiree. What comes to mind?
Perhaps the smiling face of a woman knitting underneath a palm tree or maybe a man golfing with some buddies.
Now, picture them having unprotected sex.
I’m pretty sure lots of people twisted their faces in disgust or maybe just shook their heads in denial. Old people don’t have sex, right?
In a 2007 article in the LA Times, the over-50 crowd is a relatively small segment of the nation's at-risk group for sexually transmitted diseases. Approximately four times as many HIV diagnoses occurred in people ages 25 to 44 as in those 50 and older, according to a 2005 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Still, medical experts agree that older Americans often are among the most overlooked and, therefore, one of the more vulnerable populations.
Just ask Jane Fowler.
She was a 47 divorcee just trying to move on with her life. She dated men that she knew and didn’t think she had any cause to worry. She didn’t think it could happen to her.
At 55, she was diagnosed with HIV.
After the shocking news, she withdrew from family and friends. Then, after four years of hiding, she fought back and started speaking out about HIV prevention among older people.
Fowler’s story shows us that our own social discomfort is getting in the way of helping people live safer and healthier lives.
Becoming a “senior citizen” is a state of mind these days. Just because someone is retired doesn’t mean they’re dead.
Medicine is working miracles, in ways big and small, for these people. It’s keeping them alive longer, it’s making them stronger and, in the case of Viagra and Cialis— commonly used erectile dysfunction drugs—it’s making it even easier to have an extended sex life.
Growing up in a different generation with a different social view of sex is making it difficult to talk to the people who need to be educated the most.
Some who grew up in the 40s and 50s still think of it as a disease that only gay men get, as something that could never happen to them.
Even more heartbreaking, perhaps they just don’t know how to start the conversation. The baby boomers grew up in a conservative time when sex was a private matter, but it was rarely discussed. Certainly, they all felt safe when they were in a monogamous relationship.
Perhaps the smiling face of a woman knitting underneath a palm tree or maybe a man golfing with some buddies.
Now, picture them having unprotected sex.
I’m pretty sure lots of people twisted their faces in disgust or maybe just shook their heads in denial. Old people don’t have sex, right?
In a 2007 article in the LA Times, the over-50 crowd is a relatively small segment of the nation's at-risk group for sexually transmitted diseases. Approximately four times as many HIV diagnoses occurred in people ages 25 to 44 as in those 50 and older, according to a 2005 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Still, medical experts agree that older Americans often are among the most overlooked and, therefore, one of the more vulnerable populations.
Just ask Jane Fowler.
She was a 47 divorcee just trying to move on with her life. She dated men that she knew and didn’t think she had any cause to worry. She didn’t think it could happen to her.
At 55, she was diagnosed with HIV.
After the shocking news, she withdrew from family and friends. Then, after four years of hiding, she fought back and started speaking out about HIV prevention among older people.
Fowler’s story shows us that our own social discomfort is getting in the way of helping people live safer and healthier lives.
Becoming a “senior citizen” is a state of mind these days. Just because someone is retired doesn’t mean they’re dead.
Medicine is working miracles, in ways big and small, for these people. It’s keeping them alive longer, it’s making them stronger and, in the case of Viagra and Cialis— commonly used erectile dysfunction drugs—it’s making it even easier to have an extended sex life.
Growing up in a different generation with a different social view of sex is making it difficult to talk to the people who need to be educated the most.
Some who grew up in the 40s and 50s still think of it as a disease that only gay men get, as something that could never happen to them.
Even more heartbreaking, perhaps they just don’t know how to start the conversation. The baby boomers grew up in a conservative time when sex was a private matter, but it was rarely discussed. Certainly, they all felt safe when they were in a monogamous relationship.
Older women who are newly single, whether through divorce or a spouse’s death, don’t seem to be aware of the dangers when embarking upon their own new sex life. They figure menopause has taken away the worry of getting pregnant so there’s no need to wear a condom.
Even more disturbing, most doctors don’t think of it either. They just think their patient is getting old.
People are just uncomfortable and don’t want to talk to someone who could be their grandparent about having sex.
But it's happening. So it’s time we take notice and talk about it. It’s time for us to get over it. The elderly are having sex. And instead of dying of old age, AIDS is killing them.
Is our community truly willing to stand back and watch these people suffer because we’re uncomfortable with the idea of a simple conversation?
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