AIDS in America: Advocates try to help black victims

from the Delaware Online

We talk so much about AIDS in Africa, here is an article on AIDS in America. The story touches on how it effects people in poverty here in the states. - Kale

By HIRAN RATNAYAKE,

Some blacks engage in risky behavior -- such as unprotected sex -- because they believe HIV/AIDS strikes only gay white men. Others say the risks don't faze them because their lives of poverty can't get much worse.

These are reasons cited by advocates in the ongoing struggle among blacks with HIV/AIDS.

They say one of every two Americans infected with HIV or AIDS is black. In Delaware, about 67 percent of the people with it are black.

"You get to a point where you don't care. There's a lack of hope. The future is bleak," said the Rev. Christopher Bullock, pastor of Canaan Baptist Church, a black congregation with an AIDS ministry. Despite the grim news, a positive trend is taking place in Delaware. The number of new HIV/AIDS cases among blacks in the First State dropped from 226 in 2001 to 113 last year.

About $1.3 million in federal money was used last year to support a dozen state organizations in the fight against HIV/AIDS. That was almost $300,000 more than was given in 2002. And nearly 7,500 HIV tests were given to blacks in Delaware last year -- more than the amount given to all other races combined.

But the infection rate among blacks would be closer to that of whites if resources were aimed at eliminating poverty, advocates say.

"If you teach people who are impoverished how to get out of poverty, that gives them hope and that breaks the cycle of impoverishment," Bullock said. "The money needs to be focused on poverty in Delaware."

Renee Beaman has seen the budget of her organization -- Beautiful Gate Outreach Center of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington -- expand to $169,000 last year, compared to $60,000 in 2002.

And more people will get HIV tests if the center's budget continues to increase, she said.

But she said the community also needs interconnected programs to address poverty. She is sure that some of the women she counsels, who are reluctant to ask their partners to use condoms, would take a stand if they weren't struggling to survive.

"If someone feels good about themselves, they'll be less likely to engage in risky behavior," she said.

When people have something to lose, they're more likely to heed warnings, said Bobby Dillard, an outreach worker for Brandywine Counseling, a substance abuse treatment agency.

"How you live determines how you care about yourself," he said. "Most people who have a decent job, invest in their homes, invest in the things that a job provides, they won't make the same risky decisions. But if you ain't got that job, and that steady income, it's not as important."

Link to full article. May expire in future.