HIV rates

[Homicidalheathen]

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

AIDS rates double for Michigan youth

Delores Flynn / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Patrons lined the Off Broadway East bar sipping colorful concoctions as the club filled with partygoers late on a Wednesday night.

Steps away from a man dancing to R&B singer Omarion's "Ice Box," three health workers sat tucked in a corner at a table passing out condoms, lubricants, and literature about STDs and HIV/AIDS. Theirs is a late-night mission to deter partygoers from unsafe sexual practices that could result in a deadly disease.

"They make me feel comfortable talking about stuff because they are meeting people where they are. If I decide to do something sexual when I leave the club, I know condoms are readily available. It's a great resource that has probably saved my life," Detroiter Tyrone Snites, 19, said of the Ferndale-based Midwest Aids Prevention Project that does nightclub outreach to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

The epidemic is much worse nationwide than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously estimated and it's growing at a troubling rate among youth and young adults in Metro Detroit.

In Michigan, where an estimated 18,000 are living with HIV/AIDS, the rate for those ages 13-24 has almost doubled from 5.7 to 9.7 cases per 100,000 residents from 2002-2006, based on Michigan Department of Community Health data.

The CDC previously estimated about 40,000 new HIV cases each year. But better tracking technology has raised that by 40 percent to 56,300 new cases in 2006, according to a recent report by the Journal of the American Medical Association. More than a third of new infections are people ages 13-29. Experts attribute the continuing crisis to the mindset that youth think they are infallible. Effective HIV/AIDS treatments that prolong life have been blamed for partly lessening the awareness of the epidemic and contributing to the rise, experts say.

A decrease in federal funding for sex education programs also has been shifted to abstinence-only messages from the U.S. government leaving less money to raise awareness.

"The number of youth infections is disappointing but unfortunately it's not surprising," said David Coulter, executive director of the Michigan Aids Fund that provides HIV/AIDS education.

"A lot of the HIV/AIDS awareness that happened in the early part of the epidemic in the late '80s and '90s happened before these kids were born. We've done a much better job of providing care and treatment for those who have become infected but we don't do enough to educate people on how to prevent the virus in the first place," said Coulter, whose organization has programs that push discussions about youth sexuality.

"To reach someone 13 or 14 you have to have uncomfortable but critical conversations in schools, at the dinner table, and in recreation centers to help keep kids safe. And that's not happening as often as it should."

That's what drives Wayne Stallworth to reach out to the community through MAPP's nightclub program passing out condoms and literature. The group gives away some 200 condom kits twice a week including instructions on how to use them

"As people come over and take items, we strike up conversations that encourage them to practice safe sex and get tested for HIV. When people know better they do better," said Stallworth, a 23-year-old HIV prevention specialist. "We're here to try to help change behaviors."

Funding has shrunk

But funding is needed for HIV prevention and the pot has shrunk with a national shift from healthy sexuality programs to abstinence during the current presidential administration.

According to the CDC, the country's AIDS prevention budget hovers around $700 million.

Roughly 5 percent is used toward HIV prevention programming, half the amount used about a decade ago.

MAPP gets about 60 percent of its funding from the federal government.

The program's overall funding was reduced from $1.2 million a decade ago to $750,000 this year, according to Craig Covey, chief executive officer of MAPP, which provides HIV/AIDS programs and counseling.

As a result billboards with messages like "I'll see you at the club tonight -- AIDS" are no longer seen across southeastern Michigan including along the Southfield freeway.

Schools criticized

Covey, Ferndale's mayor, also believes school districts could do a better job.

"Schools statewide are supposed to provide a comprehensive HIV program but it's an inadequate and spotty patchwork at best of different programs based on where you live and the school resources."

Damian Gardner of Detroit said the sex education curriculum at Cass Tech High School is not as good as it could be.

"It doesn't allow people to reach out and really get information about HIV testing and other stuff. Teachers mention condoms but they don't demonstrate how to use one. All they say is use a condom and you should be OK," said Gardner, 15, who had his first HIV scare when a boyfriend told him he was infected after a month of dating. Gardner tested HIV negative.

Emily Lundgren oversees health education for Southfield Schools, which tries to educate students on risky behaviors. But topics like homosexuality and related risks are not covered in Southfield and many other districts.

Addressing the stigmas

Health departments agree it takes a comprehensive approach to address the stigmas of poverty, racism, sexism and homophobia, which are associated with the disease in some communities. "So you really have to gear prevention and intervention to specific groups, particularly kids who have this sense that they are infallible," said Candice Jemison, acting director for Wayne County Disease Control.

Stacey Porter, 24, said contracting HIV was the farthest thing from her mind in college.

"They say it's supposed to be one of the best periods of your life and I was truly living it up. If a guy didn't have a condom, it was no biggie because in my mind it was someone else who dies of AIDS, not me. Right?" the Sterling Heights resident said. "Plus you only hear about infected overseas so you kind of put it out of your mind. Now I have it and (I'm) paying the price."

"The good news-bad news is that drugs today keep people alive longer so less people are dying of AIDS in this country. So kids aren't seeing celebrities like Magic Johnson battling with the disease. But back when Rock Hudson or Freddie Mercury of Queen died from AIDS it heightened the awareness. Many people think the crisis is over and infections continue to rise so education is crucial," Coulter added.

The Rev. Lawrence Foster of Calvary Baptist Church promotes HIV/AIDS education from the pulpit .

"Other clergy may not agree with me but from the Christian perspective ministry is supposed to be holistic and help with issues that improve quality of life. So it's part of our duty to be engaged in this process because HIV is a preventable disease so I want to provide my congregation and the community with information," he said.

LaTasha Booth agrees that speaking out is important and is dedicated to sharing how she contracted the virus about eight years ago. The Eastpointe resident speaks about three times a month at churches, schools and community groups through the Michigan Aids Fund speaker's bureau program.

"No one told me that the amount of and level of heartache and pain and tears that I was going to shed through my young life was going to be as a result of me giving my body to someone else. Those things were not taught to me," the 30-year old recently told a group of children ages 10-16 at Spiritual Israel Church.

"I'd only had five partners in my life ... so when a man said he loved me, I believed it and didn't protect myself," she said.

She took the children back to when she learned the sad news.

Booth said she thought HIV was a "gay, white man's disease; injected drug users or prostitutes" got it. "I am none of that so I already knew what my results would be. Right? Wrong. ... I found out I was HIV positive on April 10, 2000."