Aids in Rural America
We have been living with AIDS since 1981, we began to hear about cases of rare cancers and illnesses in people whose immune systems were nearly destroyed. Scientists have now dated the virus back to 1959. We first began testing for the virus in 1985. As a society, we live with the impact that AIDS has on public health, medical care, law, government, and employment. As individuals, we live with the impact that it has on our personal lives-on family, friends, and ourselves. If we are to slow down the spread of HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) we must educate ourselves and our families and encourage them to act on their knowledge.
You might think this does not concern you- it only happens in bigger cities and to gay men. This is not true. Everyone at some point in their lives will come into contact with the virus by either becoming infected or knowing someone who is infected. This disease is not prejudice. It affects persons of all color and all sexual orientation. It does not matter who we are but what we do that puts us at risk for infection. Over the past few years there has been a growing number in women, teens, and the elderly that are becoming infected with HIV. AIDS is the sixth leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 24. It is estimated that by the year 2000, ten million children under the age of 10 will be orphaned due to this virus. We cannot close our eyes and pretend this cannot happen to our families or our communities. We need to educate our children: we need to know the facts.
What is HIV? What is AIDS?
How do people get infected?
How do people not get infected?
How do we prevent HIV infection?
By knowing the answer to these four questions we can help stop the spread of HIV and/or AIDS. The only 100% safe effective way not to become infected with the virus is through abstinence. Abstinence is not always a reality for many of us. We need to know how to protect ourselves. No one deserves to become infected with this virus. Persons who are infected feel isolated and all alone. Many of them have not told their families or friends due to the fear they might reject them. This fear is fed by ignorance of persons and communities about the virus. We all deserve the right to be treated with dignity and without discrimination. This virus is not spread from person to person by casual everyday contact nor is it spread through the air or in the water. The virus cannot live outside the human body. Your skin is the toughest barrier against the virus.
Persons with HIV look and feel healthy most of the time. Someone who is infected with the virus can take up to 30 pills a day. The person can spend anywhere from $100 to $3000 a month on medication alone.
I deal with the virus every day as a case manager for the Ryan White CARE Consortium, a federally funded program that assists persons who are HIV positive and/or have AIDS. We help them financially and also provide case management services. We cover 16 counties in our consortium: Effingham, Jasper, Shelby, Clay, Clark, Cumberland, Marion, Moultrie, Wayne, Wabash, Edgar, Edwards, Lawrence, Richland and Crawford. If you would like more information on the Ryan White CARE Consortium you can call at (217) 347-7179 and ask to speak to myself or Sheryl Packer. You do not need to give your name.