TIME TO DINE

In September I sat down with Johanna Haynes, Executive Director of Careteam, the local HIV and AIDS service organization for Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg counties, to discuss the state of the disease and its ever-changing effects on the gay community. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) Surveillance Report, there were 52,878 new HIV infections in 45 states and the District of Columbia for 2006, a 48 percent increase from the previous year. Although the 2005 report covered seven less states, the numbers are alarming. Marjorie Hill, Chief Executive Officer of Gay Men's Health Crises (GMHC) told 365gay.com, "These devastating numbers reinforce what we have known for quite some time: that HIV prevention is under-funded and hamstrung by ideological restrictions that force us to fight this epidemic with one hand tied behind our back."

Nationally, new cases among young gay men, those between the ages of 18-25, continue to be on the rise. Haynes and I talked a little more this week about the rising problem and the economic state of AIDS service organizations. Careteam serves around 500 people annually out of the average of 1,700 people diagnosed with HIV or AIDS in our area. Out of these 500 people, about 300 have no insurance, about 125 have some form of Medicaid and about 75 have good insurance that provides for most of their needs. In addition to that number, there are an estimated 300-400 people that have good income with good insurance and do not rely on local agencies for assistance. That still leaves a huge number of people, roughly 1,000 that are not getting help. In addition, there is the expected large number of people who are not tested for HIV regularly.

Complacency toward the disease is still a major problem. In the past, you would hear people say they were dying of AIDS. Today you here people use the expression living with HIV, which results in many young people not realizing the full impact of HIV on their lives and the lives of others around them. The adverse effect of the positive strides in HIV treatment is leading to a new generation of unsafe sex and ignorance toward the disease.

Then you have the moral stigma associated with the disease, especially in smaller towns like our own. It makes HIV a difficult thing to face. Many people in our area are not even comfortable coming out of the closet, with the fear of losing family contacts or worse yet, losing jobs and homes. If you're already afraid of being honest about who you are, the fear of HIV can be even worse. This Southern closet dilemma results in people not getting the care they need and unsafe sexual activity.

And don't forget the mighty dollar. Much like the moral stigma that exists for those living with HIV, the same exists when it comes to shelling out tax dollars to the homeland HIV problem. In late March, the U.S. House voted to triple more than $10 billion a year U.S. humanitarian spending on fighting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa and other stricken areas of the world. About $41 billion of the $50 billion over five years would be devoted to AIDS. I'm not saying this isn't a great and necessary thing. This package is credited with saving more than 1 million lives in Africa alone and is the largest U.S. investment ever against a single disease. In 2007, 33 million people worldwide were living with HIV and AIDS, according to a report put out by the United Nations. But, as new infections are on the rise in the U.S. funding for prevention at the CDC has dropped 19 percent under the Bush-Cheney administration, according to GMHC. It seems that the moral stigma horse rides again making it much easier to think of the problem as being elsewhere in a poverty-stricken area than in our own neighborhoods.

We must get beyond our moral stigmas, our ignorance, our prejudices and look at the problem with the strength that such a disease requires. People living with HIV exist all around us in our communities. It's not just a result of poverty or drug use. It is something that could effect every one of us, including you. There should be no stigma when it comes to the well-being of people - gay, straight, black, white, hispanic, etc. We must never forget that the fight against HIV and AIDS is one that transcends all boundaries, just like the disease itself.

Careteam's signature fundraising event, Dining with Friends, will take place throughout the Grand Strand on Saturday, April 26. The evening consists of dinner parties throughout the area, followed by a huge after party at the Myrtle Beach Train Depot. For more information or if you'd still like to throw a dinner party call Careteam at 236-9000.

Until next week, have fun and be safe.

-Chris Rudisill, Weekly Surge