Councilwoman-elect Rebecca Williams should be commended for posting HIV/AIDS statistics in response to the mayor’s attempt to cover up this information. Click here to see her blog post.
As former Schools Superintendent Larry Leverett pointed out during his tenure, you cannot deal with a problem unless you acknowledge and name it. There once was a time in Plainfield when officials and the community applied this concept to HIV/AIDS.
In the early 1980s, understanding of the disease was limited and even health professionals behaved in a way that would be unthinkable today. When one of the first AIDS patients entered Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center, Plainfield activists found out his food tray was being left outside his door by fearful staff. Through a campaign of awareness and action, activists increased both common sense and compassion among those who were supposed to be caring for him and others. They visited often and a church group came to sing Christmas carols. They advocated with medical staff for more education and understanding all around and prevailed in the end.
Plainfield also had one of the most publicized instances of pediatric AIDS, a young girl under the care of Dr. James Oleske. Her story, told simply, dispelled many notions about the disease as it affected children.
The city became part of an HIV/AIDS consortium that sought Ryan White funding and marked World AIDS Day each December 1. Plainfield Action Services had a wall of posters with personal messages from those affected by HIV/AIDS. I created one for my sister Jane, who died of what was then called AIDS-related Complex, or ARC. I also did a guest sermon at my church and wrote a Speaking Out piece for the Courier News about Jane.
Of course, all the activism in the world could not stop the losses through the 1980s, as scientists struggled to understand the disease, its vectors and its treatment. Plainfield lost many of its most enthusiastic new residents, gay men who appreciated its marvelous housing stock and who, at personal expense, had saved many a building from ruin. The emerging gay community, both men and women, took a leadership role in raising funds for research on HIV/AIDS and quietly cared for and celebrated the lives of its own.
As the HIV/AIDS population shifted to affect other groups more strongly, especially men and women of color, new awareness and education campaigns had to be developed. It is unconscionable that the city’s first black female mayor would seek to suppress information on HIV/AIDS, given the newest statistics on those affected. Rebecca Williams is properly publishing the data on her blog and urging community involvement to address prevention.
--Bernice Paglia
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And not to take away from the toll taken by HIV/Aids, but what about other STDs and drug resistant strains of Tuberculosis and the increase in Hepatitus C?
ReplyDeletePoverty,drugs, disease and violence have always seemed to go hand in hand!
I think her asking the camera to get turned off is NOT exactly the same as the accusations of trying to suppress the information, come on you two. She may have been misguided in her reasons versus legal obligation but she was there to share the information that night.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Blackdog--we should not forget about other STDs, as well as Hep C--they are running rampant, especially (once again) among young people, who continue to have unprotected sex and indulge in other forms of risky behavior. We need a significant increase in sexual education and new awareness campaigns, because it is clear that what is in place now isn't working. Blackdog is of course right in the assessment of how poverty links to other seemingly intractable social ills--until we deal with the root issue of poverty in our country, the other ills cannot be as meaningfully addressed.
ReplyDeleteRebecca