There is a need to reduce stigmas surrounding HIV through educating the community, said a Phoenix LGBTQ activist.
Patrick Foley, a program coordinator at One N Ten — an organization that works with LGBTQ youth and empowers them to make healthy choices — said most of the stigmas attached to HIV are toward members of the LGBTQ community.
Foley graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus in LGBT studies. As a millennial, he felt the need to create a change in the Phoenix LGBTQ community.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 70.9 percent of those diagnosed with HIV in Arizona were as identified as men who have sex with men.
One N Ten is working in partnership with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, Touchstone Behavioral Health and Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center at ASU. The partnership initiated plans to introduce comprehensive sexual education classes.
“The classes will make sure that people have the same access to safe sex regardless of their gender identity or sexuality,” Foley said.
People commonly believe HIV is contracted from sexual relations alone, but it can also be contracted through childbirth, breastfeeding and shared needles for drug use, Foley said.
“HIV stigmas come from a lack of education and understanding,” Foley said. “We need to be culturally and linguistically appropriate about the disease.”
People need to know that HIV affects everyone and does not look at racial or socioeconomic background, Foley said.
One N Ten also hosts summer camps for HIV positive youth to help them learn about themselves, their status and community.
The organization hosted its inaugural youth retreat for 13 HIV positive youth in 2015. The three-day retreat gave them an opportunity to share their experiences and challenges with HIV.
“Hearing their stories was life changing,” Foley said. “It showed me that we need to look at HIV as a world epidemic, especially with the youth.”
Foley said it was his life mission to reduce stigmas around those living with HIV because of the significant impact the youth retreat had on his life.
“This is a full community issue,” Foley said. “We need to reduce the stigmas across the board and not just in certain communities.”
The Phoenix based organization provides a health and wellness program aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS stigma among young people. The program also provides testing and prevention measures through comprehensive sexual education.
HIV stigmas had a significant impact on the youth at One N Ten. Some of the stigmatized LGBTQ youth left school to escape the discomfort brought upon them by their peers in public schools.
However, One N Ten has created an academic and workforce development program to empower the stigmatized youth. The online academic program has helped students obtain high school diplomas, and the workforce development program has equipped them with professional skills to apply for jobs.
Stacey Jay Cavaliere, the director of programs at One N Ten, helped create the workforce development program to address unemployment in the LGBTQ community.
“The youth in our program didn’t feel safe in the public schools,” Cavaliere said. “They trust our staff and have developed great friendships with them. The youth center is their sacred place.”
One N Ten has also worked with Aunt Rita’s Foundation and contributed to major events that promoted the LGBTQ community and reducing HIV stigmas. Aunt Rita’s hosts family oriented events such as the RED Brunch, an annual fundraiser event that celebrates the work of people in the HIV/AIDS community, as well as the AIDS Walk, an international event where people walk in unity to show their support for the fight against AIDS.
The stigmas around HIV prevent people from getting tested and having honest conversations with their partners, Glen Spencer, the executive director of Aunt Rita’s Foundation, said.
Spencer was diagnosed with advanced AIDS in 2002.
“I’m truly one of the fortunate ones,” Spencer said. “Through the love support of my family, I received excellent medical care and was able to turn a corner.”
Young people need to reshape their thinking about the disease because AIDS does not discriminate, Spencer said.
“People’s fear of the disease makes them ashamed to talk about it openly,” Spencer said. “The lack of honest conversations creates a greater chance for the spread of HIV.”
Contact the reporter at btfu@asu.edu
