Combating health disparities is at the core of our mission at Mazzoni Center. Our history as an organization is deeply interwoven with the history of the AIDS crisis. As the disease has evolved, so has our approach to prevention, testing and treatment. We work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and the Health Department here in Philadelphia to ensure our approaches are reflective of the latest data, and are reaching the people who are at the greatest risk.
We know that men who have sex with men represent more than half of new HIV infections in the U.S.; within that group, CDC and local data tell us that MSM of color are infected at highly disproportionate rates, with young men of color (ages 13-24) being at the highest risk. In 2010, for example, African-Americans accounted for an estimated 44 percent of all new HIV infections among adults and adolescents, despite representing only 14 percent of the U.S. population. More than one-third of newly diagnosed MSM in 2010 were MSM of color.
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is Feb. 7, an annual national HIV testing and treatment community-mobilization initiative, with organizers planning activities and events in thousands of locales around the U.S. The goal is to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment within African-American communities.
What can you do?
• Get educated. Learn how to protect yourself from HIV/AIDS. Remember that HIV is 100-percent preventable.
• Get tested. Knowing your HIV status can save lives! This is particularly critical for those who are sexually active and those at high risk of contracting HIV.
• Get involved. Raise awareness about HIV in your community. Donate your time and support organizations that work in African-American communities.
• Get treated. If you are living with HIV or are newly diagnosed, get connected to treatment and care services. Seeing a doctor and receiving care, and taking prescribed HIV medicines, helps individuals stay healthy and reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to others.
One of the biggest challenges we face here in Philadelphia is the high number of individuals who are HIV-positive but unaware of their status. So our goal with the Feb. 7 event is to reach as many people as we can by taking the message of testing, and the opportunity to get tested, directly to the areas where people live, work and travel every day. If we can encourage more people to get tested and know their status, we can not only improve their individual health outcomes, but we can have an impact on overall transmission rates that will benefit entire communities.
In observance of the occasion, on Feb. 7, Mazzoni Center will have our Mobile Testing Unit parked outside three stations along SEPTA’s Broad Street Subway line, as well as at Philly AIDS Thrift (Fifth and Bainbridge streets) throughout the day and evening, in an effort to make testing accessible to as many people as possible. Members of our Prevention and Outreach team will offer free, rapid HIV testing — featuring the 60-second INSTI test — and counseling from 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. at Olney station, noon-2:30 p.m. at Erie station, 3-5:30 p.m. at Girard station and 6-8:30 p.m. at Philly AIDS Thrift. Anyone who gets tested will receive two SEPTA tokens.
Our Washington West Project location, 1201 Locust St., offers free, rapid HIV testing and STD screening on a walk-in basis each week from Monday-Saturday. On Feb. 7, the Washington West Project will be open for testing from 9 a.m.-1 a.m. the following morning (with testing from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. offered by our friends at The Colours Organization). Free HIV testing is also offered at health centers and community-based organizations throughout the city and suburbs. If you live in Philadelphia, you can use your cell phone to find the nearest testing location. Simply send a text message with “PA” plus your five-digit ZIP code to phone number 36363.
Beyond Feb. 7, Mazzoni Center has a number of programs and prevention efforts targeted to men of color. Since I joined the staff in July, I’ve been primarily involved with The Real Impact Project, or T.R.I.P., a program that specifically targets MSM of color, as well as transwomen of color who have sex with men, and is based on the Social Network Strategy, which recognizes the importance of peer influence in impacting behavior. Through T.R.I.P., we work to engage individual “ambassadors,” whose goal is to support, refer and empower their friends and associates regarding prevention and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and overall sexual health and wellbeing.
The program has been evolving over the past two years, and we are working now to build a Community Advisory Board, which will help us plan bimonthly social events to celebrate MSM of color and our trans-identified sisters, build community, encourage testing and empower our individual members to take ownership of their health.
We feel it’s important to create spaces where men of color of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life, can talk openly about their lives and the factors influencing their behavior — including cultural, social and religious norms, racism and homophobia, HIV/AIDS and relationship dynamics.
The reality is that even in 2014, many MSM of color face an extra burden of racial discrimination, cultural barriers to health care and social stigma related to their sexual orientation or behavior. Through educating our community about the risks of HIV infection, engaging individuals to act as agents of positive change and empowering them to take control of their health and wellbeing, we can begin to address this health crisis that is threatening too many of our brothers (and sisters).
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a good reminder of the work that needs to be done to reach these goals — not just on Feb. 7 but throughout the year.
For a full list of locations offering free HIV testing on Feb. 7, go to: www.nationalblackaidsday.org.
To learn more about T.R.I.P. and how you can get involved, contact Vernon Brown at 215-563-0652 ext. 204 or [email protected].
Vernon Brown is the Community Health Recruitment/T.R.I.P. Coordinator at Mazzoni Center.