When Asha Molock was diagnosed with HIV in 2001, she did not know anything about Philadelphia FIGHT and its educational program, Project TEACH (Treatment Education Activists Combating HIV). While receiving care at Lankenau Hospital in 2002, Molock heard about the program from another person who was also HIV-positive. Molock enrolled in a class to learn more about being a peer educator for others living with HIV/AIDS.
“Walking in the doors of Philadelphia FIGHT, I just felt like I could let my guard down in the classroom,” the 66-year-old said. “We share the same experiences. It was like family to me. I felt very comfortable there.”
Project TEACH will celebrate its 20th anniversary Dec. 9 with an awards luncheon. For two decades, the program has provided information about activism, health care and prevention to individuals with HIV/AIDS.
Since its launch in 1996, TEACH has graduated more than 3,000 students from its classes, which run twice a week for eight weeks. The program eventually expanded to include different tiers in addition to the original Project TEACH. This includes TEACH Outside, Latino TEACH, Women’s TEACH, Youth TEACH, Frontline TEACH and Faithful TEACH. Each program includes varying class lengths and missions.
The anniversary celebration will feature a member of each class being honored for their commitment to TEACH’s mission. Molock, a 2002 graduate of the original Project TEACH, will be among the seven recognized graduates.
Molock said TEACH taught her how to read her lab reports, something she didn’t understand prior to taking classes.
“When you go to the doctor’s office, you don’t know anything about what’s going on and they don’t really have the time to sit down and explain it to you. You don’t really know what questions to ask,” Molock said. “From the information that I got from Project TEACH, I was able to have a conversation with my doctor and I noticed she started treating me differently when she found out I had information.”
Molock recalled one particular lesson she learned about medications from Project TEACH. After one of her medications gave her nightmares as a side effect, Molock’s doctor tried to change up her regimen. Rather than do a trial-and-error process with new medicine, Molock asked for a phenotype test so the doctors could test her resistance to different medications. Molock learned about this test from TEACH.
“I was empowered by [TEACH] to be more proactive in my health care and to be more meaningfully involved because when you can sit down and talk to your doctor about what you learned, they actually involve you more in your care,” Molock said.
Since graduating from TEACH, Molock has written a book called “Gaining Strength from Weakness: 101 Positive Thoughts for HIV Positive People.” This book began as messages she wrote to herself and stuck on her mirror. FIGHT, which Molock acknowledged in the front of her book, will give out the book at the luncheon.
FIGHT executive director Jane Shull refers to TEACH as the “heart and soul of FIGHT.”
“It feels really good that we’ve been able to do it for this long and keep it going,” Shull said. “People still want to come so it means we’ve managed to stay relevant after all of these years.”
Molock said being in this community is “empowering” and helps break any internal stigma.
“My hope is that Project TEACH will always be there for other men and women who continue to need support in the future,” Molock said.