August 3, 2007
FEISTY IN FLORIDA
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Oldham, Hess and Perez all spoke at the Conference on Latinos and AIDS in Miami |
The effects of drug use on Latinos, the AIDS crisis in Puerto Rico and the struggles of undocumented immigrants were some of the hot topics at the 4th annual Conference on Latinos and AIDS. "The overall tone of the conference was hopeful," said Mary Hess, the president and founder of the gathering. "There's not a lot of promising news, though, particularly surrounding immigration issues."
About 400 health care professionals met in Miami on July 30 and 31 for the event, and although the meeting had a clinical bent, the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) and Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA) were on hand to remind attendees of the critical role grassroots activism will play in stopping the epidemic among Latinos. The presence of actress and passionate AIDS activist Rosie Perez didn't hurt.
"We get tired and frustrated from the apathy. We must recommit every morning. We're all brothers and sisters in this fight," said the star of Fearless and White Men Can't Jump. (See the Update's full interview with Perez below).
But the woman who made the most headlines was Rhonda Hagler, medical director of New Jersey-based HIV/AIDS clinic Proceed, who presented a 2004 CDC survey showing that black and Latino men are more likely than others to become HIV-positive through injection drug use and other risky behaviors related to any type of drug use. "Drugs, whether you inject them, inhale them or take them orally, alter your judgment and put you at risk for HIV," Hagler said.
The perfect storm
Housing Works President and CEO Charles King gave a presentation, "The Future of the AIDS Movement—Lessons From New Orleans," in which he compared the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to the AIDS crisis. King noted that the Latino population in New Orleans has risen from three percent to 30 percent after Katrina, as low-wage, undocumented workers help rebuild the city. Those workers lack access to health care, earn low wages and experience unsafe working conditions, potential precursors "to a poverty-locked Latino underclass and the perfect storm for a concentrated AIDS epidemic among Latinos in New Orleans," King said. King also spoke about the crisis in Puerto Rico: "One Puerto Rican AIDS activist described the situation in Puerto Rico like this: 'It's just like Katrina all over again.'"
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King, Quintara Lane,Chakena Conway and Veselin Pisarev spreading the word in Miami |
In his speech to the gathering, NAPWA president Frank Oldham, Jr. emphasized the importance of making sure Latinos are engaged in their own care and advocacy, which means developing linguistically and culturally appropriate materials. NAPWA is working with POZ magazine to translate its materials into Spanish.
"This conference is really an opportunity for HIV providers to improve their skills and make contact with hard-to-reach populations like Latinos and get them effective treatment," Oldham said. "Barriers to testing due to language or cultural differences will increase the infection rate because people do not know their status."
Housing Works' Christine Campbell hosted a well-received break-out session at which she discussed how to mobilize clients with two dozen health care providers. "A woman from Wisconsin said one of her biggest concerns was there was a lot of talk about the men-who-have-sex-with-men community—a down-low type situation. We talked about how you start with an issue and motivate people," Campbell said. "Small successes show people you can make a difference."