September 7, 2007
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
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C2EA jumps right in! |
It was a typical Labor Day scene: A man repeatedly lifting and lowering a giggling little boy into a swimming pool on a hot day, surrounded by charmed onlookers. What wasn't simple was who they all were, and how they all got there: The man was Housing Works President and CEO Charles King, the little boy was Caleb Glover, the HIV-positive toddler who had been banned from that very pool two months ago, and the onlookers were activists from the Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA) who had traveled from all over the country to witness this swimming lesson.
"Watching Caleb swimming in the pool shows that stigma can be lifted and that we made a difference," said Serita Agnew, a 53-year old C2EA member who drove from Dallas. "When one HIV positive person is hurt or discriminated against, it hurts all of us."
Ken Zadnichek, the owner of the Wales West RV Resort in Silverhill, Alabama, outraged people living with HIV/AIDS and everyday folks across the nation in July when he banned Caleb from the pool, showers and other common areas of Wales West after he found out about Caleb's HIV status. The incident made national headlines, and when Zadnichek failed to fully apologize for his actions, C2EA began planning its Labor Day "family reunion," at Wales West to call attention to AIDS stigma. This week, it went off without a hitch. Around 60 members of the C2EA arrived from as far away as San Diego and Columbus Ohio, many traveling in all-night caravans from Nashville, Houston, Dallas, Washington D.C., Miami, for a day of camping, barbecuing, awareness-raising and, of course, swimming with Caleb, as his foster mother Silvia looked on.
"Whether or not we affected people's prejudices, and I seriously doubt we have changed Mr. Zadnichek in his heart, we've shown Alabama businesses that if they discriminate against people with HIV there will be a response that will be embarrassing to them," said Charles King, president and CEO of Housing Works, a member of the C2EA network.
Alabama AIDS organizations Alabama Cares and AIDS Alabama declined to participate in the family reunion, fearing that a confrontation could stir up ill-will in Southern Alabama. David Little, executive director of Alabama Cares, said that though he is glad his organization didn't participate, he applauds C2EA for its success.
"C2EA is in the position to do that type of advocacy," Little said. "We're trying to balance funders and the community. We can't take the risk of having a confrontational event."
Cannonball
After an early Labor Day breakfast of eggs, bacon and fruit the bleary C2EA travelers pulled on white shorts with the slogan "HIV+" on one butt cheek and "Campaign to End AIDS" on the other and began enjoying themselves at the RV resort. TV trucks and vans began arriving at 11 a.m., anticipating the noon arrival of the Glovers. About 15 minutes after Caleb and Silvia made it to the park, the pool party got underway.
"I'm really proud of Caleb," said Silvia Glover. "All I want for Caleb is to have a good time. All parents want their kids to be healthy and happy. Caleb might not be able to be healthy, but I'm going to make sure he's happy." Caleb's health is precarious because of complications from HIV and his medication.
The C2EA activists were determined to enjoy themselves on their own and Caleb's behalf, staging swimming races, dropping cannonballs and high-fiving the three-year-old celebrity in their midst. "I went to a new dentist a few weeks ago and he was trying to clean my teeth while standing what felt like a mile away from me," said Colleen Lyons from Houston. "What happened to Caleb happens to all of us on a smaller scale, just by living our lives." And unfortunately what Lyons experienced is all-too-common. A recent study stated that one-fourth of HIV patients report feeling stigma from their doctors.
Yvette Ogletree, 37, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2003 and came all the way from San Diego for the family reunion, remembers having the same fears Zadnichek has. "When I was diagnosed four years ago, I didn't know anyone with HIV. I didn't know I could touch people or that casual contact was safe," she said. "It's a terrible thought and I want to make sure others don't experience the same thing I do."
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King and Caleb make a splash |
After drying off (no problem in the Alabama heat), the activists gathered in a children's playground for lunch and a ceremony in honor of the Glovers and Zadnicheks. Texas C2EA president Byron Montgomery presented the Zadnicheks with a packet on HIV-transmission risk. Then Quintara Lane, 20, gave a powerful speech to Silvia, thanking her for her good work. "As someone who was prenatally infected, hearing what happened to Caleb hit close to home," she said. Lane was part of a group of five Miami youth who were prenatally infected who raised money through grants and bake sales to travel to Alabama.
Then Montgomery led the crowd in a chant of, "C2EA! C2EA! C2EA!" and "Caleb! Caleb! Caleb!" while the young boy played on the playground with the other children in attendance.
Unhappy campers
Despite the fact that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that the chance of HIV transmission through casual contact is "infinitesimal," Zadnichek told the Update on Labor Day that he still has concerns about "child on child transmission." While the CDC has documented a few rare cases where children have gotten HIV through blood contact of open wounds, these incidents have always occurred in extreme circumstances, such as a case where an HIV-positive mother had bloody lesions that were rubbed against her child . There is no record of HIV being transmitted during a one-time interaction between children. Though Zadnichek said he is not worried about adults transmitting HIV in the pool, he is still concerned about the chance of children transmitting the virus to each other. "You know how kids are. Climbing on top of each other, one bleeds, the other touches his cut," he said.
Zadnichek, his wife and staff were cordial to the C2EA visitors but Zadnichek admitted that he took issue with all the fuss the group was making. "In the South, that's not how we do things." He also still holds bitterness toward Mrs. Glover for "dividing the community." The two did not speak during the family reunion.
"I wish no ill will towards Mr. Zadnichek, and if he talks to me, I'll be nice, but I don't think I'll be approaching him," Mrs. Glover said. Zadnichek never approached Glover. "It was never about us discriminating against people with AIDS. It was about wanting to have the information to help Caleb and the other children," Zadnichek told the Update during a ride on his extensive "light railway" train that circles Wales West. "And the Americans with Disabilities Act won't even let us ask some questions. I believe that's wrong." While Little believed Zadnichek's fears are unfounded, he agreed with his calls for more information on child to child transmission, and Little said is beginning a campaign to work on getting the CDC to show the lack of child to child transmission cases.
And not all park visitors were happy about C2EA's presence. "To be honest with you, having people with HIV in the pool scares me," said camper Ted Peaden, from Pensacola, Florida. "One of my sons has an immunodeficiency disorder and he constantly has open wounds. I wouldn't risk having him in the pool."
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Zadnichek minds the gap |
The family reunion also generated largely favorable media coverage in Southern Alabama, including stories on local ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX channels, as well as in the Mobile Press-Register.
Christine Campbell, Housing Works director of national advocacy, helped organize the event, and she said that mixed reactions to it were to be expected. C2EA's four-pronged mission is universal health care; research; prevention, and ending stigma around HIV/AIDS, and Campbell says the last issue can be the hardest to address. "Sometimes working on stigma gets short-changed, because how can you do it?" she said. "Universal access? Easy to grasp. Dispelling stigma is a hard goal to achieve, with unclear benchmarks. But it's just as important as the others."
By the end of the day, it was very clear, however, that one major benchmark had been reached. As she watched the Campaign to End AIDS activists frolicking with Caleb, Mrs. Glover remarked. "It is wonderful to know that we are not alone."
Photos by Laurel Golio