HIT begins women's HIV workshops and support

When you educate a man, you educate an individual.

When you educate a woman, you educate a nation.

--African proverb

The Health Issues Taskforce (HIT) has recently initiated a new HIV prevention program for women. This program focuses on secondary prevention: encouraging decision-making around HIV antibody testing, offering support for those who decide to be tested, and providing prevention and wellness education for women who test positive.

Women who participated in previous HIT programs identified a number of barriers that prevent women from being tested and seeking early care for HIV infection. The new program's four components were designed to address those barriers.

"Should I Be Tested'' workshops offer a context in which women can assess their personal risk, examine the issues surrounding HIV antibody testing, and help them make informed decisions about whether or not to take the test.

Individual support for testing will be offered to those who decide to take the test. Trained "comrades" or "sisters" will accompany women to the test site, and offer support while they await the test results.

Referral to Taskforce direct services will be made for those who test positive. Prevention education will be provided to those who test negative.

Ongoing wellness education will offer individually focused information and support to women with HIV, as well as their partners and their families.

"The program grew out of a need to address prevention issues beyond safer sex," said Chrisse France, HIT's director of education. "In spite of the recognized values of knowing one's HIV antibody status and of early intervention for care of HIV infection,

many women who may be at risk do not utilize anonymous testing sites," she said.

According to France and Doris Willis, the project coordinator, most women in Cleveland who know they are infected have learned of their status "involuntarily" through other contexts, such as at hospitals when they are receiving care for another illness. Willis noted a more troubling situation "when a child or lover is diagnosed and the woman is then faced both with her own HIV status and the trauma of dealing with her partner's or child's infection."

The services are being offered in English or Spanish. For more information or to schedule a workshop, contact France or Willis at HIT by calling 621-0766.

Group to

discuss kids at Pride Festival

The days of having to pawn our children off on relatives and ex-spouses while we engage in Pride Week activities may be nearing an end. A committee is being formed to discuss how to successfully incorporate the children of community members into the festival and the week's events. A discussion and planning meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 3, at 7 pm, at the offices of the Gay People's Chronicle, 2206 W. Superior Viaduct., in Cleveland.

The meeting is being sponsored by Mike Radice and Peg Keating. Peg and Mike are therapists with Moore and Associates, a private psychological practice serving the Cleveland area.

Questions about the meeting should be directed to Mike Radice at 524-7772.

Presbyterians celebrate third anniversary

The Northern Ohio Chapter of Presbyterians for Lesbian-Gay Concerns will celebrate its third anniversary on Saturday, March 6. Over the past three years PLGC has been working within the Greater Cleveland gay community to provide support to gay, lesbian and bisexual persons, and promote dialogue and education with local Presbyterian churches for full inclusiveness in our denomination.

The entire gay community is invited to join with the Northern Chapter of PLGC to celebrate this anniversary. An evening of food, fellowship and worship is planned. At 5:30 pm there will be a pot luck supper, at 8:00 pm there will be a "Service of Worship For Empowerment," and at 9:00 pm a deserted reception.

Not only is March 6 the local PLGC Chapter's third anniversary, it is also the date when the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr was supposed to be installed as co-pastor of the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, N.Y. The recent ruling of the Presbyterian Permanent Judicial Commission against her installation as well as against the certification of candidate Lisa Larges by the Twin Cities Area Presbyterian Presbytery has led to a lot of anger and frustration. The "high court" decisions are fortunately giving birth to renewed and concentrated efforts to ensure the full membership rights of all people, especially gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in the church.

A Coalition of Presbyterians for Loving Justice has been formed including Presbyterians for Lesbian-gay Concerns and members of More Light Churches. A "Service of Worship for Empowerment" is being conducted simultaneously by congregations and worshipping communities throughout the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. This service

will celebrate the ministry of all people, especially lesbian, gay and bisexual people, and it will be a time to recommission our struggle for justice-love and more light.

This service of worship will truly be a highlight of N. Ohio PLGC's anniversary celebration. All members of the gay, lesbian and bisexual community are cordially invited to join with PLGC at this time as a recommissioning of all of our struggle for justice-love.

All events will be held at Forest Hill Church, Presbyterian, 3031 Monticello Blvd. (at Lee Road) in Cleveland Heights. For more information call Rich at 382-0507.

Games group celebrates 3rd anniversary

Do you enjoy playing a lively game of Pictionary, a challenging game of Trivial Persuit, or a mindless game of UNO? If you do, then you should come to the Center (W. 29th at Detroit) at 7 pm on the first and third Sundays of the month. This month marks the third anniversary of the Board Games Group, and they are always looking for new people to join in the fun and fellowship.

Started three years ago as a low cost, alternative social activity, the group has been through periods of turnouts as high as 13 and as low as 1. The emphasis is on having fun playing the games and enjoying each others company. Participants are encouraged to bring goodies to munch on, but it is not at all required.

February 19, 1993

AIDS plan

Continued from Page 1

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

providers throughout the country by creating 24 regional meetings. Each region could then determine their own priorities in the areas of research, care, education, discrimination, and leadership as part of the national picture.

The Cleveland regional meeting was one of the largest, comparable to New York's, and it was planned in just 31⁄2 weeks by a dedicated ad hoc committee. The planning committee included Rev. Bill Johnson of the United Church of Christ; Bob Plona of Kaiser-Visiting Nurse Association; John Nolan of the AIDS Committee; Mistinguette Smith-Malone ofthe AIDS Initiative Project; Joseph Interrante, executive director of the Health Issues Taskforce; Nickie Antonio and Minerva Perez Vargas from the West Side Women's Center; Ron Evans, Scott Bibbs and John Pugh, from Black and White Men Together; Kyle Rose of the Living Room; and Chip Allen from the Ohio Department of Health. The diversity of the planning and organizing group which worked diligently on short notice was a credit to the Greater Cleveland community.

The day's program opened with a moming plenary spent identifying problems of the past with specific concerns and govemment's historical role, so everyone could let off steam and have a starting point. Then the meeting divided into five subgroups, with people attending the area of most interest to them, which listed creative solutions to be implemented as federal policy.

In the afternoon plenary the points from the separate groups were combined into the region's collective will, contained in a single

Reiki

The Usul System of Natural Healing

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document with recommendations. Each region is sending two delegates to a February 28 meeting in Washington to consolidate the findings into a national document which will be presented to the president's team and to legislators on National Lobby Day on March 1. The delegates from this area will be Elliott Fishman, a member of the board of the Columbus AIDS Task Force; and Arlene Early-Terry, who is on the board of the Health Issues Taskforce, is a member of the African-American AIDS Network, is an active volunteer with Stopping AIDS is My Mission (SAMM), and is in the spectrum. The alternate delegate is Kyle Rose.

Smith-Malone noted that Cleveland is a "second or third wave city" in the AIDS pandemic. This area has not yet reached the crisis of overload that coastal cities are struggling with; "we don't have gumeys in the hallways. We have the opportunity to develop pro-active assistance before that happens," she said.

This meeting gave an opportunity for AIDS service groups to share and network while voicing unique concerns. For example, small rural towns face different challenges when considering condom distribution. The service providers see themselves working to remove restraints and allowing the community to decide what actions are appropriate.

An important outcome of the Federal AIDS Agenda '93 regional meeting is that the AAC will be sending staff member Joe Peete to Cleveland to assist in setting up an ongoing assistance and advocacy process. This regional network will allow the groups to reach the local, state and federal levels more quickly without creating future ad hoc committees.

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