2005 New Cases: 1,806*
Black: 63%
White: 28%
Latino: 7%
Children
College Students
Women
Adolfo Aguilar
Outreach Worker, Chatham Social Health Council
Coleen Cunningham
Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Duke University Medical Center
Milford Evans
Benefits Advocate
Gerrod Henderson
HIV Positive teenager
Peter Leone, M.D
Medical Director, HIV/STD Prevention & Care Branch
Jonathan Perry
HIV Positive
Fred Wiggins
HIV Positive
Del Williams, Ph.D
Manager, Epidemiology & Special Studies HIV/STD Prevention & Care Branch
HIV/AIDS on Campus
HIV/AIDS & Kids
HIV/AIDS & Latinos
HIV/AIDS & Women
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*NC Department of Health and Human Services |
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Interview:
Adolfo Aguilar
Outreach Worker, Chatham Social Health Council
What are some of the obstacles to educating the Latino community about HIV?
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HIV and STD's are one of the hardest things to talk about because it involves sex, and sex is kind of not allowed in our community, not much to talk about it, especially for the elderly people because we're still having our beliefs and our taboos and our culture not allow us to talk about sex, so it's kind of hard.
The biggest problem is because most of us are Hispanic, we come here to work, so if we have the opportunity to work 12 hours a day, we work. Sixteen hours a day, I'm happy to do that because I'll make more money, and I can send more money to my family. I can support better my family in my country, but I don't have time to educate myself about the services that exist in the community, and I don't care, I really don't because my main thing, my mind is set to come here to work and make money.
What do you do to reach the community?
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What I do is just walk in on the main places people get together. You know, as Hispanics we're looking for Hispanic stores, Mexican stores where we can buy tortillas, chiles, and all the food that we like to eat, and I'm really pleased with the business owners because they allow me to display all these flyers and put a jar with condoms, so that makes the accessibility so they can take it anytime they need it.
Working with the soccer league - as Hispanics, we love futbol soccer and we get together like every weekend to go play, so I do a training, I do an education, an orientation to these teams to learn about the risk on HIV and STDs.
Most of the factories in Siler City, the employees are Hispanic, between 70 to 99 percent in the factories and companies around here. Some of the companies allow me to go in there, to put a table of information, to display my condoms, and I can be free to talk about sex in the factory, because this is a main door, this is the main door to approach to them, so they can have access to the services and to the information.
Factories is a thing, some of them really open, 100%. They have no problem with it. Another one they are kind of conservative and they don't want to display condoms. They say this is bad, people don't like to see that, but the reason I approach them about it is the employees ask me about it. The employees say Adolfo, why you don't go to the company and show us your materials?
On the weekend, I go around in the house with my friends. I drink a beer, couple of beers with them, talk about this, bring the condoms. They feel comfortable, say he's drinking too so it means he's like us, so it's nothing different with us.
How much progress have you made in educating Latinos about HIV?
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Three years ago, they won't think about it, won't even think about it. Say AIDS and HIV is only for gays, gays it's a big problem, only they can have AIDS. And then now after three years, I've been working starting them to talk about it. It was really hard for me - to display condoms, it's the worst thing. I'm the devil because I'm trying to encourage kids to have sex. This is one of the big things, communities say all you do is encourage people to have sex. No I'm not. Because sex has been happening. 150-some kids under 15 years old get pregnant every year. Why does that happen? Because they having sex. So the access to the condom prevents them from getting disease and to get pregnant.
Now people are really open. You can walk on the street now and talk about condoms, it's like talking about the weather. So now they feel comfortable.
They really open, really really open. They're not scared. They're not afraid. They're not ashamed. They don't feel bad about it because now we have built that relationship with them. |
