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4 BOCNEWS.comNOVEMBER 2015 Bear ye one anothers burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 62 In the Denver Metro area there are a group of ten churches that have formed what could be called a coalition that will work together to com- bat HIVAIDS. The churches involved are as fol- lows Agape Christian Church Denver Park Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church New Hope Baptist Church Northeast Denver Islamic Center Masjid Taqwa Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church Shorter AME Community Church The House Worship Center The Peoples Presbyterian Church True Light Baptist Church and United Church of Montbello. These churches have decided to collabo- rate with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment CDPHE to provide testing for the HIV virus and education about the testing and about sexually transmitted diseases and Hepatitis C. The testing will be targeted particularly at the African American community but all who come for testing will be cared for. The goal is to test about 100 people per church between the next few weeks and next year. Those who come for testing will receive an HIV test that will involve a simple mouth swab with results available in 20 minutes. Those who do test positive will be referred to a medical facility for further confirmatory blood testing. There will also be personal one-on-one education about sexually transmitted diseases Hepatitis C and about risk factors for the diseases in terms of risky behaviors and exposures. Prevention and early detection are priorities. In addition there will be encouragement even for those who test negative but are at risk due to certain risky behaviors to seek re-testing after a suitable period of time. This will all be covered dur- ing the education session. Such community based testing in nothing new but has been done across the nation. We do need to be aware of the fact that in the state of Colorado African Americans are disproportion- ately affected by HIVAIDS. In our state African Americans are only 3.8 percent of the population but 14.6 percent of people living with HIV disease. So action is needed and churches can play a significant role. In addition to the activi- ties noted we need to educate those who are already posi- tive that HIV is not the death sentence it once was as there are today effective treatments which allow one to live healthy. In addition everyone at risk needs to be tested even though they feel well. it is better to know ones status as it is pos- sible to be HIV positive for as long as a decade before falling ill. In America today HIV is a crisis in African American communities and African Americans face the most severe burden of HIVAIDS We no longer hear much about it in the mass media but it is a crisis nevertheless. One tragedy that I have had personal experience with is the treatment of HIV infection. After returning from three years living in the African country of Ethiopia in 1987 I became heavily involved in treating people infected with HIV. At that time there was little to offer these patients. HIV for most people was a death sentence and I saw far too many live only a year or so after being found HIV positive. This was despite diligent efforts to help. We only had one drug called AZT and I saw little evidence that it did much of anything to help. Since that time numer- ous drugs have been produced to help those infected. Now it is possible to live long and to live well with HIV infection. The tragedy is that people still refuse to get tested at times and it is quite possible to feel well initially even with the infection being present. There are those in treatment who will not take the medica- tion prescribed or will not take medication as directed. The end result is a lot of unneces- sary suffering and perhaps a premature death. It is just not worth it. The medication not only helps those infected but even makes it less likely that they will spread it to others. In our communities we need to be relentless in spreading the knowledge as appropriate about HIV and sexually transmit- ted diseases. Knowledge is power. We need to also spread the word that the stigma and isolation that people may experience can produce behavior that is harmful to the individual affected. Some try to hide their status and when their habits put them at risk they will not seek the help they need. There are those who due to poverty and lack of insurance will not go for help. However we need to inform people that there is always a place one can go to get help even if you are poor. Just imagine that in the epicenter of the HIV AIDS pandemic in Africa we are able to provide effective treatment for those who are impacted and we can certainly do this as well in our own country. I would like to make an appeal to those who are members of the churches listed above and to those in the community who are not. World AIDS Day will be coming soon on December 1. We are encouraging Pastors of our participating churches and others as ACommunityProjecttoCombatHIVAIDS Dr. Conner By Byron E. Conner M.D. HEALTH In our communities we need to be relentless in spreading the knowledge as appropriate about HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. Knowledge is power. 1. JOHN P. KEE - LEVEL NEXT 2. TROY SNEED - AWESOME GOD 3. WILLIAMS BROS. LEE WILLIAMS - MY BROTHERS KEEPER VOL.3 4. FLAME - FORWARD 5. WARDLAW BROTHERS - GODS BEEN THERE 6. DAVID WRIGHT - NEXT GENERATION 7. JASON CRABB - WHATEVER THE ROAD 8. DANETRA MOORE - LIGHT IN THE DARK 9. TASHA COBB - ONE PLACE LIVE 10 KIM BURRELL - A DIFFERENT PLACE Continued on Page 12