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Southwest Philadelphia, whose
residents are dying of AIDS at nearly twice the citywide average, is the site
for an on-the-street prevention and testing outreach campaign aimed at stopping
the spread of HIV. Sixty trained volunteers are knocking on doors and stopping
passers-by, urging them to get tested for free at a mobile van or local health
center. The goal of the two-year effort is to test 12,000 locals.
“Basically, what I want to do is
change the culture around testing so that everyone gets tested,” said Amy Nunn,
a Brown University medical school researcher, who is leading the project.
Philadelphia is “a deeply, deeply
religious city” with some neighborhoods that have high HIV rates and limited
access to treatment and prevention services, said Nunn. Her message for the
outreach is “regardless of what you do or your sexual orientation, you are at
higher risk simply because of where you live. Because there is more virus in
your community.”
For several years, CDC has targeted
testing to high-risk groups, but as defined by race or behavior, not locale.
The thinking for Nunn’s work is to encircle a neighborhood with a “net” to
raise awareness and normalize testing there, said Susan Little, a professor of
medicine at University of California-San Diego, who has run a similar effort in
two ZIP codes there.
To spread the word in Southwest
Philadelphia, the outreach is supported by billboards, church sermons, a website,
and social media calling on residents to “Do One Thing, Change Everything.” The
mobile van moves block by block, offering testing on Thursdays, Fridays, and
Saturdays.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
