Damien Center celebrates World AIDS Day
A large red ribbon placed on a cloth banner was hoisted onto the wall as residents continued the fight against AIDS and building community support for those affected by the disease.
For 22 years people have celebrated World AIDS Day now and The Schenectady Damien Center hosted inside The Muddy Cup Coffee House inside Proctors Arcade in Schenectady on Wednesday, Dec. 1. The center is a program of the Schenectady Inner City Ministry and is located on 615 Nott Street in Schenectady.
Remembrance of those affected by AIDS and raising community awareness about the disease was the focus of the event. The center supports the local area by being a drop-in community center for individuals infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and provides meals, educational and empowerment programs, emotional support and recreational opportunities to ease stress related to living with the disease.
Let us take a moment just to remember those who love and have lost, the things we lost as we struggle to live and the hope for tomorrow, said Reverand Jenna Zirbel. `As life goes on and we continue to bring the light of hope into our hearts and in our community as we look to each other for support and encouragement and enlightenment, we remember that significant progress has been made in advancing access to HIV prevention, treatment, support and care over the past 22 years, but putting human rights at the center of the response is crucial to further progress.`
The red ribbon associated with the cause is symbolizes global solidarity, said Zirbel. In 1991 the New York State Visual Aids Art Caucus created the ribbon, she said, and the color red was chosen because of the connection to blood and the idea of passion and love.
`What the ribbon represents is being together, being one with, holding hands with, being in community with those who not only suffer from HIV/AIDS, but those whom care for those who suffer and those whom love those that suffer,` said Reverend Andy Little. `So we got a ribbon over there and what we would like you to do is to take one of the markers on the table over there and write a message.`
At the end of the ceremony people did write a message to those whom they know are affected by the disease, or just a message of support for individuals or care providers that assist in the cause and fight.
Becki Fordman shared some information about HIV/AIDS she gathered from statistics. As of 2008 there were 378 people known to be living with HIV/AIDS in Schenectady County. On the average according to previous data there are 13 new cases of the disease in a year in the county. According to the most recent available data there is a cumulative amount of AIDS cases in the state at 180,674, out of which 35,787 of those cases are in upstate New York.
`In 2009 the case of new infections has declined by almost 20 percent compared to 1999, but still it outpaces treatment to success by 2 to 1,` said Zirbel. `That’s we as a community understand the significance of the medical care providers that are with us tonight that are with us every day in the caring.`
Mary Kinley, HIV project coordinator at Ellis Health Center, talked about the federal government’s first formal national strategy on HIV/AIDS, which was released this past summer.
`This is the first time the federal government has really put out a paper like this and it really has a lot of historical significance,` said Kinley.
The report said the `public urgency` to combat the epidemic seems to be declining, she said. While rates of new cases have been dropping there are 56,000 new cases each year. Some primary goals of the federal strategy are to reduce the number of people infected who become infected with HIV, to increase access to care and optimize health outcomes for people living with the disease.
`When this day started a number of years ago it was a silent vigil, it was just a remembrance, but it can’t be that any longer at all,` said Dr. Chris Murphy. `We’ve really come a very long way and that is part of my message to just be as positive as possible.`
Murphy said he was a nurse practitioner at Rikers Island, New York City’s main jail, in 1980, before he had gone to medical school, which were a few years before the article published about homosexual men in San Francisco acquiring a tumor that was newly seen. This actually was about the first discovery of the disease, but doctors had no name nor knew anything about it.
`In my seven years as a medical student and a family practice resident in the South Bronx, I literally did see families whipped out one after another,` said Murphy. `I remember being in the hospital having to give blood on little babies who would die on the next day or the next week. We had nothing to stop it at the time.`
He said the day should be a celebration of how far medical testing for the disease has become. A new oral test from the state also seemed to prove affective in raising awareness.
`We ran out of our tests in three days in our first shipment of the state,` said Murphy. `If there are going to be 13 people indentified I want to identify them tomorrow and not when they get sick and wind up in the hospital and I see them in a year form now very sick. I don’t know that I can get rid of the HIV virus, but I really do think I can get rid of AIDS and that is a big plus.`
Daniel Butterworth, program director for The Damien Center, said the event helps guests get the chance to express their feeling of living with HIV/AIDS publicly in a safe space.
`Since HIV and AIDS has kind of fallen off the radar as far as the media goes, because it is not quite as much of a crisis as it used to be with medications and care being what they are today, but public awareness is still a necessity,` said Butterworth. `Medical care may have changed, but the perceptions about the disease really hasn’t.`
The center servers around 250 meals a month, he said, which serve people who are both `infected and affected.` He said the center provides a safe space for individuals and families.
`Where you are able to talk with peers about issues and share common experiences it really helps lessen the isolation of living with the disease,` said Butterworth. `Disclosure can be a huge weight off someone’s soldiers, it can actually have a positive medical impact if you are not dealing with this giant secrete and keeping it in.`
The center also dealt with a fire recently, which was caused by an electrical reason. The fire continued to spread through the walls, but was extinguish by Schenectady Fire Fighters rather quickly, which prevented extensive damage. There were no injuries in the incident, but the center will be closed for the next week for two.
Operations for The Damien Center were temporarily relocated to Emmanuel Friedens Church located at 218 Nott Terrace, in Schenectady, on Tuesday, Dec. 7. Lunch is planned to be served on Tuesdays and dinner will be served on Mondays, Wednesday s and Thursday during the relocation. Anyone wishing to help with the center’s restoration should send support to SICM, 930 Albany Street, Schenectady, NY 12307.“
