This Is What We Can Do – Team Detroit’s Fast Start

The service year in Detroit started with the gathering of all eight AIDS United AmeriCorps teams in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This awesome meeting set the tone for what looks to be an exciting year. It was at this pre-service meeting that teams began to truly form and create bonds. The team building that took place also allowed individuals to grow, with each person having to push him or herself at one point or another (whether it was during the ice-breakers, the condom demonstrations or at Crossroads Adventure Center). Team Detroit left the meeting excited and jumped right into our service year.

9/11 Day of Service

Our first Team 5th Day came in response to President Obama’s call for a day of service in remembrance of 9/11. We took part in one of the largest 9/11 service day events in the nation. The event,  coordinated by Focus: Hope; ACCESS; City Year Detroit (AmeriCorps); and other local non-profits, brought Michigan residents together, creating an impressive scene of unity and diversity. With the goal of honoring those lost while moving forward under a united front, we took part in projects such as neighborhood beautification, school preparation and letter writing to American soldiers.

Detroit AIDS Walk – Steppin’ Out

Listening to the advice of AmeriCorps alumi, Team Detroit looked to start early in raising funds for our Long Term Project (LTP).  Detroit AIDS Walk gave us the opportunity to do so, while at the same time helping out the AIDS Walk as well. We took to the streets in an effort to spread the word about the walk, posting ads at various local businesses and talking to residents we passed along the way. The walk also gave us a great platform to raise funds for our team. We created a walk team and raised just under $1000. In addition to this success, on the day of the walk we had the honor of taking part in the unveiling of a panel from the Names Project  AIDS Quilt. This was the second time we were able to pay our respects to those lost to the epidemic and we are thankful for that.

Latino Family Services

With National Latino HIV/AIDS Awareness Day approaching, the team decided to volunteer at Latino Family Services (LFS) (which also serves as a host agency) in the city of Detroit. We assisted LFS in preparing for an upcoming HIV testing event; setting up the testing area, preparing facilities and arranging outreach materials. The event not only offers testing, but also brings awareness to the Latino community, which makes up 4% of the HIV/AIDS cases, but only 3% of the Michigan population.

The year has just started and the experiences we have already encountered will have lasting impact. We look forward to continuing the year and getting things done in Detroit.

Check us out on Facebook for additional pictures, news and updates. https://www.facebook.com/TeamDetroit

Guest Blog: You Talking to Me? A tale of dying in plain sight

by Keith Green, AIDS United Advocate and Director of Federal Affairs with AIDS Foundation of Chicago

At the time that I was diagnosed with HIV, I really didn’t even realize that I was at risk. I was a senior in high school and helped to organize a blood drive as a community service requirement for the Senior Boys Council. My fear of passing out and losing my “cool” status nearly kept me from donating, but my girlfriend convinced me that the really “un-cool” thing to do would be to not lead by example. So, much to my dismay, I gave in. The experience would change my life forever.

My ignorance with respect to risk was mostly related to the fact that I didn’t identify as gay. I’d been dating the same girl on and off throughout my high school years, and several other girls in between. My intimate interactions with a couple of my “boys” were not necessarily what any of us would call “gay.” We all had girlfriends, and just did what we did with one another from time to time. In retrospect, I still wouldn’t call it gay. We were all very clearly bisexual.

In many ways, my HIV diagnosis forced me to assume a gay identity. Upon learning that I was positive I broke up with my girlfriend and have not had any meaningful relationships with women since. My experience is that it is much easier to disclose my HIV status to other gay men than it is to women. Perhaps that’s because, for the past 30 years, HIV has been very much a part of gay culture. Perhaps that’s why, even in 2011, Black men who have sex with men but don’t necessarily identify as gay disassociate themselves from the risks of HIV.

So, as we acknowledge National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day this year, it is my hope that we’ll keep in mind the diversity within the gay community. Specifically, I hope that we’ll continue to acknowledge the wide range of people whose identities oftentimes get lumped into the classification of gay for the sake of simplification, but don’t recognize their risk as a result. It is my hope that, as an HIV advocacy community, we recognize that identity and behavior are not mutually exclusive, and that there are a host of “gay” men who turn a blind eye to our messaging because they assume that we can’t be talking to them. I was once one of those men, and I’m committed to making sure that other men who look and behave like me don’t make that same mistake!