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USA
Teens in the Valley of the Shadow of Death
Washington, DC is the nation’s capital. It is also a geographic region with the highest rate of HIV infections in the United States. One in every 20 residents is HIV-positive and one in every 50 people in the city has AIDS. The disease has exploded among people who are poor, have been in prison, are addicted to drugs or alcohol and lack health insurance. It has especially impacted African-American residents. The problem is also increasing among people over 50 years of age and those under 25 years old.
Trinity Episcopal Church, a predominately black congregation including African- Americans and people from the Caribbean and Africa, decided that it would perform a special role amidst this health crisis. Trinity is also a parish that mobilised its members into community actions to reverse the rising rates of infection of HIV and AIDS in the District of Columbia. Trinity sponsored, a year ago, a citywide summit for religious leaders to organise the engagement of the faith community in combating the high level of infections. Last spring, the government of the District of Columbia’s Department of Health ventured in a new direction and awarded a grant to the Trinity Development Corporation to organise a community outreach service programme to promote treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS among District residents.
While Trinity’s HIV/AIDS outreach programme targets the population most at risk – especially those between 25 and 40 years whose lifestyle increases their chances of being infected – Trinity’s rector and pastor insisted that special services be organised and focused on prevention activity among young people under 25 years of age. Youth have the lowest rate of infection and are also most likely to adhere to knowledge and practices taught in prevention training. Special workshops were organised for various populations, and a special programme was developed to serve teens in the parish and community.
A group of a dozen teenagers were recruited and enlisted in a prevention training programme to develop the ability to be peer educators. A health specialist from the Children’s National Medical Centre and a prevention trainer from Planned Parenthood taught the six-hour prevention training workshop to the youth over two Saturdays. Parents became involved and attended two meetings in advance to determine the contents and scope of the training. Teens were taught how HIV spreads and what behaviors put people at increased risk of infection. Added focus centered on indirect risks like drug use or alcohol that can impair judgment and prompt more risky behaviours. The training included the correct use of condoms, given their proven effectiveness as a prevention practice. The training also emphasised that teens teaching other teens is the most effective prevention training.
Once the peers were trained, a workshop was held in late fall to involve other teens in prevention training. Prior to the training workshops, a cookout was held featuring hot dogs, hamburgers, juice and fruit. The trained teens then conducted the prevention training of other youths in small groups. They wore T-shirts the youth designed themselves and that declared: “Peer Health Advocates Trainers” or PHAT, a term meaning “hip” or “cool”. Concurrently, separate prevention workshops were held for parents, since parents also needed to be informed of effective prevention practices. Nearly 50 teenagers and parents attended the half-day prevention training event. Finally, a smaller group of teens circulated more than 500 flyers in the community surrounding the church to alert residents about the high rates of prevalence of HIV and AIDS in Washington. At the next day service of worship, the teens were celebrated for their service to their peers. Now the church is engaged in sending out its peer trainers to serve other faith-based and community groups to expand its prevention services among teens in the valley and shadow of death.
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