106 Clinics Serve the Deaf Community

The POZ listing for Deaf HIV/AIDS services is growing! In April 2010, there were 96 clinics and other services listed. Today there are 106.

POZ Deaf Clinic Directory

Remembering Their Names

The 2010 version of the Remember Their Names is now up listing those in the Deaf community we have lost to AIDS. Seven names were added in 2010, ten names in 2009.

http://deafaids.info/main/names

May all rest in peace.

AIDS Information (Explicit)

Reposting this basic AIDS information:

This is adapted from a pamphlet by AIDS Initiative for Deaf Services (A.I.D.S). No words have been changed. Pictures were added by me.

HIV/AIDS AND THE DEAF COMMUNITY

You can get HIV by:

* Sex (IC) no condom (rubber)
* Share needles and shots
* Blood to blood touch
* From a mother to her unborn baby during pregnancy, birth or breast feeding.

Body fluids of a person with HIV can spread HIV:
* Semen (sperm)
* Blood
* Vaginal Fluids
* Breast Milk


You CAN'T get HIV by:
Shaking Hands
Toilet Seats
Coughs or Sneezes
Being around an infected person
Pets
Sweat or Tears
Drinking Fountains
Swimming Pools
Sharing Eating Utensils
Hugging
Mosquito Bites

The best ways to stop HIV
* No touch with person's blood, sperm or vaginal fluids
* No share needles and shots
* No use drugs or alcohol (beer/wine) because you can forget safety.

Way to be safer if you have sex
* Must use a latex condom (rubber) for vaginal (with woman) sex, for anal sex or oral (mouth) sex.
* Must use a dental dam, plastic wrap or condom (rubber) cut to lie flat for mouth to vagina touch or mouth to anus touch.
* Must use hand gloves or finger gloves when touching body fluids.

How to use a condom (rubber):








* Use condom--must "latex" best name. No other names.
* Keep condoms in cool, dry place. No good in your wallet or car.
* Must use condom first then sex.
* NO let condom slip off during sex.
* Use water-based lubricant (K-Y Jelly, Astroglide). NO Vaseline or baby oil.
* No use broken/hole condom.
* Finish sex, throw condom out. No save.

Needles and Shots
* People use shots for drugs, tattoos and piercings.
* No share/give shots to other person. Use new shots.
* No use dirty shots.
* Dirty shots MUST clean (see below).

How to clean shots
* Wash shots with clean water 3 times.
* Use bleach (Clorox) 3 times for shots. Clean shots in bleach for 30 seconds (time).
* Again, clean shot with clean water.







Talk about it...
You don't need to be alone. Talking with counselors, teachers and health professionals about HIV very important. You can also call private CDC National STD and AIDS Hotline at 1-800-243-7889 (TTY). You may feel uncomfortable or funny, but that is ok. It is cool to talk. If you have any questions, ask. Many people happy to help!

Have HIV???
Get Tested!
Many places have FREE and anonymous HIV testing. Anonymous means you don't tell your name. Ask counselor what test answers mean. ALWAYS ask for interpreting services. Agencies are required by law to provide interpreting services.

If you have questions or need to talk, call the Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired at (860) 561-0196 (V/TDD)

For more information visit the CDC website at http://www.ASHASTD.org

Sponsored by AIDS Initiate for Deaf Services (A.I.D.S)

Deaf Lost to AIDS

At the DeafAIDS website seven more names were added for 2009. People are living longer and healthier lives but AIDS continues to kill people we love. May they rest in peace.

Greetings from the Vienna AIDS Conference!

Writing from Vienna where I am attending the great Vienna AIDS 2010 conference. We have had a wonderful week of disability workshops and we are looking forward to meeting the Vienna Deaf community tonight when we do our "Evening in Sign Language." Will be publishing more on the convention shortly.

96 Deaf AIDS clinics

The POZ directory now lists 96 clinics that provide services for Deaf clients, a big improvement from the 42 they listed in 2008
POZ List of Clinics

Government resources on Deaf HIV/AIDS

Websites from the US Department of Health and Human Services on HIV/AIDS and the Deaf community.

August 2008 fact summary sheet:
http://hab.hrsa.gov/population/deaf.htm

Fact sheet in PDF form:
ftp://ftp.hrsa.gov/hab/Deaf.pdf

April 2001 Newsletter reporting on Fall 2000 meeting on HIV/AIDS and the Deaf Community

http://hab.hrsa.gov/publications/hrsa401.htm

Spreading the word on HIV/AIDS and the Deaf Community

I am currently working on a project to write to 100 government officials about the issue of HIV/AIDS and Deaf people. One problem I am coming across is that congress people only accept letters from people in their district. Would anyone be willing to co-sign a letter similar to the one posted below highlighting some of the major issues? If you are willing, please drop me an e-mail at hivdeaf AT gmail DOT com

Dear Senator X:

We would like to thank you for your on-going support for services and resources for people with HIV/AIDS, particularly for underserved rural people. Your support has saved lives and improved care for AIDS patients across the state and the nation. We would, however, like to draw your attention to another major underserved population, Deaf people. While deafness is relatively rare, Deaf people have been disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS.

One major problem is that there are no national statistics on infection or mortality rates for Deaf people. The one source that we do have on HIV statistics in the Deaf population is from public testing sites in Maryland, which records the hearing status of people being tested. Between 2003 ad 2007, Deaf people were twice as likely to test HIV+ as their hearing counterparts (the range was 1.9 to 2.9 times higher). African American Deaf people have been particularly hard hit with a prevalence of above 6%, rivalling the rates of hard hit African and Caribbean nations.

Given that the Senate and the House of Representatives will be rethinking the American healthcare system in the coming months and years, we ask for your support for including Deaf people in the discussion. Important steps to narrowing the gap between Deaf people and the general population would include:

• Tracking the HIV epidemic in the Deaf population (something not currently done by the Centers for Disease Control or any other national organization).
• Emphasizing that all AIDS service organizations (ASO) must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and make their services available to all people with disabilities including Deaf people, and making funds available to help with the provision of qualified interpreters and interpreting services.
• Supporting the use of the latest technology by ASO and other community organizations to provide video interpreting when live interpreting is not possible.
• Supporting small Deaf oriented community organizations that provide invaluable educational outreach services for the general Deaf population and support services for those diagnosed with HIV. Many of these organizations have had their funding reduced or cut in the past few years and it will take considerable effort to rebuild a Deaf-oriented safety net.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this issue and we would be happy to provide you with further information and details.
Sincerely yours,

Leila Monaghan, PhD
Frison Visiting Scholar
Department of Anthropology
University of Wyoming

Deaf Lost to AIDS

The Deaf Lost to AIDS website, http://www.deafaids.info, has been updated, listing 20 more deaths from AIDS in the past year, 18 Deaf people, 2 hearing members of the Deaf community, two Canadians, one Spaniard, and 17 Americans. May they rest in peace and inspire us all to keep fighting.

Disabilities & HIV/AIDS Conference in Dakar, Senegal

3rd Meeting of the Africa Campaign on Disability and HIV&AIDS
Dakar, Senegal
December 1-2, 2008

The purpose of this meeting is to coordinate our participation in the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), which will be held December 3-7 also in Dakar.

These dates in Dakar coincide with World AIDS Day (December 1) and World Disability Day (December 3), which is an opportunity for visibility and voice.


Please save the dates and reserve your travel early.

The meeting agenda and logistical information will be available shortly via email and on the website http://www.africacampaign.info) .

For further information please contact the local organizers of the meeting:
Dr Almouner Talibo, Handicap International (crvihsida@orange.sn)
Ms Aida Sarr, Secretariat of the African Decade (aidasarr64@hotmail.com)
Mr. Oumar Diop, Campaign Steering Committee member

With warm regards,


Dr Susan Girois
Handicap International
for the Africa Campaign on Disability and HIV & AIDS