PAGE 13 Q-Notes T December 1994
MAP PLUS weekend equals success
by Gene Poteat
Special to Q-Notes
“Emotional support plus information
equals power.” That phrase, offered by Adam
Robinson, Director of Education at Metrolina
AIDS Project (MAP), provided a theme for
PLUS (Positive Living for US), a weekend
long seminar sponsored by MAP for persons
affected by HIV and AIDS whose purpose
was, according to Robinson, “...to inspire and
encourage people to take control of their
health care.” Robinson, in introductory re
marks, described the group of approximately
40 in attendance as, “Very different people
with one thing in common —we all care
about someone with HIV living well.”
Held November 11-13 at the Carolinas
Medical Center campus of the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Hospital Authority’s School of
Nursing, PLUS provided information on such
topics as legal issues, nutrition, treatment
options, spirituality, sexuality, stress man
agement and financial planning. “It was a
fabulous opportunity to learn more about HIV
and get more emotional support,” said Bar
bara Rein, MAP’s Executive Director.
MAP assembled a diverse group of area
experts for the presentations. Dr. James Horton
of Carolinas Medical Center provided a medi
cal overview of HTV from what a retrovirus is
to treatment options. “Cunently, the fastest
increase in the number of reported cases is in
women and teens,” Horton said, presenting
statistics showing AIDS as the number one
cause of death for men 25 to 44 years old and
the third leading cause of death for women in
the same age group. Horton noted, “The
South leads the country in new cases among
heterosexual, gay and bisexual men and is
third among IV drug users.”
Dr. Bill Larson, a family physician at the
Nalle Clinic, says he has changed the way he
looks at HTV. “It used to be that when I told a
patient, the reaction was ‘I’m dead,’ now I
look at it like diabetes or another chronic
illness.” Larson notes, “The incidence of
Kaposi’s Sarcoma is declining,” but adds, “as
people are living longer [with HTV], other
diseases are becoming more prevalent.”
Separate presentations focused on seeking
services, financial planning and legal issues.
Kim Funderburk, a Case Manager at MAP,
offered advice for seeking services in the
most effective way. “Be patient. Make sure
you know the person to whom you are speak
ing, ask for time lines and confirm them
back,” she suggests, adding, “Compile infor
mation before you call. Know your rights,
know rules of the specific organizations you
are calling and know what avenues are avail
able to you.” She also recommends keeping
detailed records of all contacts. In an effort to
be kind to yourself, she says, “Put yourself in
a quiet environment and plan around your
good and bad times. In general, energy levels
drop in the afternoon. Know when to be
assertive, not aggressive [and] don’t mini
mize your need.”
Frank Lubbers, a financial planner, says.
“If you have insurance policies, the first thing
you should do is read them. Look for clauses,
limits and look into expanding your cover
age.” He also suggests to those still em
ployed, “Look into the possibility of convert
ing your insurance coverage from group to
individual policies.”
Kevin Edwards, MAP Case Manager, took
participants through a tour of Medicare and
Medicaid services. Regarding old medical
bills someone is carrying, he said, “What is
have learned to give
myself permission to be as
silly or as angry as I feel, ”
still owed can be used toward the Medicaid
deductible.” Edwards also pointed out that
although Medicaid has limits on the assets a
recipient may have, “a limited exclusion can
be set up for burial expenses.” Tim Futtrell,
a volunteer helping MAP create a legal clinic,
noted the importance of living wills. “People
don’t realize the importance of a Health Care
Power of Attorney,” he says, “a designated
fwrson can be given a very broad range or a
limited power over your health care needs. A
Durable Power of Attorney authorizes some
one to take care of your monthly bills or other
things that you would be doing if you were,
say, in the hospital.”
Lisa Piazzi, also of MAP, emphasized the
importance of making provisions for minor
children. “It’s not talked about in families,
assumptions are made about guardianship,
but [after a parent’s death] children often end
up in foster care,” she says.
Larry, a long time survivor and member of
a “Living with HIV” panel, says, “I have
learned to give myself permission to be as
silly or as angry as I feel...One of the most
important things is to be around supportive
people.” Nancy McLaughlin, a holistic nurse,
noted, “When we find love in a group, we find
acceptance and healing.”
In an effort to make PLUS a supportive
environment, group exercises were conducted
and participants were gathered into five groups
which met five times over the weekend to
process information, express their feelings
and give emotional support. For some, these
groups were their first opportunity to be with
others also affected by HTV.
“I think it is always exciting when we
reach people that we may not have reached
otherwise,” notes Barbara Rein, adding, “My
guess is that for some people it was difficult to
walk in the door and talk about HTV, but the
fact that people stayed the entire weekend
speaks well for the event.”
In her presentation, “Coping with Emo
tions,” Rein’s words were certainly in keep
ing with the phrase “Emotional support plus
information equals power.” She admonished
each participant to “...give yourself permis
sion to ask for help. It is important to remem
ber that you always have choices.”
North Carolina Pride eiects board
of directors and changes name
Date for Pride ‘95 set for June 9-11 1995 in Raleigh
RALEIGH—^At its November 19 meet
ing. North Carolina Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual
and Transgendered Pride, Inc. elected an al
most entirely new board of directors and set
the organization on a course of increased
visibility and inclusiveness.
The new 13-member board, co-chaired by
Dan Kirsch, Charlotte community activist,
and Janice Vaughn, founder of the Center for
Non-white Lesbians in Durham, is the most
diverse in N.C. Pride’s history, according to
Jim Duley, Executive Director.
“Pride made a deliberate attempt to incor
porate as many aspects of the conununity as
possible,” Duley said. “Not only did we focus
on geographic diversity, we paid particular
attention to the inclusion of youth, bisexuals
and transgendered persons.”
The board elected its first bisexual activist,
Melinda Brown of the North Carolina Bi
sexual Network in Carrboro, as Treasurer,
and its first transsexual, Shawn Tonnesen of
Chapel Hill, as Secretary. In addition, the
organization voted to include the words “bi
sexual” and “transgender” in its official name,
on all events, publicity materials and official
documents.
Other new board members are: Kathi
Beall, Pastor of St. Jude’s MCC in
Wilmin^on; Ed Farthing, President-elect of
NC Lesbian and Gay Attorneys, fi-om Hickory;
Michael Frye, a librarian from Winston-Sa
lem; Chris Ingle of Haw River, co-chair of the
N.C. Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality;
P.atricia Jones, Disease Intervention Special
ist for the NC HTV/STD Control Branch in
Charlotte; Sonya Lewis, a pharmacist and
founder of the NC Carolina Pride Marching
Band, of Durham; Jean Raley, chair of the
Youth Leadership Council of Time Out Youth
in Charlotte; and Wayne Wilson, AIDS Edu
cator for the NC HIV/STD Control Section in
Raleigh.
The board’s only returning member is Lucy
Harris, former Pride Co-chair and Program
Director for the NC Lesbian and Gay Health
Project in Durham.
In other business, the new board selected
the date for its tenth aimual Lesbian, Gay
Bisexual and Transgendered Pride March arid
Celebration, which takes place this year in the
Triangle Area. Although it considered a pro
posal to move the event to the fall, it chose the
weekend of June 9-11 1995 for the three-day
event. The Radisson Plaza in downtown
Raleigh will serve as the host hotel.
316 Rensselaer Ave.
Charlotte, NC
(704) 376-1617
Open 7 Days A Week
4 p.m. -1 a.m.
Drink Specials Daily
Large Variety of
Sandwiches & Appetizers
Wed - Sun 4 p.m. -10 p.m.
with Daily Specials
^Coming Soon ...
Blue Plate Specials
FREE Pool Mon & Tues
4 p.m. - 7 p.m.!
Pool Tournaments
• Thursday- 25.^ Bar Tab
• Sunday - 25.^ Cash
• No Charge to Enter Or Play
• Must Be a Member
We Will Be Open Christmas Eve
& Christmas Day
Happy Holidays
From Our House To Yours
—Management & Staff
Closed Monday, December 19