msmBm his speech deliveredhyCfttotucle Exti.it~ tuor Richard L WilliaMs Fnutay niuht ut fftt tj? ceremony of the Winston Lake Family Youth Baskttfhall Association prun^am.t is always * humbling experience to be recog by your peers. It is even more, so to stand your peers and deliver an address. That is my *ould like to welcome everyone here. I hope du are taken in. as much as I am, by this HC-ttke, almost theatrical, atmosphere pre by our pw# Winston Lake Family YMCA. you sit there, keep thisiuestion in the back ofl lind: What good is having such a fine facility Winston Lake Y if we don't support it? ? you ponflcr that question* I would like to take ent to ask everyone to just " ound, scan the room, look ;? And regardless of what ^dppf tt^he. AJsican - re cannot afford to relax, deadbeat dads. Programs like the YBA help tun shy black boys into proud black men. And we | more proud black men to help run this coui B Because as you can see. with Caucasian men mil things, we're quickly going to hell in a hen baske | You know, there's a saying that goe* y America catches cold, the blade community caJ | pneumonia. Well ladies and gentlemen, I^frican-American parents and adults xakef .cJ | added significance when you look at the upW ties our youth are faced with. It's vityl that w| understand what it means to bwack in Anuria important that it is fully understood, as unfair ai that there iis a double standard in this cou, Always has been: probably always will be. Many of you remember the words of a sa Godfather of Soul James Brown that went like "L don't want nobody to gtv, IT" nothing; open up the door. TU W\ myself.' Those lyrics still rinj Jl today as many doors of opporf remain closed to African At cans. -l,. But aftertalking#^! TJfc: young Af ric an - AmeHcApM Qrfc man>' of them seem to already * their futures planned. Qt*4 & from high school, squeeze I m MM m 'JS I y00* 'rherc aren't a lot of job \ Ij'M |>?i? the NBA. The. fact o I theAfricaju American ? ^ jf mfamL WUtianUL.^,:... chance of becoininfl extinct group. lawyer or an engineer I faiy would want to, they have a while yet playing basketball in the NBA. SUtm cy call write us off; That's why I'm so happy ving our chikben to basketball practii t you support the Winston Lake Y. isc you recognize the plight ofihis ^y<^||^ple in general and nerijan males, in particular. Youp ou recognize the important rote if: rta ,? child's life. You recognize I children are that way nofbecausfcf i an unkind or an unfair hand, but had very little parent guidance* n? Michaei Jacksoa anddeft WNrby by, contributing . reclaim some of our lost M CSihton to do it for us. We have got to do iK ?old not expect the socil| worker to do it for have gdtio do it Nor should we expect our ? lurch pastor to da it ^e hav| got to da it | w Bp our mpcffcbility. And its an awe- | JM Tie of the children here tonkin probably think; of ?iy mind. Pa rents <6 roles models? Yeah, Jext he ll be telling us that vegetables .?*; feBMHlK B? tfs not veiy often that * I wiffljnderstand wh#Jm saying until later in * l^-^ese days. icr th^?lye^^bell-bononri?uitm tfciback years ago? You want to wear it. but you know diffuses to be sowji^.jstlu in it. And what lucuk^lTqitr kids want you to get * ?fade, but goftiib?*ii|Afto- Theydon't kaowthat when. j*?et3|ige. youilfcde corOtt naartlly.And t ? on mesi^s.^ ^ ^ ^ ^ i 3>ad matured and had One day, with proper oom will grow Mtoa !-a flower bed if you donV ?vh?g a fine automobile if | fcsrffi ind what better avenue ?o youth need to know that their possibili if they prepare themselves. And younj to understand that not everyone will when ym say you want to become lawyer; Or an astronaut, or an engine* in the armed services. - . , . 'X, But you can succeed in spite 01 You can succeed in spite of some teac that you'd be better off not going to c you re wasting your time trying to be LIVING WITH AIDS Researchers Study Aids/Depression Link CHICAGO 1 AP ) ? Researchers trying to determine whether depression hastens the advance of AIDS symptoms reached opposite conclusions in two new studies. The study that found no such effect is considered more reli able. Researchers have focused on the question because depression is a treatable disorder common among people with HIV; scientists in both groups agreed that depression should be treated in those infected with the virus. A study led by Dr. Constan tine G. Lyketsos of Johns Hopkins University found no significant dif ference in the decline of white blood cells known as CD4 lymphocytes between those who were depressed and those who weren't. Researchers believe HIV attacks and kills CD4 cells, so that the lower the count, the more vul AIDS Often nerable the patient. The Johns Hop kins study looked at eight yeaiV worth of data beginning in 1984 bn 1.809 HIV-positive men who hadn't progressed to full-blown AIDS. ' In the second study a team from the University of California, San Francisco, found the CD4 counts of subjects who were depressed fell 38 percent faster than those of subjects who weren't depressed. However, they found no rela tionship between depression and the time elapsed from HIV diagnosis to full-blown AIDS or death. That study, led by Dr. Jeffrey H. Burack, analyzed 66 months' worth of data ? collected from 277 men who by Jan uary 1985 were HIV ppsitive but did not have AIDS. Both studies were published in a recent Journal of the American Medical Association. The San Francisco findings are "intriguing' * but less reliable than the Johns Hopkins findings, which support previous research, Drs. Samuel Perry and Baruch Fish man of Cornell University said in their editorial. They noted that the Johns Hopkins researchers studied more subjects over a longer period of time. When the data from both studies was combined, they said, the effect reported by the San Francisco team disappeared. All the researchers agreed depression should be treated. "Clinicians should not assume depression is a natural reac tion to the disease/* said psycholo gist Thomas J. Coates, a member of the San Francisco team. The depression rate among HIV-infected men is 25 to 40 per cent higher than among men in the general population, Coates said. Carry Even More of a Stigma in Rural Communities ORANGEBURG, S C. (AP) ? The only people Jan trusts with her . secret in this town are a small group of nurses, doctors, social workers and fellow patients at the county health department. Jan, who doesn't want her name used, has AIDS. In a rural area, the disease can carry a stigma that's hard to escape. "You tell one person, and the whole town knows," Jan said. "You know how people act because they don't know about this disease. They get distant." Many South Carolina AIDS - patients face similar situations. From January 1981 through Sep tember, South Carolina had a total of 3,458 AIDS cases. More than half now are in rural areas, the Department of Health and Environ mental Control says. F .Jan, 40rW%ke a gtoytffcg (Aim- , bgi;qf*peopip ifvftie rffijpn wh^ test p#?4tive for HIV, virus- that causes AIDS. She is poor, black, female and a former drug-user. She moved back to Orangeburg from New York City in 1990 to be near her family. She still used drugs, had sex without condoms, and drank heavily. Then Jan contracted tuberculo sis and pneumonia in 1991. She weighed 80 pounds, couldn't get out of bed and was near death. She got to know the people at the Tri County AIDS Interagency Coalition because they made house calls. Their cramped offices are in the basement of the Orangeburg County Health Department, but much of their work is along the county's dirt roads, at ramshackled houses with patients too sick to get out of bed or too poor to afford transportation. "In a lot of ways we're sort of like an extended family.. They can talk to us without having to worry," nurse and clinic director Bonnie Fogle said. The clinic administers HIV tests, monitors the health of people who test positive for the virus, and provides care" for people without insurance or a regular doctor. Clinics around the country do the same things everyday, but the staff here is known for going the extra step to make life easier for Victim Says AIDS, or Aquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, attacks the immune system killing off blood cells. The disease was discovered in the early 1980s. Since then, 209 AIDS cases have been reported in Forsyth County, the fifth highest in the state, according to the Depart ment of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources. Marilyn Stafford, a case man ager with the AIDS Taskforce in Winston-Salem, said the virus is prevalent in the black community and commonly occurs through unprotected sex and the sharing of needles. "It is very widespread in our community, especially in East Win ston," Stafford said. "You cannot people who are HIV-positive or have AIDS. "This clinic is really helping people. They stay from early in the morning until late at night helping people,' ' Jan said. One night a week, volunteer doctors treat patients. Sometimes Mrs. Fogle shows movies or brings a guitar player in to entertain people while they wait It was during one of those visits that Jan met Jack, who suffers from meningitis as a result of AIDS. "Before I started coming here, I - didn't know anybody with HIV," said Jack, 23, who also didn't want his real name used. Like Jan, he moved back to his hometown after he found out he was HIV positive. Jack said he prefers the intimate atmosphere of the clinic to the local hospital, where he has stayed twice this year during bouts with meningi "It's easier to get to* know peo ple at the clinic," he said. "Every body calls me by name every time I come in here. They act like they really care about you." Fogle and her staff win praise from colleagues nationwideL for keeping patients' secrets and^for their tenacity in getting treatment to poor patients who desperately fleed it | Though state law requires peo ple asking for HIV tests to give their names, the clinic's commitment to protecting their identities keeps patients coming back for treatment and is the key to its success, said David Berry, a University of Nevada-Las Vegas public health professor who studied the clinic this past summer while researching a report on AIDS in rural areas. "In contrast to many other areas, patients seem very pleased with the service they're receiving. Confidentiality is respected more," Berry said. The clinic serves three of the state's poorest counties: Orange burg, Bamberg and Calhoun. Orangeburg, with its population of 84,803 people, ranks fifth among South Carolina's 46 counties in the prevalence of AIDS or HIV infec tions for its size. Bamberg, with 16,902 people, is third highest for HIV and eighth highest for AIDS. Calhoun, with 12,753 people, is 33rd-highest for AIDS and 37th for HIV. Poverty and widespread drug abuse most often get the blame. Poverty and ignorance compound the obstacles the clinic' s staff faces. More than four out of five clinic patients have not sought or do not have Medicaid, the health care program for the poor, Fogle said. Clinic workers often help them apply, ? Along with patients without insurance or transportation, the three nurses and three social workers also wrestle with chronic money short ages and an increasing caseload. When the state health depart ment initiated full-time AIDS pro grams around the state in 1989 and Fogle became clinic director, one or two people a week came in to be tested. Now, eight to 10 come in weekly, Fogle said. More staff were hired as the community's need grew, but the need still outstrips the yearly $80,000 budget. Fogle spends much of her time on the phone, persuading people in a gentle, firm tone that's hard to refuse. When she calls, doctors donate time; patients agree to come for treatment; pharmacists provide expensive medicines. "When people are talking about missions, I think, 'This is my mis sion. I don't have to go out and look for one,"' Fogle said. The clinic's budget can't sup port a full-time doctor, so it relies on volunteers like Dr. Michael Wat-1' son. If a patient needs a doctor for an emergency, Fogie helps find one. "Bulldogs," Watson calls the staff. "You show them a problem and they'll wrestle with it until they get it solved." Watson, 67, has treated people referred by the clinic since the late 1980s, He is attracted by the chal lenge of tackling diseases he's never seen and of staying up to date. "You read and read and you lis ten to tapes," he said. "Intellectu ally, it's stimulating." look at a person and tell if they have the virus. A lot of them look per fectly healthy." Stafford counsels clients and refers them to other social service agencies. Over the last year, she has counseled 80 clients ? nine of which have died. "Too many clients don't have someone who cares," she said. "They don't get a hug often and many find themselves modern-day lepers." The most difficult part of her job. she said, is seeing someone deteriorate over time and the sudden death of a client. Davis said he doesn't constantly think about dying, but the thought of from page A1 his own death crosses his mind everyj>ther day. "Yes, I think about (death) sometimes," he said. "Especially when somebody I know has been sick and dies." Davis regrets having unpro tected sex, but now wants to help educate others to the dangers of AIDS. "Before, I was involved in the community a lot,' he said. "Now I try to spread the word, especially to the African-American community because we are real ignorant when it comes to health issues. People will shut the door in your face. But this thing is real."