Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Aug. 6, 2009, edition 1 / Page 8
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Hard-hit food bank gets emergency grant Residents urged to dotiate as well CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT The Poor and Needy Division of the Kate B Reynolds Charitable Trust has awarded a grant of $150 .000 in emer gency funding to the Second Harvest Food Bunk of Northwest North Carolina. The food bank had nearly empty shelves in recent months, making it impossible to provide food to partner agencies that feed more than SO0OO people. ? The grant will be used to obtain and supply J00.000 pounds of nutritious food to help meet the grow ing need for food assistant*; in Forsyth County during fiscal vear 20<W-2OIO. The food wilt be provided by Second Harvest Food Bank to emergency assis tance agencies in Forsyth County. The grant is the first award-, ed by a collaborative of three 'local funders. which was creat ed last year in response to con ditions caused by the economic down turn. Officials from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust's Poor and Needy Division. The Winston-Salem Foundation and United Way of Forsyth County have been meeting regularly with local nonprofits to plan for address ing emergency needs of the community. "For the next year, we at the Trust - along with our Counterparts at The Winston-Salem Foundation and the United Way - want to support agencies STIs from page fil said Patrice Toney. the Health Department *' of Forsyth County's HlV/STI Supervisor. The county uses the term ST1 (or sexually transmitted infection) as opposed to the more common STD (sexually transmitted disease) because officials say it has less of a stigma. Since January, the county has identified 100 new cases of syphilis, compared to only 27 cases that were identified at the same time a year ago. Furthermore, local health officials believe that about 30 percent of local residents have been infpeted by syphilis and don't even know it. The Health Department is preparing to do serious battle with syphilis, which is trans mitted through direct contact with syphilis sores that main ly grow on the external geni tals, vagina, anus, in the rec tum and sometimes on the lips and in the mouth. Saturday, the Health Department's P.O.S.S.E. (Prevent Ongoing Spread of STIs Everywhere) team used the NBTF as the backdrop for a light-hearted event that preached the importance of ST1 testing and prevention. Dozens attended the free program at the Arts Council Theatre, where they were fed like royalty and entertained with music and a skit written and performed by Annie Hamlin Johnson - the mother of NBTF Founder Larry Leon Hamlin. Several lucky atten McSfil-Milltr Fitzgerald in providing a safety net for residents who are struggling," said Karen McNeil Miller. president of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. Winston-Salem Foundation President Scott Wierman added that "the food assistance grant made by the Trust is the collaborative'* first emergency intervention. When additional assistance is required, either United Way or The"* Winston-Salem Foundation will contribute the funding." Food assistance needs in the county have increased 75 percent over last year, and the high level of demand is pro jected to continue throughout the current fiscal year, which began July 1 , 2009. "To meet this level of need. Forsyth County must have at least four million pounds of nutritious food over the next 12 months. Even .with the programs we have in place, we anticipate a gap of about 500,000 pounds of food over the course of the year," said Clyde Fitzgerald, Second Harvest executive director. "We very much appreciate the grant from the Trust, which hopefully will enable us to meet food -requests in the county through December/' Several groups and organizations are holding food drives for Second Harvest. Residents are . urged to support these efforts bv donating non-perishable food items. dees took home tickets to "In the Continuum" and "Hope: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica;" both erf which are NBTF productions that tackle the issue of STts. "The theater has always been a venue to address soci etal issues." said Toney, a longtime NBTF volunteer and supporter. Toney and her P.O.S.S.E. team will stage a production of sorts of their ow n later this month. They will have dozens of costars - health experts from across the state and Southeast. Together, they will go door-to-door in many Forsyth County communities offering residents free HIV and syphilis tests. It's called a R.I.OT. (Rapid Intervention Outreach Team), and for two days. Aug. 28 and Aug. 29, it's main mission will be to try to curb Forsyth County's mounting STI rate. "We have to go to where the people are. We can't always rely on them coming to us." said P.O.S.S.E. team member Tania Strickland, the county's HIV Non Traditional Sites coordinator. The county is already very actively fighting STIs, which makes the rising numbers even more puzzling. Health officials conduct testing and educational forums at church es. community events, inside the local jail and prison, and the P.O.S.S.E team includes two bilingual members who work almost exclusively with the Spanish-speaking popula tion. But, team members say, each testing event and educa OFA from pan* A I hand to share their ideas and sug gestions. "The president is asking us to develop Organizing for America so that that is vour channel to the White House," Siler told the audi ence. . ? The implementation of OFA could not come soon enough for President Obama Public opinion polls suggests that he is losing public support for his health plan. A NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released last week showed" that only 36 percenkot Americans thought that Obaina's plan was a good idea', versus 42 percent who thought it .wasn't. Obarna's over all approval- rating has also dropped to 53" percent. OFA js hoping to change that. "Right now I think this issue of health! care is a hot topic. It's somewhat complicated. People don 't know what it means foe them," said Siler. "Organizing for America is here to help them have a voice in. this conversation," The crowd at Emmanuel need ed nfi persuasion. They all are diehard supporters of the presi dent. But many expressed con cern that slipping support yf the Obama plan may mean that if a healthcare bill d?*.'s make its way . through Congress, it will be great ly stripped down. There is already word that the controversial "public option" may be headed for the'ehopping bjock. Obama is proposing a public health care option* or. government health insurance, as a way to cover the uninsured arid drive down costs by competing with insurance companies. ; -r ? nrwv? ? ? - P'ecoHa Breuthelte reads off some suggestions for OAF. Pecotia Breathette said she feared that the Obama proposal will he picked apart to the point where il will not provide coverage to the unemployed and those who ean't afford to pay for any insur ance plan - public or private. "I know people who are sick and need it," said Breathette. "They need to go to. the. doctor, hut they, can't go." > Breitthette has already advo -cated for .healthcare reform , by collecting signatures on" petitions that she has sent to members of Congress. She plans to continue her advocacy wirh OFA: Siler said OFA has mat\> plans to promote Obama's heafthcare plan by starting pfyone banks, staging public awareness events and conducting door-to-door can vassing-. ? OFA also plans for a Web site with information to con tradict the many misconceptions and attacks being circulated about Obama's plan. Just before the event, the Forsyth County Democratic Party heard from several candidates running for City Council this -year-Council Member Dan Besse told the audience he felt OAF could make a difference. "The critical thing ... is that our representatives in Congress particularly the Democrats in Congress who are a' majority - need -to heat from us. each of us., about what - is ??important to. us,", siiid Besse. Siler said she has seen over whelming support for healthcare reform as.she has toured the state. "I think the number one con cern is that it's not going to hap pen soon enough." said Siler. -'People want to see healthcare reform, and they want to it now." For information about Organizing for America visit ? Hint' .mxbarackobaina .com . Photo by KeVin Walker P.O.S.S.E. learn members (from left)Jennifer Nail, Regina Allen, Tania Strickland and Rossy Marroquin. tional session reveals that there is still much work to be done to make local people fully aware of how to protect themselves from STIs. Rossy Marroquin, a twen ty-something AmeriCorps volunteer who works with P.O. S.S.E.. said she has found that often parents don't have enough information to ade quately protect themselves or equip their children. "I'm surprised that even though they are older than me, they don't know what STIs are," Marroquin said of some of the women in the workshops she conducts. Syphilis is very treatable. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, often a single injection of penicillin can cure a recently-infected per son. But without treatment. syphilis can wreak havoc on the body - causing damage to internal organs, paralysis, numbness, gradual blindness and dementia. Toney calls its a "silent killer" because the symptoms are so subtle that they are often mistaken for other, more minor ailments. The first sign that most have that something is wrong is a single or multi ple sore(s) (called a chancre), "which will heal on its own after a month or so. Later, a skin rash or lesions develop (they often appear of as spots on the palms of hands of soles of the feet). The correct and consistent use of a condom can greatly reduce the chance of being infected, however: a syphilis sore can sprout in areas that are not covered or protected by a latex condom. Anyone who thinks that they may be infected should seek treatment immediately. The Health Department offers free testing, counseling and referral services. Call 336 703-3212 or 336-703-3213 to ask a trained professional any questions that you may have. I ?I MlHIHBHI .StlliBllH/W-lMPM www.dwsp.org ATTEND A FREE SEMINAR X "My doctor told me I can treat my fibroids without a hysterectomy." ? Tanya, age 43 Heavy Periods? Pelvic Pain? ? Frequent Urination? Constipation/Bloating? You might have uterine fibroids Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that grow on or in the muscles of the uterus (womb). At least 25 percent of women in the U.S. have fibroids. African American women are more likely to develop fibroids. Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) is a safe non-surgical FDA approved alternative to hysterectomy. ? No surgery ? No general anesthesia ? Return to work in about one week ? Outpatient procedure ? Covered by most insurance, including HMO's, Medicare, and Medi-Cal TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR UTERINE FIBROIDS Thursday, August 13th, 2009 or Thursday, August 70th 7009 Program starts at 6:30 P.M. WAKI FOREST IJNIVI MSI I Y BAPTIST Ml Die Al ( I Nil l< N.iltuxk Auditorium ? Mn(li(iil ContM Hlvtl ? Wn?slf?fi *?.ilorn, N( fl\'i 1 Brian Kauri Ml), Interventional Radiologist Joseph Oacr i MO, Interventional Radiologist I ? ? nMjister for this frre seminar please call: 1 (8fof>) 707 0^J1 Wftki Forwt University Bat g|i ask4UFE.com *35. Your Connection for the Treatment of Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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