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May 1997 Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina • 9 AIDS Continued from page 1 Drug resistance also can be a prob lem for AIDS patients. Of those who do respond to new therapies and see the quality of their lives improve, say Brantley “the damnable part is that these people are going to hve longer, thus increasing the chances of spreading the disease, and so many kids are going out there get ting infected.” In fact, while the total number of AIDS deaths declined during the first half of 1996, the epi demic is now listening its grip on women and blacks. According to the North Bill Brent Carolina AIDS Advisory Council, 60 percent of men infected with AIDS in the state are black and 88 percent of infected women in the state are black, while only 22 percent of North Carolinians are black. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta report that, in 1996, women accounted for a record ing 20 percent of all new AIDS cases nationally, up from 7 percent in 1985. Call to action New drug ther^ies and changing demographics are leading AIDS service organizations to rethink their strat^es. “Onr mission statement hasn’t changed,” says Bill Brent, executive director of the AIDS Service Agency of North Carolina, which serves Wake County “What has changed is the way we fulfill our mission. The role of AIDS service organizations is more signifi cant than ever, but not as clearly defined” Brent says the fact that AIDS ser vice organizations are involved in long term strategic planning is in itself a sig nificant change. “Fifteen years ago, organizations were truiy crisis-managing,” he says. ‘Tb meet the current crisis head-on, we’ve got to be prepared Not planning will be the demise of [AIDS organizations].” Les Kooyman, executive director of the Charlotte-based Metrolina AIDS Project, says his organization is devel oping new programs to meet the chang ing needs of chents. “We’re seeing so many people on a day-tolay level living a much better quality of life, and our services need to reflect that change,” Kooyman says. The Charlotte group is calling on patients to educate themselves about the rapidly growing number of avail able timtment options, Kooyman says. The organization, which serves 13 counties, also is updating rural physi cians on new multiple-drug therapies. Because Kooyman sees fewer clients going on dsabihty and many getting back into the work force, his organization also is considering offer ing job training. An important issue for people searching for jobs, says Kooyman, is how to explain the employment gap while they were sick with AE)S. Michael Kennedy of the Charlotte interfaith group says his organization is trying to educate both volunteers and funders about the need for their contin ued support. ‘We’ve got to do a lot more to help volunteers see the value of their labor,” Kennedy says. “They need to see that their being a part of an AIDS patient’s life, providing company, is a really valu able thing to maintaining self-esteem and to staying faithful to complicated drug regimens.” Kennedy, who is also a health edu cator for the Mecklenburg County Health Department, says he realizes that if funders see AIDS as less of a cri sis, they’ll be more likely to give their money to other causes. “It’s up to AIDS agencies to think about their service mix given the new realities and then be able to articulate this to funders,” he says. Marks Lane of the Trian^e AIDS Interfaith Network says the good news is that service agencies in the Triangle are working together like never before — and largely because their larger funders have asked them to. “How can we send a strong, unified message of how important our cause is if we can’t work together?” Lane says, “fbundations were ri^t to teU us that we need to partner more.” As evidence of coalition-building, the Triangle group has included endorsement letters from other area AIDS agencies in a recent grant pro posal to Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Lane says. Joe Zuniga at the National AIDS Action Council sees the good news on the medical front-lines as a double blessing. “Thank God for the people with AIDS that we have a new hope,” Zuniga says. “The other benefit is that this hope has reinvigorated the AIDS community where, 16 years into the epidemic, there had been a heavy pall of discouragement. “Our challenge at this point is deal ing with the confosion that these head lines have generated.” Retiree serves people with HIV/AIDS By Kyle Gray Carrboro As a nurse at UNC Hospitals, Terry Winfield enjoyed working with patients with HIV or AIDS. Although now retired from the field of nursing, she continues to serve her communi ty and to help people living with HIV/AIDS. For the past two years, she has volunteered three to four hours each week providing support to people with HIV/AJDS at the Orange County Residence Home in Carrboro. Winfield is one of 50 volunteers who perform more than 290 hours of service each month at the home, which is run by the AIDS Service Agency of Orange County. Since 1995, the agency has provided the home’s six guests with a private room, food, transportation, person al care, recreation, emotional sup port, and a location close to UNC Hospitals, where they receive treat ment. “When we first'opened, we liter ally could not have stayed open without volunteers,” says program manager Sarah Butzen. HEALTH “A house volunteer like Terry helps us in many ways. She might take everyone out to a movie. She might prepare a meal. She might help clean the house, or she might provide direct care for residents because of her medical experi ence.” Winfield also provides house guests with transportation to and from medical appointments, runs errands, plans house activities and greets visitors. “I love assisting people with health problems in a less intense atmosphere,” she says. “I feel very good when I’m here. “I have volunteered all of my adult life. There is always some thing to do with people with these particular needs, and I am comfort able with this group of people.” Butzen says that Winfield’s “ongoing service to the home’s guests has proven to be invaluable. We had a terrible week back in 1995 when two of our guests died. To have a volunteer like Terry, who sat and talked with their families, is wonderful.” Winfield’s commitment to serv ing her community goes beyond her service to the home. She also serves as a lunchtime monitor at a local homeless shelter. Contact your local health department or hospital to find out about volunteer opportunities to assist people living with HIV/AIDS. ThankYou FORTHE SuCXESSi The A Fletcher Foundation is pleased to have been a partner in the Philanthropy JoumaFs fourth annual conference for the nonprofit sector ... Building Stronger Communities held April 1 and 2, 1997, in Greensboro, North Carolina. In addition to thanking all those who attended the confer ence and participated in the Technology and Nonprofits ses sion, we would like to recognize the following organizations and their staffs who generously shared their time and resources to help make the confereih:e a great success: BellSoudl Cary Acad(^y Creative Phil^thropy IBM Coip. Intelligent Visual Computing Interpath SAS Institute The A. J. Fletcher Foundation co-sponsored Philanthropy '91 as part of its effort to help nonprofits understand and use technology in the fullfillment of their missions.
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
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May 1, 1997, edition 1
11
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