Brown Like Me

Warnings: discussions of race, sex, slurs, homophobia and violence

Brown Like Me is a short documentary brought to you by the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention(ASAAP)'s Queer South Asian Youth (Q-SAY) project. This short film captures the experiences of 6 queer-identified South Asian youth living in the Greater Toronto Area who speak candidly about identity labels, homophobia, coming out, pride, resiliency, and family. Funding for this film was generously provided by Community One Foundation, an organization that actively supports individuals and groups working towards building and enhancing LGBTTIQQ2S* communities..

For audience members who are questioning their sexual orientation or gender identities, we hope this film makes you feel less alone in your journey of coming out and/or coming to terms with your multi-layered identity.

ASAAPs HIV-prevention team delivers ongoing workshops on HIV 101, Healthy Relationships, and Anti-homophobia to students in the public school system, community members and other service providers. This film will be used as a teaching tool when delivering agency workshops with the aim to bring visibility to queer identities within the South Asian community and challenge the tendency to disassociate from issues we assume don't affect us or don't exist in our families and communities. Recognizing the isolation and other social determinants of health of queer people is what inextricably ties queer services to broader HIV prevention and education.

Questions? Comments?
desimen@asaap.ca

CAP Program Highlight: Speakers Bureau

Cascade AIDS Project Speakers Bureau

The mission of CAP’s Speakers Bureau program is to build awareness and understanding of HIV through sharing stories, personal truths, and life experiences in order to mobilize communities to combat the pandemic. Comprised of a diverse group of individuals, CAP’s Speakers Bureau is available to provide a personal perspective of HIV. Whether in a school setting or for a community group, trained speakers will guide audience members through the basics of HIV, share personal stories related to HIV, and inspire participants to actively consider the impact of HIV in their own communities and across the globe.

CAP’s Speakers Bureau seeks to raise awareness and combat stigma, and to that end the Speakers Bureau works with individuals who are either infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. The speakers represent a broad diversity of backgrounds, while also sharing the common thread of knowing the impact of HIV firsthand. Speakers are well trained to deal with difficult questions and have experience talking with a broad array of audiences, from classroom to workplace, from college campus to community-based organization.

The Speakers Bureau was reconstituted in December 2009. In the first seven months, they were able to reach 864 individuals at 31 separate events. Even more impressive, 45% of Speaker audiences were comprised of people of color and 71% were youth under 19.

To request a speaker, go here. To read more about the Speakers available, go here.

What Speakers are saying:

By going to schools, churches and Migrant camps and sharing her story with others, she earned the respect and trust of the community. To this day, Maricela is active in the community promoting HIV prevention/awareness. “For me sharing my story with other has changed my life forever; it has helped me want to live. I have HIV, HIV does not have me. Why? Because I have it under control and I am not allowing it to control me!” --Maricela

“So, I made an appointment and had an HIV antibodies test. A week later, my doctor’s office was trying to contact me. At 6PM that night, the phone rang and it was my doctor. I knew that something was up. He told me that this was not the way he wanted to break the news to me. Then, several days later, I found out that I was his first HIV+ patient.” –Guy

“I've lost many friends to AIDS, but I've been fortunate to have a very supportive HIV negative husband for 25 years who has helped me get through it all. Although HIV is no picnic, it has helped me grow in ways that I don't believe I would have grown if not for the disease. I am a fighter and my first priority is my health.” --Rachel

What people are saying:

“One student went home on Friday after meeting people living with HIV for the first time and asked her mother if she knew anyone living with HIV. Her mother replied ‘Your Uncle.’ The student was shocked that no one ever told her until now. Thank you for opening dialogues and being willing to tell your stories in hopes that we can prevent future HIV cases.” – 7^th Grade Teacher

“To be perfectly honest, I was a bit nervous when I heard people with AIDS were coming to our school. But now I am happy you came. Thank you.” – 7^th Grade Student

“Sorry we missed you but the speaker did a GREAT job. I am sure that he shared my concerns [about condoms], he came around and did a great job!! I felt that the presentation is huge for these students and I truly appreciate your time! I look forward to seeing you next year!” – High School Teacher

CAP Program Highlight: LUES

Latinos Unidos Enfrentando el SIDA (LUES)

LUES is the Spanish language acronym for Latinos United Confronting AIDS. LUES provides culturally driven HIV prevention education in the Latino community. Over the past four years, CAP has seen the number of its Latino clients increase by 31%. Based on the continued disproportionate effects of HIV in the Latino population combined with feedback from the community, CAP secured funding from the United Way to expand its prevention efforts in the Latino community.

The goal of LUES is to reduce stigma and promote healthy behaviors in relation to HIV and STDs through education, training, outreach, and social marketing. Partners include Multnomah County Capacitation Center, the Oregon Council of Hispanic Advancement (OCHA) and Hacienda CDC.

LUES works with Latino youth to develop and produce social marketing materials. Middle school and high school students participate in age appropriate and culturally relevant sessions learning HIV and STD information, as well as information on how to use the media as a tool for educating their communities. With the support and guidance of CAP staff, youth produced six short radio novellas. They were broadcast on the radio in Spanish, reaching thousands of listeners with messages about HIV prevention, and are now available on CD.

In collaboration with the Multnomah County Community Capacitation Center, LUES provides HIV capacity building training to Community Health Workers. Sessions are based on popular education. They also offer two popular education basics trainings per year and will be offering an STD training in the near future. In addition to the trainings for community health workers, shorter trainings are offered for more informal HIV Educators ideal for groups interested in creating HIV experts in their community (church groups, alcohol and drug treatment groups, etc). Some of last year's Educators include Hacienda's parent involvement group.

LUES participates in several community events per year. Events vary from film screenings to health fairs. We usually partner with county health departments to conduct on-site testing at these events.

Cascade AIDS Project conducts outreach and education in migrant camps and with day laborers. These critical services bring HIV education and testing to populations at increased risk for HIV and late detection. In the camps, our long-time partner, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, provides mobile medical care services and Washington County Health Department does rapid testing. At the day labor site, Outside In provides medical services and testing.

For more informations, contact Maricela Berumen at 503.278.3867.

CAP Program Highlight: Teen2Teen

Teen2Teen is a group of passionate, activated youth ages 15-19 who are trained as peer educators in HIV/AIDS and Sexuality education. They make a one year commitment to dedicate their time to learning and educating about HIV/AIDS, sexuality, gender, sexual orientation, healthy relationships, and much more. Throughout their year of volunteering they attend meetings every week and take part in extra training sessions and workshops.

Teen2Teen youth become a resource for their friends, families, and communities on topics ranging from how to get tested for an STD to how to become activated around sexual health. They present in schools and at Agent Trainings, attend and present at conferences like the Oregon Queer Youth Conference and the Adolescent Sexuality Conference, and create amazing outreach projects in our communities. They also have huge amounts of fun, and make incredible friendships.

Teen2Teen's Mission was written by and for the youth in Teen2Teen. It is a statement meant to describe and inspire the work that Teen2Teen does through their outreach, their discussions, their Agent Trainings, and the societal change they make with their program:

"As Teen2Teen we strive to educate our peers and ourselves about HIV and Sexuality. Our goal is to create an empowered, active, and informed community. We aim to provide comprehensive information and end stigma surrounding HIV and Sexuality."

For more information or to find out how to volunteer or get involved, please email Annika Shore, the Youth HIV Education Coordinator, or fill out a Teen2Teen application.

CAP Program Highlight: CHATpdx

Curbing HIV/AIDS Transmission among at-risk and racial/ethnic minority youth (CHATpdx). Funded through the Department of Health and Human Service – Office of Minority Health (OMH), CHATpdx is a new program designed to reduce HIV/AIDS transmission among at-risk and racial/ethnic minority youth in Portland, Oregon. The program is carried out via a coalition of organizations and individuals including Cascade AIDS Project, Outside In, and the African American AIDS Action Awareness Alliance (A6).

CHATpdx uses four main strategies to accomplish this work.
• peer-to-peer education to reach at-risk youth,
• expand HIV testing opportunities for at-risk youth,
• use social media to enhance peer education and extend its reach,
• expand and enhance partnerships among youth serving agencies.

CHATpdx hosts an HIV testing night for youth at Pivot (209 SW 4th Ave; formerly the Men’s Wellness Center) which occurs every 2nd and 4th Mondays from 3 – 7pm. The space and testing are open for all youth 24 and under, and include games, peer education, wii, snacks, and more.

CHATpdx is on Facebook and Twitter! “Like” the Facebook page to get the latest CHATpdx news and events. Additionally, a blog for youth is coming soon. They post information for events relevant to youth 24 and under and also provide free testing for some events. If you’d like to add rapid oral HIV testing for your event please contact us and we will make every attempt to set up free and confidential testing.

While CHATpdx will not turn away any youth 24 and under, there is a special emphasis on reaching and serving racial and ethnic minority youth.

For more information, see the Facebook and Twitter, or contact Ernesto Dominguez or Annika Shore.