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Community
Education |
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By
Mary
Ann Hellinghausen When a highly valued nurse in her ob/gyn unit suddenly died of AIDS, JoAnn Goodie, RN, realized how widespread HIV/AIDS was in her Houston community and decided to launch a grassroots campaign to fight it. “I took a deep breath and said, ‘Somebody has to do something about AIDS—why not me?” said Goodie, a nurse manager at the ob/gyn clinic at Ben Taub General Hospital. That was the beginning of the Warren Corp., named in honor of Warren Nichols, a nurse who died in 1989. Goodie formed the nonprofit corporation two years ago with a commitment to educate Houston women, particularly blacks and Hispanics, about HIV and AIDS. “When I started to research the disease, I found the numbers were devastating,” she said. According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AIDS is the second leading cause of death among black women ages 25 to 44.
AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death among all women between the ages of 25 and 44 in the United States. And although the number of black and Hispanic women combined represent less than one-fourth of all women nationwide, they account for more than 74 percent of reported AIDS cases among U.S. women. The Warren Corp. is made up of Goodie and a committee of about 10 nurses, social workers, and business owners, who are working to educate black and Hispanic women about AIDS through health fairs and conferences. Creative efforts One of the Warren Corp.’s biggest challenges was determining how to get its message to its target audience. “Black folks do go to church, and that’s one place we’re trying to get our message heard,” Goodie said. The group’s first conference, held in September at the Trinity Fellowship Church in southeast Houston, attracted about 80 participants. “That conference was a huge success from where I sit,” said Marie Hunter, LMSW, a senior public health educator for the Houston Department of Health’s Bureau of HIV/STD Prevention, who participated in the conference. More than 10 percent of the attendees were tested, which Hunter described as a good, high number. The conference educated participants about HIV, discussed women’s self-esteem and self-empowerment issues, and included testimony from a woman who contracted AIDS from her boyfriend of 10 years, with whom she thought she had had a monogamous relationship. “Women don’t think there’s a problem, but when a man has multiple partners and he’s not admitting it, and you accept that and don’t ask questions, that puts you at risk,” Goodie said. Looking ahead The Warren Corp.’s future plans include educating business owners, such as barbers and beauticians in minority neighborhoods, about the AIDS epidemic and giving them literature to post in their shops. “We want to put the information out there so people can see it in the [minority] community because that’s where AIDS is exploding,” said Carmella Wygant, LMSW, OTR, a member of the Warren Corp. committee. The corporation also plans to hold additional conferences at minority churches and hopes to start an HIV counseling, testing, and referral center. Health fairs at bowling alleys and fitness centers will continue, and Goodie is working with the city health department to develop educational outreach events at Houston shopping malls on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1. Eventually, the group hopes to take its message to college campuses. So far, the corporation has supported itself through donations from pharmaceutical companies and other businesses. The goal for the coming year, Goodie said, is to raise $10,000 through grants and events such as a theatrical presentation related to HIV. When it comes to AIDs, minority women need to stop thinking, “This can’t happen to me,” Goodie said. “We have to create an environment where people know they must be tested. We’re trying to enable women to feel empowered and to be in control of their own sexual activity—and their partners’.” |
