Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Spring into Wellness! Teen Damien goes to Jameson Camp

So, confession: I'm fairly new to this whole Youth Outreach Educator thing. I mean, I've spent a lot of time educating, and have experienced almost 15 years as a youth, but having the official title means I have access to more opportunities in Indianapolis than ever before.

Prime example? Because I'm a Damien Center representative, advocate, and rockstar (if I do say so myself), I was privileged to have a table at Jameson Camp's Spring into Wellness Fair on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

Confession #2: I never went to camp. Ever. Camp sounded scary and lonely to a very shy girlie like me. BUT OH MY GOSH I WISH I WERE EITHER 7 OR 17 BECAUSE NOW I WANT TO GO. I was actually a little nervous showing up ("Where do I go? I don't know any of these people! What if no one likes me?") but was immediately welcomed by their Youth Leaders, exceptional kids who are dedicated to the camp's mission and complete service hours. In about 10 seconds the Teen Damien booth was set up and I was ready to rock and roll at camp.

Confession #3: I'm ridiculously nosy. So, naturally, Miss Nosy McNoserson darted away from her Teen Damien table to check out the other booths and talk to some of the Jameson Camp leaders and counselors--here's what I found:
  • I'm at a healthy BMI (body mass index) thanks to Ericka from Speedway Nutrition. Eating healthy pays off, and now I have the calculation to show it!
  • FitCity is an organization in Indy that helps fight child obesity--the healthy way.
  • Love, commitment, and relationships should be discussed with people of ALL ages, including the youngsters. We don't give them enough credit sometimes. Thanks, Planned Parenthood of Indiana!
  • I'm too big for the bouncy houses. Yeah, I checked.
Final confession: If I'm not at the Damien Center in July, it may or may not be because I'm pretending to be 12-year-old so I can hang out at Jameson Camp. I still haven't decided if I would want to do the JC Juniors Camp, the Wellness Camp, or Tataya Mato. (This one is for kids infected/affected by HIV. So incredibly important.) Thank you, everyone at Jameson Camp, for including Teen Damien in your 2012 Spring Into Wellness Fair!

Mackenzie
Youth Outreach Educator
The Damien Center

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Myths Dispelled: Rae Lewis Thornton comes to Butler University

I had no idea someone could be as strong as Rae Lewis-Thornton. To me, she was the symbol of pride, knowledge, adn caring prevention. While many members of the church were in attendance at her talk on Friday, March 9th in the Reilly Room at Butler, her talk was not what an orthodox individual would call "holy." Luckily for most people there, we weren't orthodox@ In her speech, I felt that she was putting every aspect of her life on display. While she mainly talked about the social and physical aspects of living with first HIV, and then 7 years later AIDS, I felt I knew more about her whole being than I had ever experienced at any convocation. This is exactly what is needed. Rae Lewis-Thornton is more than a poster-person or speaker for HIV/AIDS awareness; it has become her mission in life to spread the truth in a manner that hits straight to the heart like an arrow.

 As a young person, I could not fully picture HIV/AIDS through the statistics that were presented at the beginning of the presentation on behalf of the Ryan White Planning Council because it made me feel small: just a statistic of probability. Yet when Rae Lewis-Thornton took the stage, she drew the whole audience in. When she incorporated those statistics, they became much more meaningful to everyone: more comprehensible. Also, topics that had never even crossed my mind became relevant and clear, through her wonderfully guided discussion.

The most important point Ms. Thornton spoke on was the fact that young people these days are either unaware that AIDS can be deadly (because we now have so many drugs that help treat HIV/AIDS), or do not care about possibly contracting HIV because there are drugs to help treat it. This is a shocking and sad truth. The youth of our nation is becoming infected at a high rate that is entirely preventable. Ms. Thornton's stories about many of the physically painful and emotionally humbling experiences through which she has lived illuminated my hope to help young people understand the dangers of HIV/AIDS and any other STI. She assured us that attempting the "do as I say, but not as I do" method is seriously ineffective and is not doing our children any favors. If we truly want to aim for prevention, we have to be real with our youth and explain to them exactly the prevention efforts they can take, and we must do so in a style they understand. Infection is NOT inevitable.

Abby
Teen Damien Youth Advisory Council Member
Butler University

Friday, March 9, 2012

We are Women: Taking Action against HIV/AIDS

This week Damien Center staff, clients, friends, visitors, and volunteers helped us honor Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day by participating in the Red Pump Project.

The Red Pump Project raises awareness about the issues around HIV/AIDS for women and girls by providing an online space for dialogue, education, and (you guessed it)--pictures of fabulous red pumps.


Well, since I'm not always following the rules, I turned Teen Damien's version into the Red Shoe Project, in order to include those ladies and men who wanted to rep this awareness day without high heels.

The result? Poses from staff members and tons of red shoes! The Testing Center is now green/white clinic meets kindergarten classroom, but our Youth Advisory Council worked really hard to help me pin up all the pics and facts that everyone colored for us.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), HIV/AIDS is the 5th leading cause of death in women in the United States, ages 24-44. This means that many women are contracting it in their teens (13-24 year olds, there's Teen Damien), not getting care, and dying. GIRLS, WE NEED TO GET TESTED. When we don't get tested, we don't know our status, and we don't get medical care when we need it.

The Red Pump(Shoe) Project was a great way for Teen Damien to raise awareness, but the conversation needs to continue after March 10. Let's be aware! Let's get tested! Let's care enough about our bodies to want them to be healthy.

According to the CDC, in 2006 15,000 women were diagnosed with HIV. There were 3,784 AIDS related deaths among women in that same year. Do yourself a favor; in 2012, don't become one of them.



Mackenzie
Youth Outreach Educator, Teen Damien