Forming Our Future's Blueprint

 

Forming our Future’s Blueprint

Saturday, August 6, 2011

The Statehouse Inn

101 East Adams Street Springfield, IL 62701

Teen Summit Registration Form

Thank you for your interest in participating in Forming Our Future’s Blueprint 2011.  This summit was organized by BASUAH Ambassadors with you in mind. Please complete the registration form so that appropriate arrangements can be made to ensure a successful event.

Name
Address, City, State, Zip Code
Phone Number
E-Mail Address
Age
Gender
Food Restrictions (if any)

Arrive at the Statehouse Inn by 9:45 am to check-in!

Return the form by any of these methods:

1)     Fax completed form to (217) 558-7181

2)     Email completed form to bernice.fokum@illinois.gov

3)     Drop completed form off at:

Illinois Department of Public Health

535 West Jefferson Street, 5^th Floor

Springfield, Illinois 62761

(Black Glass Buildings across from McDonalds)

What YOU need to know: Facts & Trivia about HIV/AIDS

Yesterday you received some trivia facts and questions. If you were able to use our mobile texting program Text2Survive or T2S, by texting the word GAME to 36363, you got instant feedback on yesterday's trivia questions. Answers to yesterday's trivia are posted at the end of this blog.


TODAY's FACTS & TRIVIA

Facts
• Since the first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981, more than 25 million people have died from AIDS. An estimated 1.8 million people died as a result of AIDS in 2009 alone.

• Around 2.6 million people became infected with HIV in 2009. Sub-Saharan Africa has been hardest hit by the epidemic; in 2009 over two-thirds of AIDS deaths were in this region.

Trivia
1. How can I tell if I have HIV or AIDS?

2. Who should be tested?


Answers to yesterday's trivia:

1. What is AIDS?
Answer: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is a medical condition. A person is diagnosed with AIDS when their immune system is too weak to fight off infections.

2. What is the difference between HIV and AIDS?
Answer: HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. When an HIV-positive person acquires an opportunistic "AIDS-defining" disease, they become an AIDS patient.

F.A.A.M.E 2011 BASUAH Teen Health Summit: June 14-15

It's going to be FUN as well as EDUCATIONAL!

For Youth ages 13-18 (Middle/High School) * Hotel Pere Marquette, Peoria IL

*Register by June 8th

*There is no cost to participate

The purpose of the Summit is to reduce risky sexual behaviors, particularly those relating to the spread and prevention of HIV/AIDS. Each day participants will participate in a variety of general and breakout sessions that will focus on topics dealing with teen sexual health. We will also host two workshops for LGBTQ teens and their supporters that explore the LGBTQ culture, community, and associated struggles. Chaperones and other adults will participate in workshops relevant to starting/maintaining their own peer education group, the Nia/SISTA interventions, and building partnerships with other community agencies. Each day of the summit will culminate with lively, fun, and educational event for community youth hosted by the Youth Wellness Bureau of Sangamon County/BASUAH Ambassadors.

Youth will receive a certificate of participation at the end of the Summit.

Contact Besserat Habtes for more information and to register

217-522-7303 ext 111 or at

Bhabtes@Springfieldul.org

NOTE: The application will be posted on the www.basuah.com website soon.

The Notorious "Down-Low"

One of the most controversial topics that arises when discussing HIV/AIDS is the "down-low." For those that do not know, the "down-low" refers primarily to males who publicly have wives and girlfriends, but privately have sexual relations with men. This topic is very sensitive and tends to charge people's emotions.

This past week, two popular television personalities went on the record and talked about the high HIV/AIDS rates in African-American women and attributed it to the "down-low men" that get the disease from other men and give it to their female companions. (Click the title for a link to the article.) Some people were angered by their comments and others agreed. I personally agreed with them to a certain degree. Because of the stigma in the Black community about homosexuality, many Black men sneak around and catch HIV unknowingly. They then bring it home and sleep with their wives and cycle continues...

How do you think the "down-low" is affecting the spread of HIV/AIDS in the African-American community?