Stopping the spread: Onondaga County responds to high number of HIV cases
Fourteen years ago, Edward Davis of Syracuse tested positive for AIDS after secretly having unprotected sex with other men.
Davis, 54, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., during a time where homosexuality was taboo, he said. Today, Davis openly identifies as a gay man and volunteers for the Syracuse Preventive AIDS Community Resources.
On Friday, Davis, along with Bob Forbes, an HIV prevention specialist for the AIDS Community Resources, and Zanetta Greene, an HIV prevention specialist, brought the HIV prevention message to Syracuse residents. At the intersection of East Fayette and Croly streets, the three pulled up in vehicles specially equipped for private and sanitary rapid HIV testing. Community members were already awaiting their arrival in the open parking lot.
The prevention awareness was in response to 10 new HIV cases among men younger than 25 in Onondaga County. The Onondaga County Health Department is investigating the outbreak, The Post-Standard reported at the beginning of April. The cases have disproportionately affected black and Hispanic men, The Post-Standard reported.
Sex education literature, male condoms, dental dams and female condoms were given out between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. until supplies were exhausted. About 50 people showed up and about 14 were women, Forbes said.
When black males are at risk, black women are also at risk, said Zanetta Greene, an HIV prevention specialist who has made it her mission to educate black women on safe sex.
The increase in HIV cases is the entire community’s issue because women are at a high risk for infection when their male partners are secretly engaging in sexual activities with other males in a practice called living on the “down low,” she said.
“One woman said she has been with one man for 10 years, so she does not take an HIV test,” Greene said. “But a lot of women don’t know men are on the down low. He won’t share that info with you.”
Visiting the East Side of Syracuse to raise AIDS awareness and prevention has increased from twice a month to once a week because of the high-risk population living there, Forbes said.
“The most important questions to ask are ‘’Have you been tested,’ ‘’Where was your last test’ and ‘’Can I see the results.’ It’s your responsibility to protect yourself,” Greene said.
The state is currently trying to educate black men on HIV prevention. The strategy is to present the message in a convenient way that brings the information to the people without requiring them to travel out of their communities to find an office, Forbes said.
Forbes experienced the death of many friends in the 1980s from HIV, he said. He said he thinks the most recent findings are not just an indicator of an increase in HIV cases, but also an indicator of how many people are actually deciding to get tested.
Davis convinced some individuals to get tested after an HIV educational speech he made at the Southside Community Center, he said.
Davis turned to alcohol to help him cope with not having an outlet to truly express his sexuality. He grew up in an area where sex education was not socially acceptable by community or church, he said. His mother is still in denial of homosexuality, he said.
These situations cause some men to release urges that exist deep down inside by engaging in high-risk behavior, Davis said.
“I remember treating AIDS like ‘’the bad disease,’ but now the sex education in schools is doing the best they can,” Davis said. “Now that it is hitting close to home, people are doing things about it.”
