HAVEN Newsletter     

Volume XII, Issue No. 2                                                                                                                                                              March, 2006

HIV/AIDS Volunteer Enrichment Network
P.O. Box 514, Arnold, MD 21012; (410) 224-2437; (410) 571-9328 – Fax
HAVENINC@aol.com           www.HAVENAnnapolis.org

The next newsletter deadline is close of business on the second Friday of the month. 

Submissions should be submitted by email as an MS Word document.   

 

Ujima’s Melting POt

By Tony Teano

 

Are you ready for your close up?  Debbie and Diane were!  They will appear on Ujima’s Melting Pot, an Anne Arundel Community Television show.  These ladies really spoke from the heart about many candid issues.  Tune in and find out what’s going on directly from Diane.  Hear Debbie share—really deeply share with people—her moving transformation.  These are very up close and personal testaments that kept it real.  Diane’s guest spot will probably air around February 20th, and Debbie’s will follow around the 27th.  The show airs on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8 PM.  Many thanks to our friends at the Ujima Foundation for having two episodes on HIV in our midst—one on a real person living with HIV/AIDS, and another on HAVEN’s efforts to enhance the lives of PLWHAs.  Many thanks go to Delores Hawkins, Ujima’s Executive Director, to Lee Johnson, Ujima’s Melting show hostess, to the panelists and to everyone who participated in taping the show.  As a regular panelist, I was delighted to facilitate this valuable opportunity.  You may be interested to know that the Ujima Foundation is based on the principles of Kwanzaa, and puts into action a mission of “collective work and responsibility.”   In a nutshell, Ujima seeks to: put a face on the faceless by creating education and awareness resources; address health disparities; and use media to create opportunities for empowerment through cross-cultural understanding and education.  You can find out more about the show, the foundation and other happenings at www.ujimafoundation.com

 

CARNIVALE 2006!

By Tony Teano

 

There’s a little bit of Rio in Glen Burnie!  The Annapolis Alumni and the North Arundel County Chapters of Delta Sigma Theta will sponsor Carnivale on March 11 from 2-6 PM.  We cannot thank enough the ladies of elegance and style for showing us a great time!  See flyer for details!

Brooklyn Park Lunch Bunch

 

By Bernadette Zorio

 

Our March Meeting will be held on Friday, March 10th. We are now meeting monthly on the First Friday of the month but had to rearrange for March. Please join us for an inspiring and nourishing meeting for the body, mind and spirit.   We would be delighted to have you join us and share a meal, good conversation and helpful tips for living fully with HIV/AIDS. Hope to see you in March and thereafter. If you have questions about the group please call Bernadette 410-956-5969 or Judy 410-721-0661.

 

GRANTWRITER NEEDED

By Diane Goforth

 

HAVEN needs a volunteer to help research and write applications for funding to foundations that support HIV/AIDS service projects.  Please call me if you are willing to help.  Our goal is 8 applications in a one-year period, with two successful awards.  Call Diane Goforth, Executive Director, at 410-544-2244.

 

Post it note!

By Tony Teano

 

Enclosed please find a flyer about the March 6th Volunteer Training.  Please put it by your car keys right now.  That way you’ll remember to take it with you when you go out and put it up somewhere you go: the store, your gym, your place of worship.  Please recruit folks like you!  Tell three friends about HAVEN.  Post the flyer where caring people will know they can make a difference at HAVEN.  Thank you!

HIV & Coronary Heart Disease

By Tony Teano

 

Recently, Ms. Paulette Heath and Mr. Ken Pettigrew, visted Common Threads to talk about HIV & Coronary Heart Disease.  Ms. Heath is the Patient and Community Affairs Manager from Bristol-Myers Squibb Virology in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Mr. Pettigrew is the Senior Manager of Prevention Programs at Us Helping Us People Into Living, Inc., in Washington, D.C.  

 

Emerging studies reveal links, either as a complication of HIV or the side-effects of many medications to treat and manage the illness, with other health complications.  Among these compounding matters are heart disease and diabetes, which can lead to many, many other health problems, including heart disease. 

 

An old Peggy Lee song asserted, “You gotta have heart!”  She’s right.  Now, to take care of it! 

 

First and foremost, both presenters stressed how unique each person is.  Consequently, the ensuing dialogue promoted becoming an active partner with your primary health care provider to examine risk factors, and, based on your uniqueness, try and find the right strategies to reduce your individual risk factors.  

 

The conversation covered significant general risk factors.  While individual strategies to reduce risk may vary from person to person, these concepts are nuggets of truth to discuss with your doctor.

Heart Disease Risks You Can Not Change

  • Age (45 years or older for men; 55 years or older for women)
  • Family history of early heart disease (father or brother affected before age 55; mother or sister affected before age 65)

Heart Disease Risks You Can Change

  • High blood cholesterol
  • High LDL (“bad”) cholesterol
  • Low HDL (“good”) cholesterol
  • Cigarette smoking
  • Obesity
  • Physical inactivity
  • High fat diet

HDL Cholesterol

  • HDL cholesterol (or high density lipoprotein) is good cholesterol!
  • Higher levels of HDL cholesterol are better
  • Levels 60 mg/dL or greater are considered desirable
  • Levels below 40 mg/dL for men and below 50 mg/dL for women are considered low and may increase the risk of developing heart disease

LDL Cholesterol

  • LDL cholesterol (or low density lipoprotein) is bad cholesterol!
  • Levels below 100 mg/dL are optimal
  • Levels over 160 mg/dL are considered a high risk for heart disease

Total Cholesterol

  • Total cholesterol is a measure of HDL, LDL, and other fats in the blood
  • Total cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dL are considered desirable, and levels of 240 mg/dL or higher increases the risk of heart disease

Checking Your Cholesterol

  • Cholesterol levels are usually checked
    • Before you start anti-HIV medicines
    • When you switch anti-HIV medicines
    • Every 3 to 6 months after
  • Cholesterol levels are usually checked on an empty stomach, usually in the morning after you have fasted for 9-12 hours

Triglycerides

  • Triglycerides are another type of fat in the blood
  • Triglyceride levels under 150 mg/dL are considered normal
  • Your triglycerides should be checked every  3 to 6 months
  • Triglycerides are usually tested on an empty stomach, usually in the morning after you have fasted for 9-12 hours

Glucose and Insulin

  • Glucose is a sugar made from the foods you eat—it’s the fuel your body uses for energy
  • Insulin is a chemical made by the pancreas—it helps get glucose into the body’s cells, where it can be used for energy
  • If your insulin level is too low, or if your body isn’t using the insulin it makes, this is called insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes

MOE’S KNOWS

By Tony Teano

 

Many thanks to Joe Tan and “Moe’s Southwest Grill” at 122 Dock Street in downtown Annapolis (near Storm Brothers Ice Cream and Starbucks Coffee) for selecting HAVEN as their grand opening benefit charity of choice.  Drop by Moe’s for some tasty Southwest fare and let them know we are glad they care!

 

Reminder

 By Tony Teano

 

As you may know, on February 2nd, a certain little groundhog in upstate New York took fright to his own shadow, bestowing upon us six more weeks of winter.  HAVEN follows the Anne Arundel County Public School system with regard to closings due to inclement weather.  Also, we observe federal holidays.  Stay safe and warm these few remaining blustery days of winter….

 

       Quality of Life

By Tony Teano

 

There’s a new HIV/AIDS Quality of Life retreats website at www.qualityofliferetreatshiv.org   If you have questions, or if you would like more information about retreats, you can also email the good folks who run this fabulous program at qualityofliferetreatshiv@yahoo.com  Here is the retreat schedule for the rest of the year: May 26th  through 29th; September 1st  through 4th; and December 4th through 7th.

Below you find some helpful information from the webpage in the event you do not have internet access.  Also, their phone number is 410-309-3439.  You can call them for an application or come to a support group for one if you cannot access it via the internet. 

 

Statement of Faith and Purpose

 

In affirmation of the love of God, this program is offered to all HIV-infected persons, regardless of religion, nationality, race, gender or sexual orientation.  We view the church as a healing instrument, which can extend a caring, supportive ministry of prayer education, advocacy and direct service.  The goal of our effort is to uphold and enhance the quality of individual life by nurturing hope, unconditional love, independence and self-determination.

 

Celebrate Life at a Quality of Life Retreat

 

The Quality of Life Retreat Program began in 1988. Since then over sixty-nine retreats have been conducted.  The retreats are a connecting and coping experience for persons living with HIV/AIDS.  It is a chance to get away, to get together, to interact and to learn the techniques and attitudes that are effective in dealing with the issues of long-term survival.  The retreats have four objectives: (1) To provide a safe, loving environment in which participants can be fully themselves, free of fears and inhibitions, and can deal openly with their deepest concerns; (2) To offer spiritual, practical, educational and health resources to those whose lives have been, are and will be affected personally by HIV infection;

(3) To listen to what HIV infected persons have to say about their journeys; and (4) To offer and develop a viable model of how the religious community can make a compassionate and effective response to this crisis.

 

Goals and Expectations

 

Our ultimate goal is to provide retreats that will be a connecting and coping experience for persons living with HIV/AIDS in the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area as well as in the Hagerstown, MD, and Martinsburg, WV, areas and all surrounding regions.  Because of the intended diversity of participants at the retreats, we encourage community-building activities and emphasis on mutual respect and understanding.  We want to include at least one HIV+ person in the planning of each retreat.  We want to keep in mind that a broad-base, culturally-diverse group of planners and resource people can offer us the scope necessary for the best retreats.  We want to avoid having resource people endorse their products, services, or methods of healing as the only route that can be taken, remembering that we are offering a range of options that needs to fit with each individual’s own life path.  We expect that retreats will be alcohol and drug-free, except of course for prescribed medications.  Because of allergies and fears, among other reasons, we request that participants, and staff not bring pets on the retreats.

                                

HAVEN

Telephone Numbers

 

Bob Davis, President

703-841-4460 email: bdavis@caci.com

or: write to P.O. Box 514, Arnold, MD 21012

or: Diane or Tony can have him call you


Executive Director
Diane Goforth
(410) 544-2244

Director of Volunteers & Client Services
Tony Teano
(410) 224-2437

Housing Director & Buddy Services Coordinator
Vance Larson
(410) 672-7571

Our House Resident Manager
Sharon Dawson
(Reach through Vance or Diane)