Spirit in Action
AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin - Cheryl Thiede
Cheryl Thiede is the associate director of social services for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, - ARCW.org or 836-7710. Raised Moravian, she is now part of Eau Claire 's Unitarian Universalist Congregation.
- Broadcast on:
- 15 Dec 2007
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- other
[music] ♪ Let us sing this song for the healing of the world ♪ ♪ That we may hear as one ♪ ♪ With every voice of every song ♪ ♪ We will move this world along ♪ ♪ And our lives will feel the echo of our healing ♪ ♪ With every voice of every song ♪ Welcome to Spirit in Action. My name is Mark Helpsmeet. Each week, I'll be bringing you stories of people living lives of fruitful service, of peace, community, compassion, creative action, and progressive efforts. I'll be tracing the spiritual roots that support and nourish them in their service. Hoping to inspire and encourage you to sink deep roots and produce sacred fruit in your own life. ♪ Let us sing this song for the dreaming of the world ♪ ♪ That we may dream as one ♪ ♪ With every voice of every song ♪ ♪ We will move this world along ♪ Today on Spirit in Action, we're going to visit with Cheryl Thede of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, the Eau Claire Office. AIDS was very big news back in the 1980s. It was a scary and unknown threat to health that seemed unstoppable. As happens with so much that persists, it has sunken into the background of consciousness for most Americans, even though there are more people than ever living with the disease. Cheryl Thede, as the Associate Director of the Northern Wisconsin District of the AIDS Resource Center, sees the real faces behind the statistics on AIDS. In the eight years, Cheryl has worked with the ARCW. America has gotten better at keeping those with AIDS alive longer, likewise for those with the precursor to AIDS, those who are HIV positive. Cheryl, deeply committed to work for justice, was raised Moravian and is now a Unitarian Universalist. Cheryl, thanks for joining me for Spirit in Action. Thanks for talking with me. Cheryl, you're the head here, I guess I'd say, in the Eau Claire Office for client services staff for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin. Explain to me and to listeners a little bit how this is organized, because it's kind of complex how all of these agencies around the state are related. We are a statewide AIDS service organization. There are two AIDS service organizations in the state. We're the only one that is statewide. We have nine offices around Wisconsin. So we're serving the full state with different services, client services and prevention services. And those services are provided out of all of our offices. And what do you mean by those things, client services and prevention services? Prevention services are the staff are focusing on getting out, educating, doing outreach, doing counseling and testing with those people most at risk of HIV transmission, making sure that they have the information and the tools and the resources they need to be safe. And if they think they are at risk, then we offer HIV counseling and testing, both anonymously or confidentially, depending on their preference. We have a number of different tests they can choose from. I miss something there, anonymously or confidentially. Anonymous means that the person testing does not have to give any part of their name or any kind of identifier. It's a code that is agreed upon between the tester and the client who would then give the code when they get the results. Confidentially means that they are giving their name. It's a name-based test. But obviously, it's held in confidence. Yeah, I guess confidentiality is really important. I guess it's important in all public health, which is the HIPAA regulations are all about. Why is it so important here in terms of AIDS? There's still so much discrimination and stigma and fear around HIV and AIDS that whether it's somebody who's testing, somebody who wants information, someone who's living with HIV who's seeking out our services, there is so much protection that needs to happen to make sure that they feel safe in coming forward and getting services. And most people living with HIV are not out about that status because there is still so much discrimination. We still have people losing their jobs, getting kicked out of their apartments, feeling fear in their communities because of their status. So confidentiality is vitally important and always has been even before HIPAA for us. Is the stigma, is it about the fact that they're carrying the plague, you know, this incurable disease? Or is it because people are afraid this is a sexual deviant? What kind of prejudices are being brought to bear here? I would say it's all of those things. It's first of all misinformation about how HIV can be transmitted. There's still a lot of misinformation about that. People don't understand that there are only minimal ways that can be transmitted. You can't get it off a surface. You can't get it from drinking out of the same glass. And yet there still is so much ignorance about that. So that's obviously one of our goals to make sure that people understand the facts. And then definitely there's discrimination based on homophobia and fear about someone's behavior or lifestyle or who they are. So it's all wrapped up in that, I would say. [Music] No one is to blame because I'm just the same as the people you meet when you walk down the street. We all have a purpose, a life to fulfill. Your sound may be healthy, and some may be ill. [Music] The trouble that hides in me could not be worse. The illness inside me is more like a curse. For I have a virus and AIDS is its name. But don't turn away from me. I'm not to blame. There are viruses, incidences, disease. That can worst of the strongest of mentors, niece. But of all their disease, you can't short ones life. Only AIDS is a stigma that cuts like a knife. [Music] No, don't turn away from him. Don't try to hide. From the person that suffers, the sickness inside. No, don't turn away or the sick of the name. For you know, deep inside. We are all just the same. [Music] [Music] And always remember that though this is true. It doesn't make me less a person than you. So try to be loving and don't criticize. Though this stigma may be a social desire. Yes, the virus may be in the blood in my veins. But I'm just like you. We're all just the same. I'm still the same person I was yesterday. So next time, see me. Please don't turn away. Remember, there is no one as far as he knows. Vodka blood up your houses and go the doors. Remember the powerful key that you hold. Let open the heart and breathe. Hope to the soul. [Music] No, don't turn away, be a friend. Understand, no matter what happens, Understand, no matter what happens, That was the AIDS song, also known as the stigma song. Done by an Israeli AIDS activist who goes by the name of Johnny Jerusalem. He invites people to share his song around. So check my site, northernspiritradio.org, for a link to Johnny's music. On your host, Mark helps meet, and this is a Northern Spirit radio production called Spirit in Action. We're meeting today with Cheryl Thede of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, working out of the Eau Claire office for the ARCW. Back to Cheryl now. You're active in the client services side of things. What services do you end up providing? Our primary service is case management. So it's one-on-one individualized services for people living with HIV. They work with a social work case manager, hopefully early after diagnosis to be educated and informed and supported, and then connected to the array of services that they need. First and foremost is medical care. The best outcome for people living with HIV regarding health and life is to be connected to an HIV specialty position. So that's the first thing that we do, get people to that doctor who can monitor them, get them on the medications if they need that, and then can hopefully live a long, healthy life. Obviously wrapped up in that is how are they going to pay for that care and how are they going to pay for those medications. Many people that we serve don't have adequate health insurance, if any at all, are struggling on low incomes. And so we help them get ways to pay for the care and pay for the medications. And then the case managers are doing everything else to help with housing, with legal issues, with mental health, with AODA treatment if they need that. So they're connecting clients to all different resources to make sure that they're supported in a safe and stable environment and able to get to the doctor. In addition, we have a food pantry for our HIV positive clients. We just opened our fifth food pantry in the state this week. We have a food pantry here in Eau Claire. We have legal services for people living with HIV. It's about end of life planning with wills and estate planning, and it's also about discrimination issues. We have medical services in Milwaukee and Kenosha. We have medical clinics for people living with HIV. We have two dental clinics in the state for our clients in Milwaukee and in Green Bay. And then we also have some mental health services just expanded to Green Bay. So we have quite an array of services that can help support people living with HIV to make sure that they have their needs met. And that's about referrals to external resources as well, community resources and government resources. Why is there a need for a food pantry for people with HIV? Is it because, like, women who are pregnant, you know, they like pickles or something? Is it that people of HIV have special food tastes or needs? They do have special food needs. People can be battling wasting syndrome because of AIDS syndrome. They can be battling side effects due to the medications that they're taking. And so higher protein, high fat and healthy and nutritious produce are very important for people living with HIV, and we try to stock those. Another thing that we typically have that other pantries don't is nutritional supplement drinks, like insurer or boost, that are very costly and very much out of reach of people of low incomes. And so we stock those and are able to give those as well. Some of our clients are eligible for our pantry and aren't eligible for other local food pantries, or maybe they live in areas where people aren't supplying food through local pantries. And so they can get it from us. There isn't anything locally. We don't want to duplicate services that are already there, and we don't feel like our pantries do because we are meeting a special niche. Why is there a need for a completely separate organization to deal with AIDS? I mean, we have, you know, a Department of Health and Human Services. We've got all of the structure that exists throughout the states. Why does it need to be separate for AIDS? I think in the beginning, when the death rates were so high, there was a need for this agency to come about and aid service agencies around the country because people needed very quick help in getting end-of-life issues together, whether it was paperwork or helping them get into hospice, and that kind of specialized care, and also the discrimination and the fear. We needed an agency where people could feel completely supported without any judgment. As a result of death rates declining in people living healthier and longer, we've been able to shift our programs and our focus to help people living with HIV actually live. And whether that's helping them return to work, helping them get through their daily life, get back to a healthy, productive life, that's what our focus is now, not so much luckily on the dying, but on the living. And it's a service that isn't provided by another agency. The government isn't providing this kind of service. And just like there's an American Cancer Society for those with cancer or a diabetes society for people with diabetes, we're here to help people with HIV and AIDS and all of the issues wrapped up in that. So I still think that it's a very valid agency. I guess we should mention this is not a public agency as in funded by state government. Well, it actually is funded by state government. It's not under the hierarchy that governor doesn't control it. How are you set up and who are the founders? Where did this come from? ARCW, the AIDS Resource Center, was founded in Milwaukee as the Milwaukee AIDS Project in the mid 80s as a result of the spread of the infection to this area and the high death rates, and it was founded by people who were either living with HIV or closely tied to someone living with HIV. Same with this office in Eau Claire. We started upstairs in this building in 1992 with people living with HIV saying, we need the service here. We need to help our local community with this disease and help them with all the needs that they have. And so it is very much a grassroots agency, grassroots background. We are a private nonprofit. We are receiving government funding, both state and federal, and that's about 70% of our budget. So it is a large portion. The government is guiding our services and our programs. They're checking in. They're evaluating our programs, but we are private. We have a board of directors, staff and volunteers around the state who make the services happen. And the questions just keep popping into my head because I realize to what degree I'm ignorant about a lot of it. One of the things, for instance, I want to be clear about what's the difference between HIV and AIDS? When someone is HIV positive, it means that they have had a test that shows that the HIV virus is present in their system. And someone can stay at that level for two months or for 20 years. We have people who are still at that stage 20 years later. When someone is AIDS defined, it means that their immune system has dropped to a point where it can't fight off other infections or illnesses. Or they have developed a number of illnesses or infections that are AIDS-related symptoms and syndrome. And so once someone is AIDS defined, they're always at that level. They're still HIV positive. But they're now called AIDS defined, and they stay at that stage. Whereas someone with HIV doesn't necessarily have AIDS syndrome yet. So what is the mix that you have? Has the medical system advanced to the point where you, Cheryl, are seeing fewer and fewer people who have AIDS and more and more people who just keep having HIV? Has that kind of thing changed? I think that the percentage of each has remained fairly study. I think what we have gotten better on is identifying people earlier in the infection. So more testing available in the communities in different ways means that people are being identified as HIV positive earlier. And that means they have a good chance of getting the medical care they need and the medications they need to stay at that stage and not become ill and become AIDS defined. So I think in the long term we might see those numbers shift, but up until now it has, I believe, remained pretty steady. Is there still a lot of discrimination or fear amongst health professionals? I realize the general populace might be very different, but are there health professionals now who just, I can't go near a person because, you know, I'm going to get the disease, the virus will be communicated to me if I work on them at all? I think overall health professionals are very educated and very non-judgmental in their services. However, unfortunately, we have had some cases of discrimination from medical professionals around the country and in Wisconsin. We had a case our legal staff worked on within the last few years of a surgeon refusing to perform an operation on an HIV positive individual because of his HIV status, which is not legal or appropriate, and so that case was pursued. But I really think that is the exception. I think health professionals are very informed, or if they need to learn more, they seek that out and do that. So I think overall they're wonderful and are providing really wonderful care to people in the state living with HIV. You mentioned that there are people, even 20 years later, who still have their HIV positive without having gone to the more serious stage of having AIDS active. Are people living longer also with AIDS now? They end up being able to survive more because we understand the disease or is it that we're giving them the right foods or what is the change that's happened? There are people who are AIDS-defined, who are living longer and healthier lives as well. There are a couple of key things that need to happen. Early diagnosis and treatment isn't very important, and a good indicator staying connected to their HIV doctor who monitors their labs and adjusts medications as needed is very important. I think that we do play a part in our staff and volunteers in keeping people healthy and strong and connected. But part of it is also the mystery of the virus, which is a very tricky, wily virus. And some people, without medications, 20 years later, have not progressed to that stage, while some people will become infected and progress immediately to AIDS. It's part of the mystery of the human body and the virus. Everybody reacts differently, so there's no way to know what a lifespan will be with the virus. It's a mystery. How long have you been doing this work, and why did you get into it? I mean, I think there are a lot of people who say it's a very depressing work to do it because you see people with incurable disease, or there's a lot of fear connected with it. I could get it. I mean, in fact, someone does bleed on me and their injury touches my injury while maybe it will be communicated. What led you to get into this work? Well, I've been here for eight years, and part of my life's mission is to make sure that I'm practicing social justice and helping people in my profession as well as in my volunteer work. So that self-mission has led me to agencies where I can practice both and get paid for it. So I used to work at a family planning clinic, and we had some HIV services there. I was really interested in it. In the meantime, I also met some individuals in the area living with HIV and was so moved by their spirit and their mission to help other people living with HIV. I had some friends who worked here and just ended up finding a place here that really suits me, and I think that I'm able to do a lot of good and help and support the staff who are working one-on-one with the clients. People say that the first thing they say to me is that must be really depressing to work there, and you must watch people die. And that is true, but for the most part, overall, it's really empowering to work here. It's really amazing to see the difference you can make in somebody's life. Someone walks in the door, just diagnosed with HIV, doesn't know where to go, doesn't understand what it means for their life, and to be able to give them the information and the knowledge and the resources and the services that they need and let them know that they can stay healthy and have an active, amazing life. It's really wonderful, so certainly there is staff and sadness, but overall it's really an amazing place. Dad, do you have anything about AIDS? Sure, come here and sit down. I've got a friend with AIDS, he's just like me and you. I've got a friend with AIDS. We've got a lot of love to do. Some days we get sad, so here is what we do. We play together as much as we can and I love him a lot, cause he's my friend and me and my friend with AIDS. Got a lot of love to do. What is AIDS? It's a virus bug. What can you do? Well, I give him a hug. You hug your friend? Sure, and he hugs me. But aren't you scared? Well, I used to be. I'd be scared. You'd learn a lot. What would I learn? What's safe, what's not? Could I get AIDS? Well, that's hard to do, but some kids have it. Yes, that's true. Where's the AIDS? It's in his blood. What if he bleeds? We patch him up, cause AIDS won't let his blood cells fight. So he shouldn't touch his blood? I've got that right. I've got a friend with AIDS and some day he might die, but some day so will you. Some days so will I. Some days we get sad, so here is what we do. The end, friend with AIDS. Got a lot of love to do. What if he cries? We wipe his eyes. He touches tears. We grow a need for fears. But about his ears. We're the cotton swab. You clean his ears? No, that's his job. What about his spit? He swallows it. What about his hair? No virus there. His breath is fine? Smells just like mine. Does he feel ashamed? No, he's not to blame. I've got friend with AIDS and some day he might die, but some day so will you. Some days so will I. I'll tell you what I'm thinking of. When we're afraid we just can't love. And loving's how I want to be, so don't let fear take over me. Here's what we can do. We can play together as much as we can and love him a lot because he's my friend and me and friend with AIDS. Got a lot of living to do. Got a lot of living to do. [Music] That was one of my personal favorite musicians, Peter Alsop. And the song is got a lot of living to do. Peter Alsop has been my guest for both Spirit in Action and Song of the Soul. You can look them up on my site, northernspiritradio.org. I'm your spirit and action host, Mark Helpsmeet, and we're visiting today with Cheryl Thede, Associate Director of the Eau Claire Office of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin. That's A-R-C-W, and their statewide website is A-R-C-W dot O-R-G. Cheryl, I realize this is not a religious or necessarily officially a spiritual organization, but I think that there must be a tremendous spiritual component to what you're doing. People are encountering the possibility of their imminent death. They're facing the certainty of their death perhaps sooner than they would have expected. And I think meaning of life and why me, all of these questions come up. How do you end up dealing with those and what have you been able to say what's been said to you? It's definitely a part of our work with clients. And the case managers, we always make sure that they have the resources to refer people in the faith communities to clergy or volunteers who can talk more with them. It's definitely a huge part of a lot of our clients' lives, and they do have strong faith that helps them through. Locally, we've had amazing support from the faith community. We have a number of churches who sponsor families at Christmas, families who wouldn't have a Christmas without these churches sponsoring them, and that kind of support has been amazing. We do have clergy that we can refer clients to if they are struggling with those issues of depression or why me or what's going to happen after I die. And so having those local resources has really helped us when those questions do come up. It is a part of the normal conversation we have with clients when they first come to us and when we're checking them with them about their religion and their faith and making sure that they have access to that community if they feel that they need it. But certainly, yeah, certainly that's a part of it. I don't exactly need you to name names, but I'm afraid that there's probably a number of religious communities which would not be supportive, but I'm hoping you can say, no, that isn't the case, that there's really very few who take that on when they're faced with someone who's looking at their death. Most faith communities are really helpful and supportive and are there. Unfortunately, I have to say that we have had some not be as supportive. We sent out a letter a number of years ago asking churches to be involved and giving them different ways that they can be involved with either holiday sponsorships or volunteering or being a referral source. And we did get a letter back from a local church that was so discriminatory and so full of hate that it was hard to believe it came from a church. Either on the other hand, some churches who've been particularly supportive, who've stepped out, who stand out for you at the forefront of giving compassion and love. Definitely. The Lake Street Methodist Church had an AIDS care team for many, many years. Members of that faith community, but also a number of others who came together and supported a number of clients with support and practical support, emotional support, and we're really there through those clients lives until the end and that was really an amazing support. We have Good Shepherd Lutheran and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation and a few others that have continued to support families at Christmas time with the holiday giving. The Unitarian has helped us purchase books that were able to give new clients soon after diagnosis. That's called the first year living with HIV, something like that. And it really helps people understand what's going to happen in their first year. And that's not a resource we could provide to every client without their support. So there are some really amazing communities here, faith communities that have helped us. Again, without asking you to divulge any names, can you talk about some of the people that you've known HIV or up to AIDS? Can you talk to how they've coped, what they've done? You said you were inspired by them and I'm just wondering if there's any stories that can convey why you were touched. A couple of men that I met before I worked here were so, our so. One is with us and one is no longer with us. So funny, so wise, so strong. They're both activists as well, which is really a brave and courageous thing to do when you're living with HIV to come out and talk about it and be available to the media or to groups to talk about it. And they were both doing that and their strength was just so amazing. And you think about AIDS and you think about, unfortunately, I think there still is. People think that you die very quickly and you die this horrible death. And these men were just so vital and living. And I didn't know much. I was fairly fresh out of college and I saw them and it just changed my whole view of living with HIV and what that meant. So their activism and their strength and their compassion and they were involved in so many different issues, not just HIV and saw how it all tied together and discrimination and social justice. So it was really inspiring to meet them and make me want to work here. And did either of them have strong spiritual religious roots? I would say one, definitely, and is practicing that very strongly right now. So I think that is a part of it and I think it can help provide strength and support if you know that there's this whole community behind you who's aware of your status and accepts you and loves you no matter what. So I think that can be a part of that strength. Another role that the churches locally have played is sponsoring our local World AIDS Day service that happens every year. The last few years we've had it in our office, but before that it was rotating through a number of churches in the community. And I think that that's another way that faith communities can show support for people living with HIV and help increase knowledge in our community of the issues by sponsoring those services. That happens on December 1st every year. So you just had it. What kind of turnout do you give for that? Is it something that the community as a whole, have they just forgotten about it or is it still embraced by the community? I think that by and large people have forgotten about it. People are always surprised to hear that we have an aid service organization in Eau Claire. They're surprised to hear that there are people living with HIV in Eau Claire. It's not in the media as much. And that's certainly because of the lower death rates. We don't see that horrendous turnover and that tragedy. We do have still have people contracting HIV, living with HIV, dying with HIV. But I think that people by and large, unless it is touched them individually, are fairly unaware of the issue and all of the struggles that people are going through. What kind of percentages are we talking about? I understand in Africa it's something like at least some areas, Sub-Saharan Africa, maybe 25% of people are infected. Is it anything like that in the United States? Fortunately, we're definitely not at those rights that we see in other parts of the world like Africa. They say one out of 250 Americans is HIV positive. And that's over a million people within our country. Rates are increasing. We saw within Wisconsin a nationwide and 9% increase in new cases last year. So this isn't going away. This is a problem that is here with us. It's beyond epidemic proportions and it's only increasing. And because new cases are increasing and people are luckily living healthier and longer, we have more people living with HIV than ever. So our cases, our case loads continue to rise. I don't want to put down any religions, but I'm imagining on the prevention side, it's complicated by a number of religious, maybe spiritual, but mainly religious attitudes that are out there. Using condoms is, I think, basic information about controlling that. And yet I imagine there's some religion saying you shouldn't do that. Do you run into that as you're doing the education out there in the world that people are saying you can't educate us that way because that violates our religion? Sure. We definitely encounter that. We encounter that in community settings. We encounter that in outreach settings. We encounter that in schools. There's still school systems where you can't use the word condom when you go into do HIV education. So it's really a barrier to getting all of the information out that people need. And definitely there are religions that don't condone the use of condoms. And so that's a barrier to those people to not be able to fully protect themselves. And just discussing sex in general. If you mention the word sex, some people say that's only the province of the home. In the Eau Claire area here, do you Cheryl end up seeing that a lot of people, a lot of schools are not receptive? We can't do the education there. You can only do it if you get to speak with Mark helps me on WHYS radio for the Northern spirit radio program. Or do you get access to most of the community? Well, the first barrier is that our staff is really limited and their focus is very limited. So the federal government has said that the majority of our outreach and education on HIV should be to those most at risk. And that does not include general populations like schools. So we're not invited in much, but we're not able to go much either into that system. And then you just have to trust that the public education system and the health teachers are doing a really good job of covering that. We're able to do some, but it's not a big part of what we do or what we're able to do. Okay, here's a loaded question. So if you're supposed to be going to the places where people are at risk and doing education there, does that mean you have to go to the gay bars and you have to go to the places where people are getting transfusions of blood? Where do you hang out to do this kind of education? Our outreach and prevention staff are going into the gay bars and providing outreach there and providing counseling and testing there. We do street outreach and our prevention staff for Erin is out on Water Street and downtown with volunteers handing out condoms and making sure that people know we have HIV testing here. So that's a setting. Our office is also a place where we can reach people at risk. One of our programs is a clean needle exchange program. So injection drug users can bring in used syringes and exchange them for clean. That's a perfect opportunity to talk about risky behaviors, how to make them safer and offer HIV testing as well as hepatitis C testing. So we're going out. We're bringing them in. We're trying to reach them in whatever way is safe and accessible to them. Well, we've wandered around quite a bit. Cheryl, I want to come back a little bit more about you. You said that you got into this work because social justice work was important to you, you wanted to do something fresh out of college. You want to go into something good that's making difference in the world. Why? Well, that's a good question, isn't it? I think I was raised with the value that we help others and that's what we're supposed to do in life is be a part of the world in every way. I think that college was a good place for me to learn about all the different issues. I had some great classes on race and gender and I had a lot of sociology and psychology classes that opened my eyes to the problems in the world and the problems right here in our community. And so I think that fed the desire even more. In my first job out of college, I worked at Planned Parenthood and I understood issues of gender even more after that and poverty and inequity. And it's just all of my volunteer work and work to date has just increased that. It's just who I am. What is the religious or spiritual or conceptual framework that either you were raised with or that you hold now that both motivates you and supports you in doing this work? I was raised Moravian, which is not a term that you hear much of here, but I describe it as a liberal Protestant religion and it was a good framework for my world view. I find it really interesting that you were raised Moravian because I really know almost nothing about Moravian. I've certainly heard it before. What was that like and how was that formative for you, Cheryl? Certainly there are a number of Moravian churches in Wisconsin, but none in this area. So it's not something that people, it's not a term people hear. It is a Protestant religion. In my view is a fairly liberal religion. It is Christian. However, I do have some memories of some liberalism within the church. I remember a minister shaking it up one Sunday and using the pronoun "she" for God and watching the reaction of the people around me. I think there was definitely a generation gap in acceptance of that, and it was a really supportive, amazing community to grow up in. I remember growing up next to a very fundamentalist Baptist church and had the experience of going to a play and a service with the neighbors one time. The play enacted a plane crash and what happened to the people who died on the plane crash and their experiences, whether they had been "saved" or "not saved". I remember being horrified by it, and that was, I think, my first glimpse of fundamentalism and knowing what I didn't want my religious experience to be. How old were you when that happened, Cheryl? I must have been around ten, and I now am a Unitarian, and that really fits my belief system. It's about how we're all connected and interdependent, and you can devise your own system of beliefs, and that's encouraged and supported in that community. It's also a faith community that is very socially active. They're volunteering at Beacon House and serving at the community table and sponsoring a family here at the ARCW office. It's a good fit for me and what I think and where I've come from. You said they're sponsoring a family. I think you have a volunteer component to your work. How do volunteers serve? How do they help out? How do they get involved in this work? There are a lot of different ways that people in the community can volunteer here. Our prevention staff utilize volunteers to go out in the community and do outreach, help at counseling and testing events in the community. And if someone's not comfortable doing that, there's activities within the office they can participate in. We use volunteers in our food pantry to help stock their shelves and stock the orders and help them to be quick and ready to go out the door when a client comes in. We have client volunteers, and so people who are trained and then matched with clients, and that's providing emotional support, going out for coffee, being a voice on the other end of the phone to support. And it's also about practical support. If someone's not able to do some of the activities of daily living, volunteers can help support that, whether it's going grocery shopping or some lawn work. So volunteers are also matched with clients. And then definitely, you know, office-related work, help with mailings, putting packets together that we give to clients. So in just about every task and program that's happening here, we have volunteers who are really helpful and useful, and we can always use more. And in the case of, you know, adopting a family, what does that mean? At the Christmas time holidays, December holidays, we have a number of organizations as well as churches that are matched with families. We give the organization or church a list of what the children in the family would like for Christmas, their ages and sizes, as well as the parents. And then the community organization or church gets to go shopping and buy a bunch of really fun gifts for people who wouldn't otherwise probably have that bright of a holiday season. And it's done confidentially. They know ages and sizes, but not names. And we're then sure that the family who sponsored knows who supported them, and we have them right to thank you. Are there other ways in which churches are involved in AIDS ministry? A perfect example of how other churches or churches can be involved is the Central Wisconsin HIV AIDS Ministry Project, which is now under the auspices of Catholic Charities. It's based out of Stevens Point, and it's a project run by a part-time staff person who has a group of volunteers who do both she, the staff person and the volunteers do amazing work for people living with HIV in Central rural Wisconsin. And that's everything from the kind of emotional and practical support that we've talked about being a buddy, a partner to a client and being somebody who's there for them in their life. To breadbakers, March, the staff person has volunteers who bake fresh baked goods every month, and those are then delivered to clients who probably don't have the money to buy that kind of thing. And it's such a special treat, and the volunteers put a little note in that's really touching and moving, and that connection is something that's really important in the lives of those clients. And that is through the ethic diocese out of La Crosse. You know, I didn't ask this. It's kind of a fundamental question. It's amazing things that I forget to ask. But, Cheryl, in Eau Claire area, how many people are we talking about, how many family households, however you measure it, are dealings with HIV or dealing with AIDS? There's a couple of different ways for me to answer that. The first is to say that since the first case in Eau Claire county of HIV, which was probably around 82 or 83, there have been just under 100 people diagnosed with HIV. Certainly not all of those people are still living or living here, but those are the cases in Eau Claire county. This office in Eau Claire serves a 12 county area in the western region of Wisconsin, and we are serving between 70 and 80 families, individuals and families living with HIV. I think that that means that your prevention program and the general prevention efforts in the wider community have been pretty successful, haven't they? The rates in this area are definitely lower than in other parts of the state. I'd love to take credit and have the agency take credit. It's hard to know. It's something that's really difficult to measure those prevention programs and how they're working, but I think that we're doing the best job we can in getting the message out. I imagine a lot of people are really shy and hesitant to come see another person. I assume that a lot of people start out maybe just by going to the age resource center of Wisconsin, the ARCW.org website. Is that how a lot of people end up connecting with you? They say they went to the ARCW.org website and then they say, "Well, it looks like they're nice people on the website we can come in the office." That's definitely a huge way people are reaching us at this point. It used to be all of our referrals would come from either physicians or the local health department. And more and more, we're hearing from people that they're finding us on the internet. People moving from other areas diagnosed at an agency that hasn't referred them yet. They go online, AIDS services in Wisconsin or HIV/AIDS in Wisconsin. They're going to find our website. They can find out about what office could serve them, what all of our programs and services are around the state, ways they can be involved, how to come to one of our special events or donate to the agency, so it's really a great resource. The state AIDS HIV program also has a really wonderful website with great links and resources on it. When you say the state, do you mean AIDS resource center or do you mean that the governmental AIDS program? I mean the state of Wisconsin government AIDS program, which is within the division of public health. Do you cross share resources? I mean, you know, Claire here, if someone goes to public health department, will they test for HIV there, or will they send them over to you? They do test for HIV at the Eau Claire County Health Department, City County Health Department. There is a fee, and so sometimes that's a barrier, and so they'll refer people here for testing because our testing is free. We also have testing available more often than they do because the public health nurses are providing such an amazing array of services. They're testing hours are limited, so they may also refer someone here, but they're a great resource as well, and the public health nurses work very closely with our staff and are really on top of the issues and what services we have. I've been to the World AIDS Day events that you've held, and one of the things that I found most moving is memorial for the people who've died from AIDS. I wish there was a way for more of the people in the general population to know the people that we've lost, because I think it would motivate a lot of people. I've heard of things like the AIDS quilt, I've actually seen one. Are there things like that around here that people can do to connect with the wonderful individuals we've lost? Certainly coming to the World AIDS Day event is one thing people can do. Local groups have sponsored parts of the AIDS quilt to come to the local community, and so I would encourage people to watch for those opportunities and go view the quilt because it is, I've seen it as well, and it's incredibly moving. When you think about all the people we've lost needlessly to this disease and all of their talents and amazing energy and everything that's lost, and it just really strikes home in a way that numbers don't, or stories may not. It's really an amazing and a moving experience, and I think the candle lighting at the World AIDS Day each year is always amazing and moving, and I always learn new things about people I've heard stories about before. You also realize that people in the community who you don't realize have been touched by HIV and AIDS have been. They've lost a sibling, or another family member, or a close friend, or a partner, and you just realize how widespread this disease is and how many people it's touched. I want to thank you for touching their lives being part of that. I know at the same time that some people think of it as depressing. It's a great gift to be able to be important in people's lives to help them in the deepest things, and so I thank you for doing that work. Thank you. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Ah, don't you just love the smooth and passion-filled voices. Those wonderful musicians are collectively known as Sweet Honey in the Rock, and their song was Patchwork Quilt. It was shared as part of the World AIDS Day Ceremony and Remembrance held here in Eau Claire a few weeks ago on December 1st. We've been talking with Cheryl Thiede today for Spirit and Action. Cheryl is the Associate Director of Social Services for the AIDS Resource Center, at least for the Northern part of Wisconsin. Statewide, their website is ARCW, as in AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, ARCW.org, and you can call them in Eau Claire at 836-7710. That's 836-7710, and that information, of course, will be on my website. The theme music for this program is Turning of the World, performed by Sarah Thompson. This Spirit in Action program is an effort of Northern Spirit Radio. You can listen to our programs and find links and information about us and our guests on our website, northernspiritradio.org. Thank you for listening. I am your host, Mark Helpsmeet, and I welcome your comments and stories of those leading lives of spiritual fruit. May you find deep roots to support you and grow steadily toward the light. This is Spirit in Action. With every voice, with every song, we will move this world along. With every voice, with every song, we will move this world along, and our lives will feel the echo of our healing.