More on HIV/AIDS in Oakland: Newspapers

As I was searching through the ProQuest Social Sciences database, I came across various newspaper articles that couldn’t serve as my peer-reviewed articles or really be tied into my literature review but were intriguing nonetheless. This news article is written by Jesse Brooks from the Oakland Post and is entitled, “Oakland Intensifies Efforts to Combat HIV/AIDS.” I decided to look into newspaper articles because they provided insight into how Oakland residents viewed this epidemic and how the disease perceived by a certain audience and then presented to the public.

To briefly summarize the article, a state of emergency for AIDS in the African-American community in Oakland was declared in 1998. There are a lot of statistics from 2007 such as African-Americans making up 12.4% of country’s pop but 52.4% of country’s reported HIV/AIDS cases whereas the same ratio is less dramatic for other doemographics: Whites: 37.7 – 23.1 percent and Hispanics: 22.2 – 16.2 percent. The mayor of that time, Ron Dellums, had a goal that every Oakland resident should know their HIV status and prevention information and condoms should be provided to stop the spread of this deadly virus. He said that a campaign should be started to revive the condom budget and the staff of large local businesses will be trained to discuss risks, prevention arid condom usage with customers.

While researching, I was having a difficult time finding articles that were focused on Oakland, which is why I liked this one and how it focuses specifically on Oakland’s efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. It provides specific statistics on the demographic of people affected by HIV/AIDS, focusing primarily on African Americans and comparing the percentages of this racial group to Hispanics and Whites. Brooks also connects the data to other counties around the bay and goes into detail about a specific and concrete model that is being implemented in Oakland to reinvigorate the fight against HIV/AIDS. The fact that big businesses are behind the fight against this pandemic only further shows Oakland residents how important this issue is that there is a lot of support and funding behind it as well.

All of the information in this review is of utmost importance for me and directly affects my role at AIDS Project East Bay. Oakland’s goal is for every resident to know their HIV status and I will be talking with residents who arrive at this non-profit to get tested and make healthcare plans for the future. Hopefully the people I encounter will have already heard of and have learned about the disease. Regardless, I will be working with the volunteer coordinator at APEB to conduct various training sessions to educate as many people as possible about the risks associated with HIV/AIDS and even prevention methods like condom use. APEB targets low-income families and individuals so it is important for me to understand that their clientele are already fighting poverty and alongside that APEB is there to help them through this sickness as well.

After reading this news article, I began thinking about whether the Oakland residents seeking help at clinics run by non-profits like APEB know of the city’s optimistic intentions and mindset to combat HIV/AIDS. How educated are these low-income individuals? I know that APEB helps their clients benefit from the services offered by the state, but I want to know more about how many of APEB’s clients know about the benefits and services before coming to the organization because that would help me determine what I can help direct APEB’s efforts in the right direction.

I hope that I will learn a lot of details about the inner workings of APEB, but I intend to continue reading various African-American newspapers, especially the Oakland Post to be more informed of the HIV/AIDS health situation so I can better understand APEB’s clients and their views/mindsets.