On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the university’s NAACP branch hosted a three-hour HIV testing event in the German Club.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People works to host events that provide resources for underrepresented groups in a safe setting. In hosting this free testing event, they aimed to provide resources to students on campus that may otherwise not be able to access this type of medical care.
Sadara Funches, NAACP’s chapter president, spoke on the aims of the event, which included the goal to “promote stopping the stigma of everything around HIV and AIDS.” Patch Bowen, the chapter’s director of public relations, built upon this goal, highlighting how a lack of awareness around HIV is what aids in rising stigmas, hence why the organization has sought to increase knowledge in the community while also providing these resources.
Funches explained that the event catered to a number of subsets of the community, saying that, “We wanted to try and amplify this to our marginalized communities, because this is who it disproportionately affects out in the real world.”
Bowen shared these ideals and spoke on how they played into the role held by NAACP leaders on campus, saying that “especially as spokespeople, for the community of color on this campus, which is a small community.”
The event was actualized as a result of NAACP members noticing that the university’s Health Services do not offer HIV testing for students. “We wanted to step in and fill that role, even if it was just for a day, at least, until the students return home and can see their primary doctors,” said Funches.
Alicia Lind-Windham, the chapter’s vice president, said their organization is aiming to continue to plan similar events.
“We will definitely be doing this throughout the next semester so that way we can get more people tested.” Lind-Windham said, “It is hard to ask the general public to come and get an HIV test, specifically because of the stigmas surrounding it.”
People who were tested did so confidentially, said Lind-Windham. Participants took the tests behind dividers to ensure attendees had their respective privacy.
“It’s becoming easier to emphasize the importance of sex education. The fact that we had a decent turnout of what was expected to be a small one is a success for future events, so we plan around sexual education and awareness,” Bowen said.
Funches said one stigma attached to HIV is that the disease only affects people who are gay, however this assumption has since been debunked in the medical field.
“It’s something people don’t expect to show up in their lives, not just something revolving around one community or identity,” said Bowen. “This was our goal of this event, to show that it is okay to address it, and okay to accept that this is a risk, just like any other disease.”
NAACP partnered with the Southwest Community Health Center to provide free testing kits.
Funches said that Southwest Community Health Center provided literature such as information on HPV testing, the importance of using condoms, HIV facts, talking to teens and college students about HIV and safe sex practices.
For any information on future events, you can follow their Instagram at @newhavennaacp.
