Monthly Musings from THP's Executive Director
"Good resolutions are like babies crying in church. They should be carried out immediately." - Charles M. Sheldon
I suppose we're fortunate at THP that we don't have to spend any time worrying about resolutions for the New Year. You see, our resolution is firmly entrenched in our vision statement that we read out loud together at every staff and board meeting.
We will stand together for as long as it takes until HIV/AIDS is no more; promoting enlightenment, dignity, acceptance, understanding, and love; demonstrating that we are not only enduring this epidemic but also prevailing over it.
I never tire of reading this and it still inspires me.
We certainly spend time talking about how to serve our clients better and how to do more with less without compromising client care but our goal remains the same - we want to go out of business.
I don't say that casually and I realize that the reality of closing our doors because we are no longer needed is far away but we are deeply committed in this, our 29th year of service to our community, to seeing that day.
One4Zero was the theme of our recent 5K Run and Winter Walk for AIDS and you will be hearing this refrain from us again and again this year as we continue to educate folks about the connection between prevention and care.
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Addison Ore, Executive Director
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Information, education, knowing your status, protection, consideration, and common sense - these are all part of the equation that will one day end in zero - NO NEW INFECTIONS.
We have a lot of work to do and we so profoundly grateful that you share our vision.
Let's get to it.
Very best,
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Winter Walk for AIDS and Inaugural Ron Johnson 5K Run!
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You came, you ran, you walked, you cheered, you laughed, you cried, you remembered... that was Triad Health Project's 23rd Annual Winter Walk for AIDS and Inaugural Ron Johnson 5K on Sunday, December 7, 2014 at UNCG.
Thanks to your generous support, we have exceeded our goal of $117,000 and we are one step closer to our ultimate goal of ONE 4 ZERO - no new infections.
To get there will require information, education, knowing your status, protection, consideration, and common sense.
This race is far from over, but you are making the difference.
Thank you.
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Cooking with Ninevah
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In the South it is believed that eating certain foods can bring good luck in the New Year. Greens, such as collards or kale symbolize "folding money", black-eyed peas are the "coins", and a pig's trait of rooting in the ground to move itself forward inspires the eating of pork to represent "progress". This recipe combines these "lucky foods" with some surprising spices to create a soup that might bring you luck any day of the year!
 Start-the-Year-Right Soup
serves 6
Ingredients
1 pound collards, rinsed thoroughly to remove all grit
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon low sodium Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 large or 2 small shallots, approximately 4 ounces, peeled and finely chopped
15 ounce package fresh black eyed peas
1 ½ teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
15.25 ounce can of corn, with liquid
1 pound of ham slices, coarsely chopped
4 cups vegetable cooking stock
1 cup water
1 ½ teaspoons Sriracha sauce
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Kala Jeera seeds (These are also known as black cumin. If unavailable, regular cumin seeds can be used)
¼ to ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt (final amount of salt is related to the type of ham used and should be based on a sample taste after all other ingredients are added to the soup mixture)
Fresh parsley leaves rinsed and chopped can be used as an optional garnish
go to www.makethisyoursnc.com for directions.
Note: This recipe was developed by Ninevah Wood Murray for use by Make This Yours Teaching Studio.
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Detecting Early HIV Infections
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THP uses the most current, most accurate 4th generation HIV confirmatory blood draw test. *There is a window period with HIV infection, which refers to the time after a person has been infected but before an antibody test result will be positive. Testing for suspected early infections during the window period can be performed using HIV viral load tests or FDA-approved 4th-generation HIV antibody/antigen tests, which detect both HIV antibody and the p24 antigen, which is part of the HIV virus. These tests have the advantage of detecting early HIV infection before antibody development as well as antibodies that are present when chronic infection has been established. HIV viral load testing is also used to confirm infection in babies born to HIV-infected mothers, as antibody testing very early in a baby's life is not an accurate way to determine whether HIV infection has occurred in the infant.
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Kevin Varner,
Director of Prevention and Education
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Identifying early infections has the benefit of letting people know sooner and more accurately whether they have HIV infection, and it has the indirect benefit of preventing new infections because people who are aware of their HIV-positive status usually take precautions to avoid infecting their partners. The sooner an HIV positive person receives an accurate test result and gets into treatment, the less likely the person will get very sick and infect others.
If you are worried that a recent sexual or other exposure has put you at risk of HIV infection or if you have symptoms that you suspect could be caused by acute HIV infection, you should go to your doctor, public health clinic, or, an HIV testing site and talk to a clinician. He or she can determine your risk of acquiring HIV based on details of the incident. If you test at Triad Health Project, the 4th-generation HIV test can be performed to assess for very early HIV infection, in addition to an HIV antibody test. Note that these tests are done on a blood sample drawn from a vein, and results take two weeks to return back. You'll return in person in two weeks for post-test counseling, and to receive a copy of your results.
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Mark Cassity, Director of Higher Ground
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Every so often, someone will suggest that we need more Higher Grounds, spaces of radical hospitality in other cities and
states. We talk about franchises, like there must be a way to McDonaldize this thing. And I suppose someone could. Though it would take much time and planning, getting a shared space together is not impossible; and finding people infected/affected by HIV and AIDS is all too easy. Food, therapists and kind seekers are all relatively abundant. So: grantwriting, planning, charting, scheduling, rallying, begging and I'm sure we could end up with... a McDonalds. So how do you make a Higher Ground? The concise and honest answer is: I don't know. But I have a guess.
From where I sit, it looks like this place was less made than allowed. It began in Spirit (kindred hearts, small circles, prayers, contemplation...) and moved along by questions (Will you help? Could this work? Can we be vulnerable together?....) and exists on unknowing (Will there be money? Can we keep dreaming the space?....) Now God knows, all of this is not so say that hard, diligent work and sacrifice is not involved; it's just to say that if that was ALL that was involved, we wouldn't have a Higher Ground. We'd have a restaurant.
This comes with a warning, too. If you hang around a space like this long enough, you'll one day realize that you actually believe in mystery and its core elements of Spirit, questions and unknowing. And then there's some fair chance you'll be perfectly ruined for anything else.
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Welcome Marshall!
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 Marshall Moore will be a part of the THP Development team for the month of January! A junior at Elon University, Marshall is originally from Richmond, Virginia. She is studying Human Services and plans on getting involved in non-profit administration after school. Marshall is excited to assist in the planning of our upcoming 26th Annual Dinning for Friends, while also learning all about THP by helping wherever she can!
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