wfn.org | Want to become an HIV competent church? UCAN can help

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Want to become an HIV competent church? UCAN can help

> Written by Rebecca Bowman Woods
> June 30, 2009

By including HIV testing in health fairs and other health ministries,
congregations can help remove the stigma that keeps people from
learning their HIV status and if necessary, seeking treatment, the
Rev. Michael Schuenemeyer said Monday.

Schuenemeyer is the executive director of the UCC HIV & AIDS Network,
known as UCAN. He and Lori Tisher, intern for Health and Wholeness
Advocacy with Wider Church Ministries, organized Monday's health fair
in the convention center as both a service to, and a model for Synod-goers.

The "Immerse Yourself in Healthy Living" Health Fair included free,
confidential HIV testing, along with glaucoma and blood pressure
screenings and chair massages. Participating organizations shared
information about diabetes, cancer, visual impairment, aging and
prescription medications.

There are more than 56,000 new infections in the United States every
year, Schuenemeyer said, adding that of the 1.1 million people living
with HIV in the U.S., 20 percent don't know they are infected.

The sooner people know their status, the more likely they are to take
precautions to avoid infecting others, he said.

In a health fair setting, HIV testing "becomes just another health
screening" rather than something requiring a special trip to an
HIV/AIDS clinic or a doctor's office, Schuenemeyer explained.

Churches can invite the health department or local HIV/AIDS
organization to conduct the testing, as well as pre- and post-test
counseling, he said. But people who come for a medical test ? any type
of test ? may also need pastoral counseling if the news is bad.

UCAN's website, www.ucaninc.org, offers a study curriculum and other
resources for HIV/AIDS education and testing. They assist churches in
becoming "HIV Competent" by assessing a congregation's capacity to
respond to HIV.

"And then we walk with them as they develop and implement their
plans," said Schuenemeyer.