Drew CARES Event Bridges Sexual Health Awareness and Self-Love
In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, the Drew Center for AIDS Research, Education, and Services (Drew CARES) hosted a Valentine’s Day themed event that connected sexual health and self-love, called “She is Black. She is Love.”
The occasion not only raised awareness of the disproportionate impact of HIV on Black/ African American people but also celebrated the progress in HIV prevention with CDU’s student PrEP Peer Educators.
“People still believe that HIV only affects gay communities, so we are breaking the stigma with this booth today,” said Verona Metzger, BSN student and Student Government VP of Student Engagement. “It means us protecting a whole community but also future generations, because these same black women that are having children are also having children born with HIV so when we protect us, we protect the future generations.”
Metzger led the HIV/Black Women information booth. Some of the other informative booths offered insight into the history of HIV/AIDS worldwide and the two medicines used to prevent HIV, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). There were also fun activities, a photobooth, free HIV testing, and a crepe station for participants.
“I’m proud to have hosted this event. I think that a lot of people need to know more about PrEP, PEP and HIV awareness,” said Mohan Makkar, Pre-Nursing student. “I think that the stigma should be relinquished. A lot of people just think negatively about it. Unfortunately, HIV is something that we still live with, there is no cure but there is prevention and being able to spread the word is awesome.”
CDU Student Government leaders were also a part of the event as they hosted a fundraiser where participants could win a range of CDU branded prizes like media bags, license plate frames, portfolios, backpacks, beverage canteens, and more.
“Being here today and hosting this event is a beautiful thing because different programs at CDU are working together to show students all that we have, we can generate money and also give stuff away,” shared Mercedes Humski, Biomedical Science student and Student Government President.
All event participants were asked to complete a preliminary survey to assess their initial knowledge of HIV/AIDS. Following the event, they were provided with a post-event survey to evaluate any changes in their understanding of HIV/AIDS after visiting informational tables.