“Being a teen in Los Angeles can be pretty overwhelming. It can even make you feel insignificant, like nothing you do makes a difference. I have been really lucky, though, to find a way to have an impact through the Peer Education Program of Los Angeles (PEP/LA). I have been trained to confront a problem most people don’t like to talk about: AIDS.
With other peer educators, I have talked about AIDS at schools, youth groups, community centers, churches, temples, shelters, and anywhere else that will listen to what we have to say. Our goal is to educate people about AIDS and help them have more compassion for those who are living with the virus.
Our presentations had an impact
At a Catholic all-girls high school, the effects of our presentation were immediate. When asked at the start of the hour if anyone knew anyone living with HIV, only a few girls raised their hands. We gave out lots of information, and most everyone listened attentively.
Then our speaker, a handsome guy in his 20s, began to speak about respect for one’s self and one’s body. A few minutes into his speech he revealed that he was HIV+, and the audience went still. Most of the girls were shocked by the news, and all of them now knew someone living with HIV. Many came up to our speaker, wishing him well, some crying, others stunned from the surprise. As we were leaving, a lot of the girls came up to me as well, saying how our presentation had disproved a lot of their preconceptions about HIV. At that point, I knew they had understood it wasn’t just someone else’s problem.
A presentation at a San Fernando Valley Hebrew school has also stayed clear in my mind. The information part itself was great; the kids were very active participants and tried to learn as much as possible. The speaker, though, was something else. He was a long-term survivor, had been HIV+ for over 11 years, and his health had always been good. He had lived a full life, always expecting to die and being ready for it. He was in great shape; he looked like a bodybuilder from Muscle Beach. Eleven years after testing positive, his physique was still fantastic, but inside he was rapidly deteriorating. The new, innovative “cure” medications did nothing for him, and now, just before his 40th birthday, he realized he was not ready to go. He came to this realization before an audience of 50 adolescents, and he cried to them, holding his hands out as if they could see the virus dripping from his fingertips.
We go into all sorts of communities
I think the outreaches we do are so effective because we go into all different kinds of communities—since HIV doesn’t discriminate, neither should we. There are satellite programs all around the world, from South Bay to Siberia, trying to educate anyone willing to listen. Sometimes the kids are in denial, thinking that HIV could never reach them. Sometimes they just don’t care. People don’t want to believe they have to worry about this kind of thing, especially because there is such a negative stigma associated with HIV. There is still a lot of discrimination. In reality, we should be scared. Two teenagers in the United States are infected every hour.
The people involved with the Peer Education Program are motivated to help as many people as possible. This determination is due mostly to Wendy Arnold, president and co-founder of PEP/LA, who has been fighting the spread of AIDS for more than 15 years. She started the Peer Education Program in 1987, sharing the exact same information as we do today, give or take a few medications, yet more and more people are infected every day. AIDS is the number one killer of people between the ages of 25 to 44, which, given the incubation period of up to 10 years, means people are getting infected in their teens. We hope that by helping people learn how to keep themselves safe, they will make the right decisions using that knowledge.
The volunteers are a wonderfully diverse group of people
As open as the Peer Education Program of Los Angeles is to speaking to all kinds of audiences, it is equally all-encompassing regarding its volunteers. From my first meeting I felt like a member of the group, not like a newcomer. This is partly due to Wendy’s friendly nature, and partly due to the fact that there are always people of all levels in attendance. It’s really important for us to have a broad spectrum of volunteers to help us overcome racial, gender-based, social, or age-related barriers of communication. It helps us reach a more diverse population if we are diverse within our organization. The meetings themselves are educational experiences and opportunities to teach others, whether you hear the story of someone recently diagnosed or help inform a prostitute sent by a judge to learn basic HIV transmission and prevention facts. You hear about activities going on in the community sponsoring HIV awareness. It’s a great way to learn and get involved.
A couple of months ago, I visited a teen shelter, and talked to a room full of pregnant girls about the dangers of unprotected sex and the ways HIV could be passed to their children if they were HIV+. The event was held in a cafeteria, and most of the teens had crying babies with them, so I didn’t think anyone past the first few rows could hear us. I left the shelter a little disillusioned because I didn’t feel like I had connected with anyone in the audience. I learned the next week that three of those girls were coming to a PEP/LA meeting because they had really tuned into what I was saying. I guess one 17-year-old can make an impact after all.
For more information about getting involved with the Peer Education Program, please call Wendy Arnold at (213) 937-0766.”