By Lauren Wanko
Correspondent
“I live a normal life, an absolutely normal life,” said Rodney Foster.
Asbury Park resident Foster is HIV positive, diagnosed 25 years ago. He’s on medication and says he’s now in the best shape of his life.
“There’s a lot of stereotypes. Some people don’t want to be bothered with people that have HIV,” said Michael Berry.
Berry tested positive for HIV in 2004. He too says he’s managing the disease. The New Jersey Department of Health indicates there are more than 37,900 people living with HIV or AIDS in New Jersey. Minorities account for 78 percent of that population, and 52 percent of the minorities living with HIV or AIDS are African-American. The CDC says nationwide, African-Americans account for almost half of all new HIV infections each year and more than one-third of all people living with HIV are black. The agency points to a combination of factors.
“It’s really important to say that it’s not that African-Americans engage in more risky sexual behavior than other races or ethnicities. Some of the factors include things like a higher overall HIV and STD rate in some African-American communities and the fact that African-Americans tend to have partners who are also African-Americans so the chances of encountering a partner who is maybe HIV infected is higher, even with less risky behavior,” said Dr. Donna McCree, associate director for health equity in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention for the CDC.
The CDC says poverty, which could result in a lack of access to care, is another factor.
“That really can limit the ability to get testing or even treatment until it’s really too late. And then it’s also really critical to talk about things like stigma. Stigma, homophobia that might prevent a person from even accessing prevention and care,” McCree said.
“I think what with the younger population, I think they have the attitude that they don’t care and it can’t happen to them. And also it’s got a lot to do with drugs,” said HIV/AIDS community activist David Neal.
“Over the last few years though, we’ve made a lot of gain in terms of decreasing the number of new infections among African-Americans nationally as well as in the state of New Jersey,” said Dr. Arturo Brito, State Public Health Services.
CDC data indicates nationwide death rates among African-Americans with HIV declined 28 percent from 2008 to 2012.
“Our philosophy is that housing is health care,” said George Lowe, director of client and resident services at The Center.
At The Center — a non-profit in Asbury Park — staffers and volunteers work to provide housing to those who are homeless with HIV or AIDS.
“Most people still think that HIV is a death sentence. It’s not. With the new medications and treatments, it’s actually a chronic illness. The only thing that separates it from other chronic illnesses is that it’s infectious,” Lowe said.
Which is why licensed social worker Lowe says it’s vital those battling the disease stay on a medical care treatment plan. But it starts with getting tested.
“Get tested. Until you get on your medicine, you’re dying. It’s that simple if you don’t know you have it,” Berry said.
The New Jersey Department of Health says there are more than 140 rapid HIV test sites available in every county in the state with nearly 100,000 HIV tests performed last year. At The Center, the non-profit hosts a couple of testing events in the Wellness Room every year.
If someone tests positive, the non-profit works to ensure that person’s housing needs are met and there’s a supportive network in place.
Foster lost his wife to HIV and cancer. He says his life turned around after listening to Magic Johnson speak in Newark. For the past 10 years, the Asbury Park resident’s been educating kids about the disease and the importance of staying on the right track.
When asked how it has changed his life, Foster said, “Because I set out to do this, to accomplish a level of respect from these people, and I’m getting it. You see, I’m starting to get emotional.”
The CDC says they’ve recently launched a number of projects to support community-based organizations and health departments expand testing programs and improve access and retention in care.