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FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

As we commemorate  the  week  long  activities  for NATIONAL BLACK HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD)  nationwide, please  join us in continuing to EDUCATE all our sexually active patients, colleagues, friends, family and acquaintances  about the importance of stemming the rising tide of the AIDS  epidemic  in the African American  population.  They  account  for a higher  proportion  of HIV  at  all stages  of  disease  from  new infections to deaths!

 KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, KNOW YOUR HIV STATUS   

DID YOU KNOW?

There are more than 1 million people in the United State living with HIV.  

20%, 1 in 5, do not know they are infected.             

As of 12/ 2011 MHHC  tested over 3,500 people in the community, performed a total of over 49,508  HIV tests to 28,625 unduplicated individuals.

 THE FACTS – Get Educated www.cdc.gov/hiv

The racial and ethnic disparities in the  HIV/AIDS epidemic are astounding!!!

• Nationwide, African Americans  bear  the  most  severe burden  of  HIV   of  all  racial  and  ethnic  groups
• African   Americans  account for more than 49% of AIDS cases, but  they comprise  only 14% of the U.S. population.
• In 2009, Black  men  accounted  for  70% of  new  HIV  infection.  
• AIDS is now the third leading cause of death for Black  men  and  women ages 35 to 44.
• Of all Black women living with HIV/AIDS, 85% were infected through heterosexual contact.
• Of all black men living with HIV, 48% were men who had   sexual contact with another man.
•  The rate of AIDS diagnosis for Black Adults  and Adolescents  was 10 times the rate for whites and 3 times the rate for Hispanics.

SPREAD THE WORD, GET INVOLVED, GET TESTED.  

Continue reading »]]> Morris Heights Health Center staged its 3^rd Annual Welcome Card Design Competition for participants to submit entries for a patient greeting card. The competition this year was in partnership with the Bronx Museum of the Arts Teen Council program for students to enter designs for the 2012 patient welcome card. Over 23 students participated with representatives from the Bronx Museum of the Arts Teen Council program, Wings Academy, and the International Community High School

MHHC staff and fellow sponsors AmeriGroup and WellCare hosted an awards ceremony on Thursday December 22^nd at the Bronx Museum of the Arts to publicly recognize the students for their efforts and distributed the incentives to students for their participation. Each student received a $50.00 gift card and a certificate of appreciation for entering the competition.

Congratulations to the 2011 winner Stephanie Balbuena who also walked away with a laptop computer. Stephanie’s design will be used on MHHC’s official 2012 new patient welcome card and will also be used as the cover design for the organization’s 2012 calendar.

Continue reading »]]> BY Corinne Lestch
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, November 16  2011:

New research to be announced Thursday contends that, while Bronx teens have the highest pregnancy rates in the city, it’s due to entrenched poverty more than promiscuity.

New York University Professor Vincent Guilamo-Ramos’ report on adolescent reproductive and sexual health disparities shows that 46% of Bronx high school students have sex, equal to the national rate.

Bronx teens are also more likely to use a condom and less likely to consume drugs or alcohol prior to sex, according to the research.

But the borough still has the highest rate of teen pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections.

“The Bronx clearly doing worse than a lot of places in NYC often paints a portrait of African-American and Latino young people being more promiscuous,” said Ramos, who grew up near the Grand Concourse.

“Focusing on young people themselves and not thinking about how they’re disadvantaged doesn’t really tell their true story.”

The report says rampant poverty, homelessness, limited access to healthcare and insufficient funding for innovative health programs contribute to the Bronx’s teen pregnancy rate, which is more than 30% higher than the national rate.

Ramos will announce his findings at the Morris Heights Health Center (MHHC).

“The Bronx in relation to the city and the rest of the country is a community that really needs services and funding for programs like this,” said Estelle Raboni, program director of Changing the Odds at MHHC, which offers about 200 students in 12 schools an adolescent health curriculum. “Teen pregnancy doesn’t just affect the father or mother, but also their offspring for generations.”

Ramos said the new city mandate requiring students to take sex education in middle and high school is a step in the right direction, and counts Mayor Bloomberg’s Young Men’s Initiative and The Bronx Knows HIV testing initiative as more progressive, effective ways to combat a pervasive problem.

But the disparities will persist without more prevention outreach for marginalized youth like Genesis Santana, who dropped out of eighth grade when she got pregnant.

Now 18, she’s pregnant with her third child.

“I never went back to school,” Santana said while waiting for the BX21 bus with her 6-month-old son sleeping in a stroller.

“Kids get peer pressured to have sex, and everybody around them is saying ‘if you don’t have sex, you’re not cool,” said Santana. “I don’t know why I don’t use condoms.”

Continue reading »]]> On October 20^th, 2011 the Division of Mental Health led the “Break the Silence” project as part of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH.

This event was open to all members of the community. There were several activities including: the T- shirt clothesline activity, workshops on domestic violence led by survivors, informational presentations, relaxation sessions, survivor testimonies and written stories.

Special thanks to our patients who led the vision  and shared their stories; MHHC staff who made it happen; and supporters Sanctuary for Families for bringing educational materials  and the ADAIR GROUP who donated 72 T-Shirts which were all used to make a powerful statement to stop domestic violence. Thank you all  for you participation in a nationwide network to Break the Silence!

For more information on the ADAIR GROUP please click on the link below:
www.theadairgroup.com

Please click on the documents below to download English and Spanish copies of the Domestic Violence Awareness Newsletter created by MHHC patients.

DomesticViolence_ENGLISH

DomesticViolence_ESPANOL