Los Angeles Women's HIV/AIDS Task Force Summit
Two Mondays ago I took off work to go to the LA Women's HIV/AIDS Task Force Summit. All in all, it was excellent. I arrive a little bit late, as the conference went on all day. I arrived and there were tons of booths with information ranging from drug use, HIV vaccine trials, free STD testing, plenty of free condoms, and information about HIV retroviral treatment from pharmaceutical companies.
When I approached the registration booth, I was asked if I was a patient or a provider. I was pleasantly surprised that they asked me if I was a patient. Breaking stereotypes - any one of us could be a patient. Any one of us.
I responded saying that I was neither. Just an interested individual wanting to learn more about HIV as it related to women in Los Angeles. And well, I did learn a lot. There were talks on psychological health, politics, health care reform, and drug use. What was most exciting and interesting is that there were a lot of patients. Some of them were currently enrolled in drug treatment programs, others who presented themselves like you and I who were infected via sex, rape, or prior drug use. At this conference I met a lot of great women (and a few awesome men too!) and notably, my first HIV positive friend. She shared her story and experiences with me which was really cool.
In sum, this conference got me stoked on applying to MPH programs this fall, and continuing to focus on reproductive and sexual health.
Check out this other lovely young lady's coverage of the event: http://endtheepidemic.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/la-womens-hivaids-task-force-2011-treatment-summit/
When I approached the registration booth, I was asked if I was a patient or a provider. I was pleasantly surprised that they asked me if I was a patient. Breaking stereotypes - any one of us could be a patient. Any one of us.
I responded saying that I was neither. Just an interested individual wanting to learn more about HIV as it related to women in Los Angeles. And well, I did learn a lot. There were talks on psychological health, politics, health care reform, and drug use. What was most exciting and interesting is that there were a lot of patients. Some of them were currently enrolled in drug treatment programs, others who presented themselves like you and I who were infected via sex, rape, or prior drug use. At this conference I met a lot of great women (and a few awesome men too!) and notably, my first HIV positive friend. She shared her story and experiences with me which was really cool.
In sum, this conference got me stoked on applying to MPH programs this fall, and continuing to focus on reproductive and sexual health.
Check out this other lovely young lady's coverage of the event: http://endtheepidemic.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/la-womens-hivaids-task-force-2011-treatment-summit/
Awesome!
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