What Happens if I die?
Posted by Tom Thayer in 
I just finished attending a close friends funeral which brought home the question? What happens to his children or his estate?
Death and dying is an unpleasant fact of life for us all. The reality of death and dying is magnified for those living with a chronic illness like HIV, another illness or just a sudden tragic accident. The scene is played out time and time again. Two partners, a married couple, or a single mom, raising a family, owning a home, and living life to it’s fullest. In the blink of an eye, everything you know and love can change for ever. If you or a loved one becomes too ill to make decisions, who will make them for you? If you are a single mom and get too sick to care for your children, who will care for them? Who will live in your house if one of you die unexpectedly? None of these questions are pleasant ones, but are important ones to ask now. We all need to think about the unthinkable when planning for the future. But what can we do?
- Talk to your family. Tell them your wishes so its carried out.
- Take legal steps. Make an ‘advance directive’ which spells out who speaks on your behalf and makes decisions.
- Keep your family informed. Who is your appointee. Give copies to everyone.
- Name a power of attorney.
- Take care of your children. Get a guardianship order or consult a professional to file the proper paperwork.
Whether it’s your finances, your health, or your children, you must plan ahead for the unthinkable future. Consulting an attorney now will make the ultimate transition easier and less stressful for your love ones. And in the process you will gain peace of mind that your wishes will be heard and your loved ones will be taken care of. My friend did ’just that’ before the unthinkable happened, legal issues will move smoothly while the family & friends morn his loss. I admit I’ve talked about it but haven’t acted yet myself. I need to put my house in order, shouldn’t you?
Tom Thayer
ROCKY HORROR PIC SHOW !!!! COMING!!!
Friends… its back …bigger …better….
More cowbell! more popcorn….more heels!!!
Bring it on…. Oct 29, 2011..The Alamo Theater, Winchester VA.. Midnight Showing..
2… 2…….YES >>>>!!!!! 2 theaters this time…. Flyers coming out soon.. Tickets to be sold online …so don’t miss out on the best fun you can have without being paroled in Winchester!!!
Federal Funding Delays for HIV Clients in DC
With all the recent Federal and Congressional delays in passing a budget the ripple effect is now beginning to show. Not only did our country’s AAA rating get downgraded, but now critical funds needed for HIV patients in Washington DC and services to those individuals.
There are over 16,000+ people living with HIV/AIDS in DC. Even thoght Even though the fiscal 2011 budget continues paying about $2 billion a year in HIV/AIDS funding to cities, states and community-based organizations (CBO) under the Ryan White CARE Act, the major delay in passing the budget set off a chain reaction that made it difficult for the Government Health Departments to calculate and distribute grants and for community organizations to plan their budgets. Even staff turnover has slowed down processing requests.
Washington DC has the HIGHEST HIV Infection rate in the Nation. Over 3% of its population over the age of 12 is infected with HIV. Anything over 2% is considered an epidemic.
This just goes back to the ‘ripple in the pond’ effect. Not only AIDS Service Organizations effected but so many others are left struggling while Congress played games with lives.
Tom Thayer
Paroled from Prison with HIV.. now what?
- A staggering 10 million people are released from incarceration every year in the US—8.6 million people are temporarily held in jails while criminal justice proceedings, and 597,000 are paroled from prisons after completing sentences. “The sheer magnitude of the incarcerated population and the disproportionate prevalence of HIV infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) within the criminal justice system (CJS),” Sandra Springer, MD, of the AIDS Program at Yale University School of Medicine writes, “result in 16.9 percent of all HIV-infected individuals in the U.S. being within the CJS annually.”
With the huge number of incarcerated individuals being put back into mainstream 5 big problems need to be addressed:
1)pre-and post-release case management 2)continuation of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy if positive 3)treatment of substance use disorders 4)continuation of mental illness treatment 5)reduction of behaviors associated with the ongoing transmission of HIV.
Prisoners face many obstacles upon release not to mention if they have any medical conditions. With today’s Government & State Budget Cuts, more & more programs are being reduced or cut back thus the cycle continues. Without proper case management & guidance, the chances of those individuals infecting others with HIV, STI/STD’s or going back to crime is high. We can only hope that someday the system will work correctly. ARE does its best to serve the needs of the incarcerated in the surrounding counties.
Tom Thayer
source: http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/hiv_prison_incarceration_1667_20999.shtml
Kids & HIV
Do you children? Nieces, nephews, cousins? Any young person is living a new world full of dangers with HIV/AIDS being one of them. Nearly 7 out of 10 youth are having sex! YES, the latest National Survey of Family Growth (Federal Study) pointed said that abstinence was on the rise—from 22% in 2002 to about 28% by 2008. But failed to also mention that people in their late teens and early 20s are having more sex. 7 of 10….
Philadelphia has the highest rate of teen sexual activity in the country—and the lowest rate of condom use. Abstinence isn’t working there. Also Philadelphia has the nation’s 5th highest teen HIV rate.
Overall, Americans between ages 13 and 20 comprise 34% of the country’s new HIV infections. Globally, people younger than 25 account for more than half of all new HIV cases. We all can deny that kids are having sex and refuse to teach comprehensive sex ed, offering instead abstinence-only or abstinence-until-marriage, kids will remain powerless to protect themselves while gripped by raging hormones. You can figure it out what will be the outcome. And youth with use ‘other’ means of sex to avoid loosing their virginity. Abstinence only does not work, never has and never will. We need groups like AIDS Response Effort, (ARE) or other AIDS Service Organizations around the country to be allowed into schools to teach, educate and promote safe sex but also tell & explain the consequences of bad decisions. ARE promotes abstinence if we can but we know what happens out there in the real world…….
Keep your kids informed…..before other decisions are forced to be made after they get into trouble.
Tom Thayer
CDC to Unveil New HIV Testing Campaign
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is set to unveil a new public message to promote HIV testing in HIGH Risk Cities. “Testing Makes Us Stronger”, promotos the benefits as well as importance of HIV testing will be launching in five cities next week: Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, New York and Oakland. Health officials are hoping that the implementation of this campaign will lead to increased testing and general awareness among the disease’s most affected group: black, gay or bisexual men between 18 and 29.
Studies were linked to issues concerning the increased presence of poverty and discrimination among the specified demographics. A more recent study concludes that the three groups with the highest risk of contracting HIV are gay and bisexual men with an infection rate of 19%, intravenous drug (IDU) users at 9%, and low-income heterosexuals at 2%. The study consisted of 30,000 individuals in 21 cities, with an overall infection rate of 47%. What’s even more eye opening is the fact HALF of the person’s infected didn’t know they were infected. And alarming proportions of each group reported involvement of risky conduct, such as unprotected sex and sharing needles, in the past year.
Tom Thayer
21st Anniversary of the Ryan White CARE Act
The story of Ryan White is one that needs repeating……with Aug 18 being the 21st anniversary of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act. It is the largest federally funded U.S. program for people living with HIV/AIDS. It was named for the late Indiana teenager with AIDS whose advocacy brought information about the disease into the mainstream, the CARE Act currently funds support services for more than 500,000 low-income, under-insured and uninsured people with HIV/AIDS.
Ryan White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an teenager from Kokomo, IN who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the US, after being expelled from middle school because of his infection. A hemophilia, he became infected with HIV from a contaminated blood treatment and, when diagnosed in December 1984, was given six months to live. Doctors said he posed no risk to other students, but AIDS was poorly understood at the time, and when White tried to return to school, many parents and teachers in Kokomo rallied against his attendance. A lengthy legal battle with the school system ensued, and media coverage of the case made White into a national celebrity and spokesman for AIDS research and public education.
We all know the horrible stigma & ridicule he faced in school and the towns. The young man stood tall & defied the odds until his passing on April 1990 before he could graduate & go to the prom. I encourage you to check out wikipedia about his story. Because of Ryan White, his legacy has led to so many changes that assist people today with medications & education. We honor his memory and the Ryan White CARE Act Anniversay.
Tom Thayer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_White
http://www.poz.com/articles/CARE_21st_Anniversary_1_21000.shtml
National AIDS Quilt Panel
Have you ever seen one? Up close, in person & felt it’s power?
Every year on December 1st, the World remembers or celebrates World AIDS Day. A reminder of those that are gone, their lives weren’t in vain.. memories remain. It keeps the us and the world focused on finding better medications or a cure to this deadly disease.
Next July 2012, Washington DC is hosting the International Conference on AIDS. The Names Project Foundation, which takes care of all the Quilt Panels is trying to ‘blanket DC’ with all the Quilt Panels. The Quilt has been to DC in 1987, 88, 89, 92 and 1996. Some of the Quilt were included in President Clinton’s Inauguration Parade. The Quilt was also nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. It is the single largest community project in the World to this day.
The Quilt continues to grow as HIV/AIDS takes more lives. The Quilt now has over 47,000+ panels, weighs over 54 tons and has over 92,000+ names listed. Some famous names include: Arthur Ashe, Eazy E (rapper), Perry Ellis, Rock Hudson, Richard Hunt (muppeteer), Liberace, Freddie Mercury, Tim Richmond (Nascar), Robert Reed (Brady Bunch), Anthony Perkins (Psycho), Max Robinson (ABC News anchor), Jerry Smith (Redskin Football player), Ricky Wilson (B-52 band), Ryan White, Rudolf Nureyev, just to name a few…
Coming up this December, watch for AIDS Response Effort World AIDS Day Events and come see and touch a famous Quilt Panel. We promise you’ll be moved and touched…The panels are there to sew, mend, honor and heal the broken hearts……
Tom Thayer
HIV/AIDS & Youth
HIV/AIDS among Youth
Young people (age 13-24) in the US are at continued risk for HIV infection. The hardest hit groups are youth of minority races and ethnicity’s. HIV prevention outreach & education efforts (abstinence) or waiting for sex, are required as new generations replace the generations that benefited from earlier prevention strategies.
ARE joins forces with other local Youth Based Programs to help educate & inform so the local youth won’t become a ‘statistic’. The factors of HIV infection come from Heterosexual Transmission, msm (men having sex with men), STI/STD, substance abuse, lack of awareness, poverty, out of school youth,
Young women, especially those of minority races or ethnicities, are increasingly at risk for HIV infection through heterosexual contact. According to data from a CDC study of HIV among disadvantaged youth during the early to mid-1990s, the rate of HIV prevalence among young women aged 16–21 was 50% higher than the rate among young men in that age group. African American women in this study were 7 times as likely as white women and 8 times as likely as Hispanic women to be HIV-positive. Young women are at risk for sexually transmitted HIV for several reasons, including biologic vulnerability, lack of recognition of their partners’ risk factors, inequality in relationships, and having sex with older men who are more likely to be infected with HIV. Also, young MSM males who do not disclose their sexual orientation are likely to have 1 or more female sex partners. MSM who become infected may transmit the virus to women as well as to men.
Young people in the United States use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs at high rates. Both casual and chronic substance users are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Runaways and other homeless young people are at high risk for HIV infection if they are exchanging sex for drugs or money.
Research has shown that a large proportion of young people are not concerned about becoming infected with HIV. We’ve worked with youth that don’t even know how to put on a condom, where to get tested for HIV, STI/STD or how to talk to a partner. Information should also include the concept that abstinence is the only 100% effective way to avoid infection.
Tom Thayer
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/youth.htm
ARE BLACK & WHITE PARTY
We are having a night of fun and music at The Lodgein Boonsboro, MD. The proceeds of the ticket sales will go to ARE. Please come out and support us and enjoy a great night of fun and entertainment!
The ticket costs are:$15 – Regular ticket online
$50 – VIP ticket
$20 – at the door before 11PM
$25 – at the door after 11PM
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