By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – At least 280 people in Berrien County have been diagnosed with HIV.
Desiree Dunomes, an educator with Gospel Against AIDS, said only Detroit and Ingham County have more HIV cases per capita than Berrien County. In Michigan, 16,000 people are living with HIV. Half of those individuals are blacks, who in turn only make up 14 percent of the state's population, Dunomes added.
"This has effected us in such a way that there should be an outcry," Dunomes said, adding the black community can raise awareness in the same way the gay community did when the disease first exploded in the early 1980s.
Gospel Against AIDS is a faith-based program that aims to prevent HIV/AIDS through education, and also provides referrals for people in infected with the disease. The presentation at Franklin African Methodist Episcopal Church in Niles was a part of the HIV/AIDS community outreach program headed by Niles City Councilmember Georgia Boggs, Franklin AME member Louis Stennis and Barbara DeLong, a registered nurse and manager of the Lakeland Center for Health Enhancement.
Dunomes said the term African American is not accurate when talking about the statistics of HIV/AIDS because there are those who are black and infected with the virus that are from other countries.
Dunomes, who is certified in HIV/AIDS counseling, testing, outreach and case management, and holds a bachelor's degree in social work from Andrews University, was joined by Princella Tobias, founder, publisher and chief executive officer of Benton Spirit Community Newspaper and board member with Community AIDS Resources and Education Services (CARES).
The pair's presentation focused on revealing the truths about HIV/AIDS and squashing the assumptions and stereotypes associated with them.
"It is not a lifestyle disease. It's a behavior disease," Dunomes said.
They also emphasized the importance of educating people of all ages on how the disease is contracted and what simple measures can be taken to prevent it.
"This disease is 100 percent preventable," Dunomes added, saying not engaging in sexual activity negates all risk of catching the disease.
For more information about HIV/AIDS or to schedule a presentation by Gospel Against AIDS, call (269) 926-4110 or at bentonspirit@aol.com.