Isaetta "Marie" Walton (left) executive director of Recovery 2000, Inc., labels Jermaine Bell's HIV test today during testing at Southlawn United Methodist Church, part of the First Ladies Health Day in Chicago. Several black churches in Chicago and surrounding suburbs provided free screenings . (Heather Charles/ Chicago Tribune)
After services at Southlawn United Methodist Church let out Sunday, members not only exchanged hugs and handshakes and mingled over coffee. They waited to get their gums and cheeks swabbed.
Around 40 people at Southlawn in Chicago's Avalon Park community were tested Sunday for HIV during the First Ladies Health Day. More than two dozen predominantly black churches -- with a combined membership of around 35,000 -- offered free HIV screenings to strip away the stigma associated with the disease.
"That's really where the power of the church comes in is to say, `Hey, you belong. You're part of us,' " Southlawn senior pastor Robert Biekman said.
Following a national trend, African Americans in Chicago shoulder a large share of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, according to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. Blacks represent around 37 percent of the city's population yet account for 56 percent of people living with HIV, according to the foundation.
Once known to have shied away from addressing the diseases plaguing their communities, many black churches have become advocates for awareness and education of HIV and AIDS.
Sunday's event, which also included blood-pressure and diabetes screenings, was brainstormed this summer at the First Ladies Luncheon. About 100 wives of pastors from mainly black churches in the Chicago area, as well as a few female pastors, attended and decided to champion HIV testing, said Jamell Meeks, chairwoman of the luncheon and wife of the Rev. James Meeks.
"We wanted to increase the awareness in other communities and in other churches," Jamell Meeks said, adding that 75 percent of the churches that participated Sunday never before offered HIV testing. "This seemed to be the best way to get started."
The First Ladies did just that. Several people tested positive for HIV, said Tracey Alston, a spokeswoman for the event Sunday.
Though he said he uses condoms and isn't promiscuous, Jermaine Bell patiently waited for his screening at Southlawn. He had just gotten out of a relationship.
"You never can be too sure," said Bell, a cigarette and a cup of coffee in hand.
Bell, 32, of the Chatham neighborhood, wasn't concerned about a stigma linked to HIV, and he called on anyone who might be at risk for having the disease, such as drug users and prostitutes, to get tested.
Carl White, 22, of the South Shore neighborhood, was one of several people sitting near a closed-door room waiting for his turn to be swabbed.
"I'm not real nervous," White said, adding that he was getting tested, "just to make sure that I'm being safe. That's all."
Damon Arnold, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, urged a handful of congregations Sunday to get tested and to seek treatment if needed.
"Your hand controls your destiny," Arnold said. "It opens the clinic door, or not."
Once known to have shied away from addressing the diseases plaguing their communities, many black churches have become advocates for awareness and education of HIV and AIDS.
Sunday's event, which also included blood-pressure and diabetes screenings, was brainstormed this summer at the First Ladies Luncheon. About 100 wives of pastors from mainly black churches in the Chicago area, as well as a few female pastors, attended and decided to champion HIV testing, said Jamell Meeks, chairwoman of the luncheon and wife of the Rev. James Meeks.
"We wanted to increase the awareness in other communities and in other churches," Jamell Meeks said, adding that 75 percent of the churches that participated Sunday never before offered HIV testing. "This seemed to be the best way to get started."
The First Ladies did just that. Several people tested positive for HIV, said Tracey Alston, a spokeswoman for the event Sunday.
Though he said he uses condoms and isn't promiscuous, Jermaine Bell patiently waited for his screening at Southlawn. He had just gotten out of a relationship.
"You never can be too sure," said Bell, a cigarette and a cup of coffee in hand.
Bell, 32, of the Chatham neighborhood, wasn't concerned about a stigma linked to HIV, and he called on anyone who might be at risk for having the disease, such as drug users and prostitutes, to get tested.
Carl White, 22, of the South Shore neighborhood, was one of several people sitting near a closed-door room waiting for his turn to be swabbed.
"I'm not real nervous," White said, adding that he was getting tested, "just to make sure that I'm being safe. That's all."
Damon Arnold, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, urged a handful of congregations Sunday to get tested and to seek treatment if needed.
"Your hand controls your destiny," Arnold said. "It opens the clinic door, or not."
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