Over the past 26 years much has been reported about the rising cases of HIV/AIDS in the US and abroad. However, there’s little known about an extraordinary group of survivors that gather a few times a year at the Quality of Life retreat in Baltimore Md.—the community of the Deaf. Raising awareness with a hand sign and openly discussing their personal journeys of living with HIV/AIDS, this program offers encouragement and hope.
The Quality of Life retreat is a special project of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, and the General Board of Global Ministries’ Health and Welfare unit provides additional support. The retreat, open to everyone hearing and Deaf, empowers participants with life strategies that help them live with HIV/AIDS. The program is facilitated by The Deaf Shalom Zone Inc., Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf, Baltimore, Md."My experience at the Quality of Life retreat was so great. It helped me to find myself, my inner place, my spiritual home, my peace, my purpose in life,” so signed Rev. Harry Woosley, Jr., the leader of the Deaf AIDS community in Baltimore. “I want to help others to find life like I have,” he continued.Harry was sponsored and provided with interpreters to attend the retreat and is educating three high risk groups about AIDS— Deaf-blind people, a group of Deaf inner-city young people, and Deaf people living in group homes.
A Safe Place
The retreat offers a safe, loving environment in which participants can be themselves, free of fears and inhibitions and can openly discuss their deepest concerns and challenges about living with HIV/AIDS. The retreat offers an opportunity for participants to get away, interact with other HIV-positive individuals and learn effective techniques and attitudes for long-term survival.
Currently, there are an estimated 24,000 culturally Deaf individuals in Baltimore and 300 are reported Deaf AIDS cases. “HIV/AIDS cases are four times higher in the Deaf community than in the hearing community,” according to Carol Stevens, coordinator of The Deaf Shalom Zone. This fact alone demands society’s attention to this often overlooked community.
Case Managers at Work
Agencies that provide services to hearing individuals are often inaccessible to the Deaf, therefore, The Deaf Shalom Zone includes case management services to help the complicated needs of Deaf people living with HIV/AIDS. Case managers help secure individuals who have contracted the disease but have no health insurance, medical care, medication or financial support. Case managers are often the shepherds through the process until individuals gain independence.
The Quality of Life retreats and case management services for Deaf people with HIV/AIDS are just another example of how UMC gifts go to work.
The Quality of Life retreat is a special project of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference, and the General Board of Global Ministries’ Health and Welfare unit provides additional support. The retreat, open to everyone hearing and Deaf, empowers participants with life strategies that help them live with HIV/AIDS. The program is facilitated by The Deaf Shalom Zone Inc., Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf, Baltimore, Md."My experience at the Quality of Life retreat was so great. It helped me to find myself, my inner place, my spiritual home, my peace, my purpose in life,” so signed Rev. Harry Woosley, Jr., the leader of the Deaf AIDS community in Baltimore. “I want to help others to find life like I have,” he continued.Harry was sponsored and provided with interpreters to attend the retreat and is educating three high risk groups about AIDS— Deaf-blind people, a group of Deaf inner-city young people, and Deaf people living in group homes.
A Safe Place
The retreat offers a safe, loving environment in which participants can be themselves, free of fears and inhibitions and can openly discuss their deepest concerns and challenges about living with HIV/AIDS. The retreat offers an opportunity for participants to get away, interact with other HIV-positive individuals and learn effective techniques and attitudes for long-term survival.
Currently, there are an estimated 24,000 culturally Deaf individuals in Baltimore and 300 are reported Deaf AIDS cases. “HIV/AIDS cases are four times higher in the Deaf community than in the hearing community,” according to Carol Stevens, coordinator of The Deaf Shalom Zone. This fact alone demands society’s attention to this often overlooked community.
Case Managers at Work
Agencies that provide services to hearing individuals are often inaccessible to the Deaf, therefore, The Deaf Shalom Zone includes case management services to help the complicated needs of Deaf people living with HIV/AIDS. Case managers help secure individuals who have contracted the disease but have no health insurance, medical care, medication or financial support. Case managers are often the shepherds through the process until individuals gain independence.
The Quality of Life retreats and case management services for Deaf people with HIV/AIDS are just another example of how UMC gifts go to work.
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