Reducing stigma and isolation During the school year, Youth Haven provides family bonding activities to help youth and parents overcome the isolation and social stigma HIV and AIDS can inflict. Budsies, a company that turns kids’ drawings into custom stuffed animals, sponsored a recent gathering. At that event, Sandra and her children Devante


and Tierra drew a family crest featuring Egyptian pyramids surrounded by rainbows and light. The pyramids represented the influence of African people, and the rainbows the power of hope. “I did this in reference to soul survivors,” Sandra said. “I am a soul survivor. My family are soul survivors because we have been through so much.” When the Youth Haven staff surprised Sandra


with her Budsie pillow based on her family’s crest, she stood up from her seat with disbelief. “This is so nice,” she said, as she fanned tears away from her eyes and turned the pillow to show the room full of other families. Youth Haven has served more than 500 people


since it was founded in 1999. While the HIV and AIDS incidence rate in D.C. has decreased from its peak in 2009, Miller-Holland doesn’t anticipate less of a need for services in the future.


“We’re really heartened that babies aren’t


being born with HIV these days in the District of Columbia. But we are seeing a rise in HIV infections from teens and young people in their 20s, and it’s very disconcerting,” Miller-Holland said. Youth Haven works on two areas of focus. “First,


providing services for folks in need of them, and also providing opportunities and resources for folks in the general community who still continue to be misinformed about HIV/AIDS,” Miller-Holland said. “The community education piece is still huge.” Beyond the disease itself is the stigma attached


to it, which Miller-Holland thinks is where the average Christian can make the biggest impact. “The day that there is a cure for HIV will


certainly be worth celebrating, but it will not mean that the AIDS stigma has been cured,” she said. “That is the responsibility of all of us, particularly faith communities. We need to change attitudes that truly harm young people and their families.”


For more information, see lssnca.org.


Sancken is a social worker and writer based in Charlottesville, Va.


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