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Volume VIII Number 24
November 30, 2005 |
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GUEST ESSAY World AIDS Day this year will mark the 25th anniversary of the disease as we have come to know it. In that quarter century, millions have died, and 40 million people are now estimated to be suffering with HIV/AIDS. The economic and cultural challenges we face, both locally and worldwide, in the care and education of people about HIV/AIDS are enormous. Twenty years ago, a large portion of the country believed that AIDS was a "gay plague" of little relevance to the lives of "ordinary people" in "ordinary places" like the North Shore. Fortunately though, there were others. These compassionate and nonjudgmental people were willing to take on indifference and prejudice towards those impacted by HIV/AIDS wherever they found it: in government, in schools, in religious organizations and throughout their communities. The Evanstonians who founded BEHIV (Better Existence with HIV) 17 years ago brought the fight against HIV/AIDS home, and we are better for it. BEHIV's founders understood that the impact of HIV/AIDS did not miraculously end on the south side of Howard Street. They understood that this disease was humanity's problem to solve, and though they could not have known just how long or difficult the fight would be, they understood that if the world had any hope of stopping the spread and devastation of HIV/AIDS, ordinary people in ordinary places like Evanston had to doextraordinary things. While the faces of HIV/AIDS are very different today than they were 20 years ago, the disease is no less menacing and no less deadly. Many of BEHIV's clients today are struggling with dual and in some cases triple diagnoses involving HIV, substance abuse and/or mental illness. For many clients an HIV diagnosis was another event on a life continuum that may have involved homelessness, child abuse, lack of education, substance abuse, poor or absent adult role models and a myriad of unfortunate or tragic life circumstances. A regimen of medications taken to control the virus can sometimes be as toxic to the body as the disease itself. Fatigue, depression and a profound sense of loneliness are almost always constant companions. Evanston neighbors working at BEHIV consult with clients to navigate the complex labyrinth of drug and mental health treatment options. For some clients, BEHIV works to obtain appropriate housing and life essentials, as well as connections to nutrition services. Life essentials can be insurmountable obstacles to those multiply diagnosed unless help arrives. BEHIV staff work with those already infected to keep them from becoming re-infected with new strains of the disease, as well as to protect other people not currently infected. BEHIV staff are often found in the Evanston schools, educating our youth about the consequences of poor choices or succumbing to peer pressure. A recent study indicated that more than half of all parents are worried that their children might become infected by HIV, and for good reason. The Chicago Department of Public Health recently reported that one in every two new infections occurs in our adolescent population. One of the cruelest ironies of this epidemic is that the very advances in medicine that have helped people live longer and more asymptomatically have also created a false impression that the threat of this disease is over. Required medications are often beyond the reach of those without healthcare insurance. This lack of basic awareness about HIV/AIDS has been exacerbated by our national reluctance to provide age-appropriate education and outreach to our at-risk populations, including our children. People of color are disproportionately more likely to be affected, and women of color are particularly vulnerable. BEHIV is committed to stemming the tide of new infections and has emerged as a regional leader in HIV/AIDS care, prevention and education. Despite governmental cutbacks and a misperception that "wealthy" communities like the North Shore don't really need assistance, BEHIV has done amazing things to protect our young people and other at-risk populations. More can and should be done, though, and BEHIV continues to look for partners on the North Shore to reinforce the message that HIV/AIDS is as deadly as it ever was. One of BEHIV's Board members is part of the outreach team in the school system. As a white, highly-educated, North Shore woman who contracted the virus through a transfusion after the birth of her last child, she is ample evidence that HIV is an "equal opportunity infector." We can be proud of the progress that all of our private and public agencies have made in combating both this disease and its devastating impact. We can also be proud of our seemingly limitless ability to adapt our community's response to the epidemic as the disease itself rapidly evolves. On this World AIDS Day, we must ask ourselves if our community could not do more, particularly in the areas of outreach and education. What better way to mark this occasion than by re-dedicating ourselves to the cause of preventing as many people as possible from ever knowing firsthand what it means to be HIV positive.
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For many reasons we have chosen not to participate in Two-Way Immersion. However, I know the parents of many of its participants as lifelong friends from growing up in Evanston. I admire the spirit and intent of this program: to celebrate, embrace, and preserve the Latino culture and language. It is important not to repeat our past mistakes of shaming immigrants, like my father, into abandoning their "backward old world ways" by embracing the USA "love it or leave it" mentality. It seems like, and should be, a win-win situation: the American second-plus generation children learn Spanish, broaden their horizons, and are less likely to develop feelings of bigotry and ignorance. Latino children and their families are validated and welcomed into the community and will learn English without the stigmas and stereotypes of the past. After all, as a society and a school district, we should endeavor to provide all of our children with a happy and healthy childhood as the best means of hope in a weary adult world. However, as history has shown us time and time again, the best intentions often have unintended consequences. I am greatly concerned, as are others, that the TWI participating schools are becoming more segregated. As a result of non-Latino participation in the TWI program, which is mostly white, the general education classrooms are becoming predominantly black. This is a huge problem. African-American children are being bused out of the Fifth Ward, as they have been since the late 1960s when Foster School was closed. Today, those who are sent to TWI -participating schools in order to benefit from integration are ending up in segregated classrooms. Unfortunately there are some TWI supporters who are quick to label people as racist for criticizing or even questioning the program. This is as wrong and unfair as it is to assume that TWI is merely an enrichment program for white children whose parents want them in a less black classroom. Unfortunately, Evanston has a history of racism, segregation and inequality that we must continue to discuss openly. TWI is a noble endeavor but it is not a panacea for all children. If it
is unintentionally moving us in the wrong direction of segregation, we
must not ignore it. Before consideration is given to expanding TWI to the
middle schools, there must first be a resolution to this long-standing
issue of segregation and inequality in our community.
The stench and roar of gas-powered lawn tools hardly inspires the same feelings today. To say that leaf blowing is more efficient than raking seems to be a stretch.I saw (and heard and smelled) one in use the other day right outside my office window.It took the person more than 20 minutes to clear a stretch of sidewalk 12 feet by 100 feet that I could have cleared with a snow shovel in about ten.I could have pushed the wet leaves into the street into the same pile in the street with a little effort, less time, and very little noise.If I missed a leaf or two, so what? They would have dried out and blown away the next day. That brings up the issue of "efficient" leaf blower users blowing the leaves into the street.Sometimes I see them doing this.Other times, I just see the evidence of their acts - perfectly leaf-free lawns with neatly-blown piles of leaves in the street beyond. The question for City Council to consider is whether to continue to allow leaf blower use at all.And instead of considering that they are okay to use because they might be quieter than some other lawn equipment, crack down on the other offending equipment:ear-splitting, lung-choking, nose-curdling gas-powered mowers and edgers. Maybe you've seen this, too:Two guys jump out of a truck, haul out and start up three pieces of equipment and leave them all running, roaring, spewing fumes for the next 20 minutes, even though they're not using them all.Efficient?Environmentally friendly?Not a chance. Some might argue banning old, noisy equipment would drive up the cost of landscaping.What about the cost of related health problems?There is an alternative (dare I suggest it):You could do it yourself or give a teenager a job and 1) save money, 2) help the environment, 3) provide a good workout pushing a manual mower and rake. On the other hand, the price of gasoline is down to about $2.35
per gallon.
At last!Someone who knows the facts about Evanston Northwestern Hospital and has the courage to publish them.Thank you, Keith Sarpolis. How dare a non-profit organization justify a two-story fountain in the lobby and a CEO who makes $1.5 million a year, while at the same time decreasing charitable contributions from $48 million to $10.8 million? Evanston Hospital once served this community well.It's past
time for it to return to providing affordable quality healthcare
to its patients rather than hoarding its assets for the benefit of its
administrators. |
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EDITORIAL The rush is on. Fountain Square is aglow with Evanston's Christmas tree, lit already for more than a week. All over town homes are beginning to be decked with greenery, lights and lawn ornaments. Evanston is poised for another month of holiday festivities – shopping, dining and parties, followed by Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa and FirstNight Evanston, the community New Year's Eve celebration. Shopkeepers, artists, restaurateurs and other businesspersons of Evanston are already prepared to welcome shoppers, diners, audiences and other patrons. Two business districts – Central Street and Dempster/Chicago – have planned special events this weekend to attract holiday shoppers. In downtown Evanston, the developers of Sherman Plaza have provided trolley service from the peripheral parking areas. There are a lot of reasons to keep your holiday money in town. The small, independent shops, artist groups, restaurants, bakeries, caterers and other businesses have already put a lot into this community – and, beside, they provide great stuff. Even the larger businesses and chain stores have invested something here. They anchor our community, pay greater amounts of taxes, employ our residents. The City will benefit as well from the sales taxes generated here, thus helping to keep our property taxes in check. In Evanston, there are many ways to give and to receive: holiday fairs showcasing the works of local potters, jewelers and other artists; plays and concerts, benefits and fundraisers. Without the glitz of cookie-cutter shopping malls, Evanston is regaining its reputation as a destination city. So, we would add this to your holiday refrain: Shop Evanston first. ________________ Homeless in Evanston The story on pages 4 and 5 of this issue is the last in a series on homelessness in Evanston. Whether we see them or not, whether we choose to acknowledge them, homeless persons are a fact of life in nearly every community across the country. Evanston as a community has taken a brave approach to homelessness, identifying it as a regional more than a local problem and providing support to those who are willing to address the underlying problems – substance abuse and mental illness – that often lead to homelessness. Connections for the Homeless and one program offered by Housing Options help in two ways: by offering support to those motivated to change their lives and by convincing those living on the street to want to make that change. This is often a tough sell, because often those who are in the worst circumstances fear change the most. Connections, Housing Options and the YWCA Shelter for Battered Women and Their Children provide not just shelter but support to enable their clients to start anew. While drop-in centers and soup kitchens provide necessary respite, the organizations that help transform persons driven from their homes and persons living on the street to become persons leading productive, structured lives deserve recognition. While homelessness is a complicated, almost idiopathic issue, these organizations have gone a long way in addressing the problem. Thanksgiving This column ran in the Nov. 19, 2003 issue of the RoundTable. November is National American Indian Heritage Month and is also the month in which Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the United States. Thanksgiving is a day when, historically, families and friends get together to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. In 1620 a boat sailed from England to the New World, filled with people calling themselves "Separatists." They were breaking with the Church of England. It was only later that historians referred to these people as "pilgrims." Many of the pilgrims died during their first winter in the New World. In the spring of 1621 the Iroquois Indians taught the pilgrims how to raise crops that would grow in that soil as well as how to hunt and fish. Survival. In the autumn of 1621 the pilgrims had a feast to give thanks for their crops, a feast to which American Indians were invited. The Indians also contributed to this feast by bringing game. Turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkins became symbols of the first Thanksgiving. Corn (maize), one of the staple crops, symbolized survival of the pilgrims/colonists, so placing decorative Indian corn on doors or tables represents the harvest and autumn. In the years following 1621, autumn harvests were celebrated with feasts of thanks. Thanksgiving was celebrated at different times of the month, as chosen by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, before Congress ruled in 1941 that Thanksgiving would be a federal holiday held on the fourth Thursday of November and proclaimed each year by the President. In 1988 The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York celebrated Thanksgiving with more than 4,000 Native Americans and descendants of those who had come to the New World. This was public acknowledgment of the Indians' role in the first Thanksgiving and the role the Indians played in the pilgrims' survival. Too often, we forget how important Native Americans are as past and contemporary contributors to the culture of the United States. The care and survival of the earth and the importance of ancestors are still embraced by Native American culture and are expressed in much of the Native American writing, subjects that should be embraced by all of us as our earth continues to be assaulted and our ancestors forgotten. "To our elders who teach us of our creation and our past, So we may preserve mother earth for ancestors yet to come..." (from "Ancestor Song" by Robbie Robertson, www.geocities.com/katevo.geo/ancestor.html). A
Holiday Parable Bradley, age 7, asked his sister Briana, age 9, to help him with his holiday gift list. "I just don't know what to get Mom and Dad," he said. "Something from you," Briana replied. "Duh!" he said. "I know that, Brie!" "You didn't hear me, Brad," his sister snapped. "I said ‘Something from you' and I meant just that. Something you make or write or draw - like a handmade card or a picture of Doozer, your guinea pig!" "But I've been saving part of my allowance to buy something icey!" "ICEY?" "Yeah. Super cool!" "Like, what were you thinking?" "I dunno…" Bradley's finger played with tabletop dust. "Like, maybe a fishbowl and a couple of goldfish? Mom would go ga-ga over that." "And Dad would choke!" "Not if we named them Fumble and TD." "Gimme a break! It'd be just another thing for both of them to take care of." Bradley said, " How 'bout a plastic turtle then? I already bought a fishbowl." "Bradleee!" Briana screamed. "Listen, will you? I said ‘Something from you!'" "What am I missing?" he asked. "The holidays aren't about ‘getting for;' they're about ‘giving to!" "Wha?" Bradley skrinched his face. "Give them something from your self, like I said. Something from a store just can't say what something from you will." "Huh," he thought. "So what are you giving them?" "I can't tell you. It's a secret." "Well, thanks a lot," he moaned. "You're a great help, Brie." Briana stayed stubborn while Bradley struggled to figure out what he could give his parents to let them know how much he loved them. When it came time to exchange presents, Briana shouted, "Open mine first!" as she handed her gift to Dad. He passed it to his wife, saying, "Here, Hon, you open..." Briana had given them a school-project watercolor that looked like smashed eggs, Bradley thought. She had it framed with yellow matting that spread the eggs beyond believing. But both Mom and Dad "oohed and aahed" over it, bubbling like butter in a frying pan. Bradley swallowed hard as he handed his gift to his parents. Mom said, "Your turn, Darling. It's from Brad." His Dad shook the gift, an oversized box, before unwrapping it, winking at his son as if he knew what the gift would be. His Mom smiled. Bradley squirmed as his Dad unwrapped and opened a brand new notebook titled "HOME." Bradley's handwriting skittered across its pages. When his Dad began reading it, Bradley shrank into self-consciousness. "Home is the warmth of a kitchen and laughter everywhere; It's the soft of an armchair and the noise of company. The smell of Windex and lemon polish…" When Dad finished reading, there were lots of hugs all around. Bradley couldn't help but remember Briana's suggestion - and he was grateful. He knew he would be sure to follow it again next year.
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