There were 13,600 persons living with HIV/AIDS in South Carolina as of December 2005, with the state having experienced a 77 percent increase in that population from 1995 to 2005.

African-Americans account for 30 percent of the state's population but represent 73 percent of the HIV/AIDS cases recently diagnosed in South Carolina.

Nearly seven of every 10 men and eight of every 10 women diagnosed are African-American.

Among youth and young adults ages 15 to 24 in South Carolina, 80 percent who are diagnosed are African-American.

One Orangeburg church is reaching out its youth community to try to curb the spread of what is quickly becoming an epidemic, particularly in the African-American community.

Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church will hold its first annual HIV/AIDS Youth Awareness Conference from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21, in the F.G.S. Everett Educational Building on 310 Green St. The conference will target 8- to 18-year-olds. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.

The free event will also target issues surrounding self-esteem, gang violence, teen pregnancy, drug use and other sexually transmitted diseases as it pertains to their impact on the lives of youth.

Horace Britton, health ministries coordinator at Mt. Pisgah, said the church received a $2,500 grant from the nonprofit, Columbia-based S.C. HIV/AIDS Council under its initiative, Project FAITH, or Fostering AIDS Initiatives That Heal.

Anointed Light Church in Eutawville and Empowerment Ministries and Victory Tabernacle Church in Orangeburg were the other churches in the T&D Region who received grants to develop programs targeting HIV/AIDS prevention.

"We have 24 churches that are currently funded under Project FAITH. It represents the first HIV/AIDS prevention initiative supported through the South Carolina Legislature. Each church has been visionary and are coordinating local efforts within their respective counties to address HIV/AIDS education and awareness," S.C. HIV/AIDS Council Executive Director Dr. Bambi Gaddist said.

"The churches are focusing on impacting attitudes and beliefs. Stigma ... makes it difficult for persons in the community to see HIV testing and medical treatment and care. It's the stigma that makes it difficult for persons in the community to seek out prevention to reduce their infection risk," said Gaddist, who said the Project FAITH initiative has enjoyed first-year success.

"It's our goal in the upcoming year to target counties where there is no Project FAITH mission ... so that we can begin the task of slowing down the spread within communities," she said.

Project FAITH coordinator Crystal Evans said the faith community is a critical link in the mission.

"We just feel they need to become involved because many of our persons living with HIV, particularly so for African-Americans, attend church. The faith community plays a critical role in HIV prevention," Evans said.

"We provide technical assistance to churches and help them develop or enhance HIV ministries, whether it's including it in nursing guilds or in their health ministries. We also work in capacity building, either by educating a church's care team, or encouraging the community in which the church resides," she said.

Britton said an array of keynote speakers, breakout sessions, food, door prizes and entertainment will all be available during the event.

"We're really focusing on the Sunnyside Community as our target area," Britton said.

Charleston resident Pamela Sykes, who is living with AIDS, is the keynote speaker for the event. Orangeburg-based Get At Me Entertainment Productions will present a "Strive and Drive" collaboration of music and dramatization.

The Department of Juvenile Justice will have The Messengers on hand, a group of incarcerated youth offenders who will share their personal stories in order to educate other youth.

Shedron Williams, director of education and prevention for the ACCESS Network serving four Lowcountry counties, will be on hand to make a healthy lifestyles presentation, Healthy Lifestyles: Did You Hear That? Are you Really Listening? '

Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Detective Randy Hughes will speak on gang violence and its prevention, while a school resource officer from the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Department will speak on drug awareness and prevention.

Carol Singletary, senior faith-based initiative coordinator with the S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, will present along Aaron Bryan, HIV/AIDS coordinator with the state Department of Education's Healthy Schools Program.

Denmark resident Gina Rodriguez, a 17-year senior at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, said the conference's numerous topics "could fall under the umbrella of HIV/AIDS."

"There will be activities to highlight how all these are connected. Any of those things could be a risk factor or gateway into HIV/AIDS. As a responsible teenager, you shouldn't veer down that path that could lead to all these other things," Rodriguez said.

"I got involved because I felt it was important. I felt this would give students the opportunity to find out more about HIV/AIDS and different issues related to it. It's always good to be informed. People are basically hurt for the lack of knowledge," she said.

Minority AIDS Council President Shirley James, RN, said more community education is indeed needed.

"We're seeing that behaviors are not changing whether among individuals or groups. Even adults are being driven by peer influence. The primary mode of HIV/AIDS transmission is still through heterosexual sex, which is due to multiple partners and not using condoms," James said, noting that intravenous drug use and an increased incidence of male-to-male sex is all contributing to the escalating infection rate.

"We have a large number of people here in Orangeburg County that are positive, so it's easy to come in contact with a person who is HIV-positive, or has the active disease of AIDS. We have a hard time making the decision to use condoms, and it's putting many people at risk," James said.

For more information on the conference, contact Britton at 803-531-3136 or Carolyn Robinson at 803-536-1547.

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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