As morning breaks over downtown Brownsville, the previously quiet street stir to as growing crowds of people quickly saturate the area. Merchants open their doors and passing by the local restaurants, one can smell the odor of freshly-brewed coffee wafting among the morning odors.
Cars zoom past, their drivers hoping to find some open parking space, an eye out for the parking inspectors who stalk the streets in search of violations. Some of these people go to downtown Brownsville to visit las tienditas or to make a payment. Others go to attend classes at the local university and college.
However, there are some here another reason altogether.
Nestled between two loan-finance companies lies the Valley Aids Council; an unassuming storefront with its tinted windows and simple logo. It goes often unnoticed by passersby who assume it to be another loan center. However, for those who are in the know, the Valley Aids Council provides critical services for the people of the Rio Grande Valley.
Over 25 years ago, health care leaders from both the Cameron and Hidalgo County Departments of Health and Planned Parenthood met with representatives from the Texas Department of Health in an endeavor to combat the growing issue of HIV/AIDS in the Rio Grande Valley. From there came their brainchild – the Valley Aids Council. With several locations across the Valley, the VAC now provides free and confidential HIV testing, along with other important services.
Over 25 years ago, health care leaders from both the Cameron and Hidalgo County Departments of Health and Planned Parenthood met with representatives from the Texas Department of Health in an endeavor to combat the growing issue of HIV/AIDS in the Rio Grande Valley. From there came their brainchild – the Valley Aids Council. With several locations across the Valley, the VAC now provides free and confidential HIV testing, along with other important services.
The statistics concerning the prevalence of this virus are alarming:
* Every day, one more person is diagnosed with HIV in the Rio Grande Valley.
* Every day, one more person is diagnosed with HIV in the Rio Grande Valley.
* Every four days, it is someone under the age of 24.
The VAC fights ardently on a daily basis to educate and inform all people about HIV and other transmitted diseases in an attempt to lower the rate of HIV in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Valley Aids Council provides free condoms, smoke and bleach kits (for drug users whom are at a higher risk of contracting HIV due to shared needles and pipes,) and free counseling to those who were tested positive for HIV. Moreover, they also provide hygiene packs (a bag filled with a towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and a comb) and blankets for the homeless.
The VAC also holds events at clubs and bars, providing free condoms and HIV testing there as well.
The VAC provides its free services to people from all walks of life.
Prostitutes, the homeless, and the ever ordinary Jane and John Doe all come to receive the aid the council provides. Some come after a regretted one night stand, some for regular testing, and some after years of unprotected sex.
One thing is for sure – almost all those who come into the VAC leave better off than they were when they came in.
These unsung heroes work day after day, receiving little to no attention by the media.
These unsung heroes work day after day, receiving little to no attention by the media.
It is not a glamorous job, nor the easiest. The work they do is often out of the limelight, but one of the most crucial jobs in the prevention of HIV/AIDS in the Rio Grande Valley today.
Do you need help or know someone who does and doesn't know where to get confidential advice or crucial referrals to deal with their problem? Do them a favor and have them go by the VAC at 857 E. Was
hington Street, Suite G., or call (956) 541-2600.
hington Street, Suite G., or call (956) 541-2600.
4 comments:
What are you doing up so early, compadre? Or have you even bothered going to bed? Un abrazo in your fight for First Amendment rights. Nothing worse than lawyers who try to restrict our rights rather than protecting them. And to think that you've only exposed the tip of the iceberg on Sossi.
Where the hell is the like button? Good post, Brownsville Literary Review.
Like again.
We have too many STD's in the area and we have too many teen pregnancies. Why do some fight STD's but seek to deny young women assistance for unwanted pregnancy?
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