Clash of the Champions III – The Road to Redemption
Check THIS out!
That was video from Clash of the Champions III: The Road to Redemption. This is an event that the D-Up! Program of Carolinas CARE Partnership held on Saturday, July 17.
The purpose of the event was 3 fold. The first and most important objective was to conduct surveys with members of the target population (Young Men of Color who have Sex with Men) to see if the safer sex messages this program teaches and promotes are spreading through the community, and to assess the population’s risk factors, where they are hanging out, how best to reach them, and what prevention workers may be missing in trying to reach this vulnerable group of people. Over 200 surveys were collected, and the data is being analyzed and will be compared to the survey data from the past 2 balls, hopefully showing trends that indicate that our program works and progress is being made. We are very grateful to the volunteers who assisted as well as the state employees who came down from Raleigh to help. We had a great collaboration with the state epidemiology department and were able to pool resources and share the data, which will be used for further shaping the D-Up! program as well as for community planning at the state level.
The second purpose of the Ball is to conduct HIV and Syphilis testing. We were privileged to work with many volunteers from the NC Prevention and Care Branch, Disease Intervention Specialists as well as CCP staff to counsel and test 46 individuals.
The third, and most fun purpose of the Ball is the Prevention is Sexy Ball itself. Darrin, GeoAnna and Daniel did an AMAZING job of putting the Ball together, from designing the categories to managing the logistics to designing and making some awesome looking cupcake stands to ensuring that the HIV prevention message we were aiming to get out got out! The commentators did an outstanding job of repeating the message, reminding people to use protection, to get tested, to ask questions, and to take control of their own health and their own bodies.
I didn’t get to see much of the beginning of the Ball, as I was one of the pre-screeners – I was helping to determine who was eligible for the survey – but once we were done with that around midnight, I got to see it for myself and let me tell you, it was unbelievable.
There were about 2,000 people there, many in their effects (or costumes, for those of us not cool enough to know the lingo), many practicing walking and vogueing and basically preparing to battle with the others who were competing in the same category. Lots of game faces on, lots of last minute nerves being worked out.
All of the categories had something to do with HIV Prevention – and what I got to see was just…indescribable. It was a lesson in truly meeting people where they are – literally, figuratively, philosophically. I had to remind myself during the evening that this event was meant to attract people very unlike myself – I was one of very few white people there, one of few women there, one of few people over 30, one of few people who had really no idea what to expect, and I felt a little voyeuristic, almost like I was seeing something I wasn’t really supposed to see. But everyone I encountered was unfailing polite, and the people who battled were amazingly talented and dedicated.
And what I learned from all this was that people, no matter how marginalized, no matter how sub- the sub-culture may be, deserve the dignity of prevention services and education that meet their needs, that speak their language, that are delivered by someone they can trust and relate to, and that ultimately give them the tools and knowledge to protect themselves.
In the end, only each individual person can decide what level of risk is acceptable to them. Each and every person has to decide, each and every time the issue comes up, whether or not to use a condom, whether or not to share needles. It’s a huge responsibility, and so arming people effectively is the best chance we have to stop the spread of HIV, syphilis and other STDs.
I for one am grateful to the CDC for understanding this empowering method of prevention – and I look forward to Clash of the Champions IV…July 16, 2011!
