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Hope in the Age of HIV/AIDS

August 14, 2010 at 8:05 PM Leave a comment

More than 1,000 students from 50 classes have been involved in helping those who suffer from HIV/AIDS by Tonia Bock, Ph.D. : Photo by geopaul/istockphoto

The HIV/AIDS crisis is not over.

While AIDS has killed more than 25 million people worldwide, there are still more than 33 million people living with the HIV/AIDS virus.

Locally, 6,220 Minnesotans were living with the virus at the end of 2008, with another 368 confirmed new cases reported in 2009 (the highest annual number in 17 years).

Though such statistics are important for describing the seriousness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, they also can create feelings of distress, fear and even hopelessness. Fortunately, an HIV/AIDS project at the University of St. Thomas has statistics that tell a different story. It’s a story of hope and community – our St. Thomas community – that began to see, care and respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

In the last six years, more than 1,000 students in 50 St. Thomas classes have contributed to community organizations that provide services to individuals living with HIV/AIDS. And, through a service-learning initiative, the students take up the cause while gaining knowledge relevant to their courses.

In the summer of 2003, Dr. Kimberly Vrudny, professor of theology, participated in a service-learning workshop at St. Thomas, where she worked to incorporate a service component into her Theology of Beauty course. Concerned about the silence in the community surrounding HIV/AIDS, she developed a partnership with Open Arms of Minnesota, an organization that prepares and delivers meals to people living with HIV/AIDS, ALS, MS or breast cancer in the Twin Cities area.  Read more at http://www.stthomas.edu/magazine/2010/Spring/hope.html

About the Author: Tonia Bock is an assistant professor of psychology and the 2009-10 project director for HIV/AIDS initiatives at St. Thomas.

Source: St Thomas Magazine

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