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So, what's uP? |
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What is working against us? There are many reasons why Puerto Ricans choose not to tell anyone if they have AIDS. Simply put, the culture does not accept the types of behaviors by which the disease is transmitted. There are social, psychological, and religious stigmas related to the epidemic that is not discussed amongst the Puerto Rican community (27,33,39) The Roman Catholic Church plays a vital role in Puerto Rican society. The morals and values that the Puerto Rican society tends to uphold are based upon those beliefs demonstrated in the Bible. Men having sex with other men (MSM) is one of the issues that the Puerto Rican culture tends not to talk about (29,45,47). Being homosexual is not accepted and one is looked down upon because of this fact. This is why there are Puerto Rican males on ‘the low’. Although it is not talked about as often, one can tell there is an issue when woman have much higher rates of infection than men. Homosexuality is a sin according to the Roman Catholic Church. Since it is a grave sin then it will be highly difficult for organizations to tackle because those males will never admit to their doings. This causes us to think about the cultural term machismo. Machismo is the pride of masculinity and being dominant that males of the Puerto Rican culture tend to observe. Without that machismo, the male would be viewed as a wimp or gay and that leads into the degrading of homosexuals within the community. This is the attitude that does not allow males to be open with their sexuality, all because they do not want to be rejected or even humiliated by their own kind (29). Evidently, this belief in being superior and dominant does not help the community. Men will continue to have sex with men but on the down low. The problem with this situation is that for the most part those who are MSM practice unsafe sex. Those who do not practice safe sex by using a condom are at higher risks for passing on or contracting not just AIDS but STD’s in general. Without the proper advising MSM rates will continue to rise. Another group of people that the community tends to look down upon are intravenous drug users. Using drugs in general does not go with religious beliefs in being pure. This is an issue because how are they to get better with their addictions when they are offered no support from their family members or friends. The New York City Syringe exchange has proven itself effective because there is no discrimination against the person who goes to get a clean needle in exchange for the used one. If the Puerto Rican culture were to provide each other with the support of each other in the areas that most people need help in there will be some improvement at the very least. The lack of support given to one another is one of the reasons why some stray into drug use (29). Puerto Ricans are very social. We enjoy having fun, and partying but one bad habit that the population has is Bochinche. Bochinche is a Spanish term that means “malicious gossip” (29). Gossip causes stress to the person in particular because the person tends to hear about what was said by being humiliated by another or to even be asked a personal question. To be subjected to “humilation, shame, and rejection of others”(29) is the fear that Puerto Ricans have. The culture tends to be very family oriented and to have that bond broken over a disease like this allows us to conclude that the Puerto Rican culture is only concern on how people perceive them, “The psychosocial implications of having the infection can be a distressing experience” (30). What is out there already? In order to solve the problem of having such a high rate of Puerto Ricans within the area with AIDS, my initial thought was to create a clinic that would be directed toward the Puerto Rican community but one that would also service other cultures. I soon came to realize that there is enough clinics as is, roughly about more than five per zip code like Morrisania and Hunt’s Point. I thought about the self consciousness that Puerto Ricans carry which does not allow them to be more open about their health. I looked into two clinics to see what the points that were being tackled were. One program is PROMESA. PROMESA means promise in English. The organization is dedicated to serving the Latino community in the Bronx. They provide an array of services to normal health care, dental, mental, substance abuse, to specific AIDS treatments (promesa.org). This is important because it allows Latinos to enter the center without having the burden of worrying about others noticing what the person is about to do. Another program in which helps HIV/AIDS patients is BAS. BAS stands for Bronx AIDS Services. This program is very versatile in that it has branches to education, advocacy, and other methods of prevention (BASnyc.gov). Taking into consideration what other programs have done, I have attempted to make my own program in order to promote AIDS awareness.
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