St. Louis Post-Dispatch Profiles AIDS Among African Americans, Youths in Missouri, Illinois

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Sunday examined the growing problem of AIDS among African Americans in Missouri and Illinois. In Missouri, blacks represented 44% of the total number of AIDS cases but only 12% of the state's total population in 2002. In Illinois, blacks represented 58% of AIDS cases in 2002 and 15% of the state's total population. A lack of access to health care, distrust of public health clinics and stigma surrounding the disease and homosexual activity contribute to the spread of HIV, according to the Post-Dispatch. In response to the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS, the National Minority AIDS Council recently conducted workshops for local health care and social services providers. In addition, the City of St. Louis Department of Health, with funding from the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition is conducting a series of training workshops on HIV/AIDS-related issues for African-American ministers (Shelton, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8/24). In a second article, the Post-Dispatch examined the growing incidence of HIV among people ages 13 to 25. According to the St. Louis health department, 278 people in the city and 126 people in St. Louis County between the ages of 13 and 25 were diagnosed with HIV between 1982 and 2002 (Relerford/Shelton, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8/24). A third article in the Post-Dispatch profiled the work of Dream House, a St. Louis residential facility that provides housing and support for up to 10 HIV-positive people between the ages of 13 and 21 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8/24).