Dab the AIDS Bear visits Yuma

Members of  Back to the Basics Please (BTTBP), a local nonprofit organization committed to furthering HIV/AIDS education and awareness, gathered at Smucker Park Saturday to share Dab the AIDS Bear with the Yuma community.

Dab is symbolic to the HIV/AIDS community for bringing support to those impacted by the disease, said Gabriela Leon, BTTBP HIV outreach director.

According to the BTTBP website, Dab the AIDS Bear was started as a symbol of love and hope by Dab Garner for friends dying in quarantine from AIDS in the early 1980s.

"Dab began taking a teddy bear to his friends who were in the AIDS wards to give love through the teddy bear," Leon said.

"Once the AIDS wards were closed down, the patients were still alone in the hospitals and their homes and hospices because of societal or family rejection or a variety of other reasons. So it spawned into Dab taking teddy bears to them, and this project turned into a bigger thing."

The bear continues the message of hope for people living with HIV/AIDS and symbolizes the millions whose sacrifice and deaths provided the life-saving medications available today, event organizers said.

The bear travels around the country so people, including many celebrities, can take pictures with it, which are posted to dabtheaidsbearproject.com. The pictures taken in Yuma on Saturday will be posted to backtothebasicsplease. com as well.

"We want to bring awareness and love to people regardless if they are infected or not," Leon said. "A teddy bear could be that love and connection to another human being that is needed."

HIV/AIDS is still around and claiming victims, Leon said.

"HIV/AIDS is a big problem in small communities because of the lack of resources. We know nationwide there have been severe funding cuts. Some of the programs that have been greatly impacted are social human service programs."

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), HIV is spread by sexual contact with an infected person, by sharing needles or syringes with someone who is infected or, very rarely, through transfusions of infected blood or blood clotting factors.

Babies born to HIV-infected women may become infected before or during birth or through breast-feeding after birth.

The CDC said HIV/AIDS has claimed the lives of over 550,000 Americans. Today, between 800,000 and 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and one fifth of those infected are unaware of their infection.

Also, the number of people living with AIDS is increasing, as effective new drug therapies are keeping HIV-infected persons healthy longer and dramatically reducing the death rate.

Arizona has reported 10,975 AIDS cases to the CDC from the beginning of the epidemic through December 2007. Arizona is ranked 21st highest among the 50 states in cumulative reported AIDS cases, the CDC said.

According to aids-ed.org, the four southern Arizona border counties represent about 1,292 AIDS cases, or 21 percent of the total for the state, with 80 AIDS cases and 73 HIV cases reported in Yuma County since the beginning of the epidemic as of December 2007.

A report submitted by the state of Arizona in August 2008 said there were five new HIV cases in Yuma at that time as well as four new AIDS cases.

"The rates are high, and we want people to at least know HIV is still out there, and the numbers are increasing in our community," Leon said. "There are still many people who are misinformed about how you can and cannot catch it, and it is important to get the information out."

Leon believes there is still a stigma attached to anyone infected with the disease. She said the infected may refuse to tell anyone about their condition because they are afraid of getting fired, losing their friends or getting disowned by their families.

"There is still a huge stigma. We've done our best to get people to speak at our events, but they are always concerned someone is going to recognize them. We really want the community to realize AIDS is still very present in Yuma County and the only way to fight the fear is to get educated and read about it and get more information. That is the only way we will understand and begin to destigmatize it."

Leon said there is no reason to fear someone who is infected with AIDS.

"You can hug them and hold them. People with HIV have babies, get married and are in relationships. As long as they take care of themselves, they will not pass HIV through casual contact."