25 Stories: World AIDS Day

If Dr. Woody Myers could ask HIV one thing, it would be this: “Let us into your secrets.” For Myers, as for many other who work in the HIV/AIDS field, HIV’s 31 years have been full of mysteries alongside triumphs, setbacks alongside progress. As former health commissioner of the state of Indiana, Myers has seen firsthand the ebb and flow of the epidemic as it has made its way around Indiana and the United States and across the globe.


Tomorrow is World AIDS Day, a day for people from all corners of the world to come together in fighting against HIV, show support those living with HIV, and honor those we’ve lost to this disease. People like Dr. Myers have been doing this for a long, long time. So how far have we come in 31 years? “You don’t have to die from it anymore,” says Meyers. “And that means if you have it, you can extend your life to almost normal by taking your medication and doing good healthy things. It’s not the death sentence that it used to be.”

Nevertheless, Myers shares cautionary words about the state of HIV/AIDS in other parts of the world. “It’s still a major, major public health issue and problem around the world,” he explains. “Although we’ve kind of got our arms around it, so to speak, in the United States, that’s not the case in many other countries, where the battle is far more difficult.” In Mozambique, for example, Myers estimates that only a third to half of HIV+ individuals are being treated and that roughly a third of the adult population is HIV+. “We still have a lot that we need to do and a lot that we need to learn,” he says, “but we’re making progress.”

And some of that progress, he reminds us, is in the form of research being done on HIV and other viruses that work in fascinating and often puzzling ways to interact with human cells. Myers anticipates that treatments like pre-exposure prophylaxis or even a cure or vaccine for HIV are the next wave of development. “The research on HIV has led us to a lot of interesting conclusions and new ideas as a result of understanding much more about how viruses interact with people,” he explains. “It’s also giving us new avenues to attack. The drugs that have been created and the methods used to fight HIV are going to be applicable to other diseases as well. And even though we don’t have a vaccine yet for HIV, we are finding ways to develop vaccines for a lot of other diseases that are viral. So it’s paying off in a lot of other ways.”

This World AIDS Day, we hope you’ll take a moment to think about and act on how you can continue fighting or join the fight against HIV and support those in your life, community, or world who are living with it. Here at The Damien Center, we focus on doing those things right here in Central Indiana, and we invite you to join us. You can read more about what we're doing to carry out our vision for an AIDS-free generation on our website, or find out more about World AIDS Day on aids.gov.

25 Stories: Housing is healthcare

Robert, a 51-year-old HIV+ African American man, was living with an abusive roommate when he decided to seeking housing services from The Damien Center. Robert's roommate locked him out of his home, ate his food, took his belongings, and on the way to a doctor appointment, kicked him out of the car on the interstate and made him walk the rest of the way. Robert's physical and mental health began to deteriorate as a result of this highly stressful situation, and he needed housing assistance to escape this situation.

Robert, who had no income, no family in Indiana, and debilitating back issues that keep him from working, was referred to The Damien Center through the Department of Corrections. Robert had been released from prison in the past year and was already enrolled in vocational rehabilitation and classes for nursing licensure. He was doing everything he needed to in order to get back on his feet - he just needed out of that house.

Robert meets with his Care Coordinator at The Damien Center two to four times a month. Through these meetings, Robert was able to apply for and was granted HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS) assistance. He now has his own apartment and his mental and physical health have improved dramatically. Because he has no income, he also accesses The Damien Center food pantry and Ryan White nutrition assistance, as well as Ryan White transportation assistance so he can attend his many doctor appointments.

Robert's quality of life and sense of independence have dramatically improved. According to Robert's Care Coordinator, the support and resources he was connected to through The Damien Center have reignited Robert's spark for life. "The first time I met this client, he was crying out of desperation for his situation and out of exhaustion for the status of his life," she said. "Now when I see him, every fiber of his being is smiling. He is very grateful for our services and very excited about the path his life is now on."

25 Stories: From fearful to empowered

In 2007, 23-year-old Elizabeth learned she had contracted HIV from her boyfriend. Lost, frightened, and desperate, the mother of two had come to the U.S. from Zambia as a teenager but never received permanent residency. The father of her children was physically and emotionally abusive, but without legal citizenship, a job, family, or insurance, she was completely dependent on him. The once strong and outspoken young woman became fearful, obedient, and controlled. She was terrified of being deported back to Africa, where she would likely die and her children would be orphans. Confused, intimidated and more than a little fearful of the immigration process, she didn’t know where to turn.

Fortunately, The Damien Center’s Care Coordination program was there. Our staff empowered Elizabeth and her children to escape the tyranny of her boyfriend, obtain insurance and life-saving medication for her HIV and health care for her children, and apply for legal citizenship.

That frightened young mother is now a legal U.S. resident with two happy children who will never know how hard their mother has worked to provide a good life for them. Although hers has been a long journey littered with hardships, Elizabeth credits The Damien Center with giving her hope and confidence in herself. She now knows she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to.

Empowering our clients to live healthy, happy lives comes at a cost, and today, we need your financial support to continue offering the services that meet the needs of clients like Elizabeth. Help us make this vision real with a 25th anniversary gift today.

We're turning 25! (And we've got lots to tell you.)

We're turning 25 this year, and today marks the launch of our year-end giving campaign to wrap up our anniversary year. What does that mean? Throughout this campaign, our goal is to show you the real impact of what we do and to inspire your financial gift to support the critically important services we provide. The deadline is December 31. From now until then, look for blogs, emails, tweets, and letters that (we hope) speak volumes about who we serve, what we do, and the success stories we've been fortunate enough to see happen right here at The Damien Center.

Below is a sneak preview of the inspirational stories you're going to see throughout the campaign. And we want you to know, there are hundreds more where this came from - stories of individuals who have overcome obstacles and risen above the difficulties HIV brings with it through the support we provide here at The Damien Center.

Already inspired? Make a 25th anniversary gift of $250 or more today and you'll become a member of our one-time only Quarter Century Club, a special giving society to honor those we've served over the past 25 years.  

From homeless to healthy: Billy*

Billy is a 43-year-old HIV+ client who came to us only after being hospitalized and in very poor health. On the verge of being discharged from the hospital, Billy would have been homeless, without medication or a way to support himself. Instead, he came to The Damien Center, where he worked with his Care Coordinator to obtain safe and stable housing so he could stay off the streets and on his meds.

Billy worked hard to put together his application materials—a letter of homelessness and proof of income—and even provided a medical history from the hospital. Billy began to take charge of staying in care and finding the housing he needed to stay safe and healthy. Today, Billy manages his income, stays on his meds, and meets with his Care Coordinator to stay on track. Billy is empowered to monitor his needs, bring his issues to the table, and make decisions with his Care Coordinator to access the services he needs. His Care Coordinator has never been prouder.

*Name has been changed

Read more stories like Billy's and donate today!

25 Stories: The Loneliest Night

Charles describes the night he was diagnosed with HIV as one of the loneliest nights of his life. A few years out of a divorce from his wife of 30 years and trying to get back on his feet, Charles went in regularly for HIV testing and knew in the back of his mind that his past behaviors could have put him at risk. When a new online relationship was on the verge of becoming serious, Charles informed his potential partner that he was HIV negative. “Then I thought, you know, if I tell him I’m negative, I need to be negative, so I’ll go in and get tested,” he remembers. “All of a sudden [the tester] looked at me, and her face froze, and she put her hand on my knee, and she said, ‘Honey, I’ve got some bad news for you.’”

From then on, Charles’ life took a downward spiral. That night, the night learned his HIV status had changed, he was lonelier than he’d ever been. In the coming months, he would suffer panic attacks, endure painful reactions to HIV medications, and begin to plan how he would take his life. Charles would lie awake at night, thinking about how it was the only choice he had left. “I began to keep a pad of paper there by my bed, and I would write down things that I wanted to tell my family when they found me, things I wanted them to know,” he says. Once sleep deprivation set in, Charles fell further into depression, nearing the point where things would end.

And then one day, after weeks of plotting the details of his suicide, Charles came across a packet of information he’d received on one of his visits to get tested for HIV. In that bag was a flyer about The Damien Center. “I thought, you know, I guess it can’t hurt anything,” he says. “So I came in here and talked to one of the Care Coordinators.” That visit saved his life. Once his Care Coordinator learned of his plans to take his life, she worked with Charles to connect him with the resources he needed to improve his quality of life and physical and mental health.

Today, Charles gives back to The Damien Center by volunteering and supporting the agency with financial contributions. “Six years later, here I am,” he says. Alive, healthy, and continuing to move his life in a positive direction.

25 Stories: "We owe him compassion"

It’s 1986, and Dr. Woody Myers is standing before a crowd of medical professionals, media personnel, and concerned citizens in the auditorium at Indiana’s State Board of Health. As Indiana’s young, new state health commissioner, Myers knows this is his opportunity to show his community that Ryan White, the HIV+ 13-year old standing to his right, is just like any other kid. As the press conference to address White being banned from his Kokomo school gets underway, Myers, who’s only recently come to Indiana from the epicenter of the HIV epidemic in San Francisco, reaches over, puts his hand on Ryan’s head, and scruffs his hair.

And that one small gesture, he recalls, reminded people that Ryan was just a kid. “This is not the enemy. He is not a carrier of disease designed to infect you or anyone else. This is a little boy with hemophilia who got a very raw deal,” Myers remembers. “We owe him compassion, we owe him respect, we owe him our love, we owe him his dignity, we owe him the opportunity to be as normal as possible for as long as possible. And all the kid wanted to do was go to school and not be treated badly by people in his neighborhood.”

When White contracted HIV from a blood transfusion to treat his hemophilia, Dr. Myers explains, the health officer in Kokomo allowed local residents’ fear of their children contracting HIV through casual contact to determine his decision to ban the 13 year-old from school in Kokomo.

“From a public health standpoint, I couldn’t let that stand,” he said. “We told him, we know this is not spread by casual contact, so we support him going to school.” To get the message across, Myers held a press conference to show the public that “it was okay to be with people that had HIV.”

According to Myers, “people had done all kinds of awful things” to the Whites because of Ryan’s HIV status. Fear engulfed the small community of Kokomo. Gunshots were the last straw that led the family to move to Cicero, a community north of Indianapolis, where Myers and his team worked to make sure Ryan and his mother were welcomed and accepted. “Ryan wanted to go to school. That’s basically it,” he recalls. How did they do it? Through education, persistence, and a community of people willing to open their minds and hearts.

“The long and short of it is that on the first day of school there was a welcoming committee,” Myers says. “They came out and they hugged him when he came to school that first day. They just made him feel as if he were just part of the gang. And that was exactly what we wanted.”

As health commissioner in Indiana, Myers went on to put Indiana on the map as a leader in health education, not some “backwoods, can’t-think, hillbilly kind of state.” Today, we continue the physician’s crusade through education, prevention, testing, and programs that both empower those who have HIV and fight to prevent the spread of it. Join us today.