SMART Cougars will commemorate the National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness day on Thursday by providing information on sexually-transmitted diseases through the experience from a guest speaker at multipurpose room 110J at the Graduate College of Social Work from noon to 1 p.m.
“This is a large and incredibly diverse campus,” said Luis Torres, an associate professor in the Graduate College of Social Work. “Having the opportunity to have a team that’s doing prevention work on campus, a team that looks like and comes from a community, makes the conversation easy and normative.”
The conversation will be lead by guest speaker Venti Ray, who will share her personal story of living with HIV.
The National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is an annual observance on March 10 that recognizes the impact of HIV on women and girls.
According to the CDC, approximately one in four people living with HIV in the United States are women, with only an estimated 32 percent having the virus under control.
Torres, who also does research at the Center for Drug and Social Policy Research, said spreading awareness is extremely important for such a huge school.
The SMART Cougars team “prevents and reduces substance abuse and transmission of HIV/AIDS among Hispanic/Latino and African American college students ages 18 to 24 at the University of Houston, as well as the communities surrounding the university,” according to its web page.
Torres said that the chief objective for SMART Cougars is to be prevention intervention.
“The major goal of SMART Cougars is really to increase awareness on HIV, mental heath and substance risks,” Torres said. “Particularly in minority communities, we want to decrease or eliminate stigma on HIV. We have made a lot of advancements in the treatment of HIV. Unfortunately, it also means that the pressure is on.”
Maria Wilson, clinical project coordinator for SMART Cougars, said the group does a fantastic job raising awareness for numerous topics, including HIV/AIDS.
“The program has goals to combat stigma in mental health, substance use, HIV/AIDS and HCV by establishing presence and being available to meet individuals needs on campus and in the surrounding Houston area,” Wilson said. “By being a mobile education, prevention, and risk reduction program, we aim to reduce stigma on campus.”
Wilson also said that SMART Cougars concentrates on events that are accessible to all types of people.
“The program has focused on movements that are applicable to all individuals, such as National HIV Testing Day and World AIDS Day to name a few,” Wilson said. “Last year, we hosted an event at the GCSW with a guest speaker to share her story and to advocate about the importance of knowing your HIV status.”
Wilson said that free testing is always available to students on campus.
“Our team offers free HIV testing everyday Monday (through) Friday, during regular campus business hours, at our primary location at UH (Campus Recreation and Wellness Center) offices,” Wilson said. “When not in the office, you can always check our social media pages to find out where we are testing on UH campus.”
Broadcast journalism junior Rebekah Henry said she believes the campus should be properly informed on the subject of AIDS/HIV.
“AIDS is such an important issue for the school,” Henry said. “Considering that the disease impacts a lot of young people, I feel that SMART Cougars is giving students the chance to really learn and become aware of critical issues like AIDS and HIV.”
Torres ultimately said that he feels awareness can only go so far, however, as creating a dialogue is also vital.
“We have to continue the conversation,” he said. “We can’t let our guard down. Having this project on campus and continuing the conversation and keeping the conversation going can actually prevent people from becoming HIV infected.”
