Press Release: Breaking Barriers to HIV Treatment

Working with family members and friends of people diagnosed with HIV taught a Chicago minister how important close connections are to encouraging people who are newly diagnosed with HIV to seek treatment. “People react with shock and denial, and put off seeking the treatment that will help give them a better quality of life and longer survival.” Said Rev. Deborah E. Lake who has put her insights into a tightly crafted, easy to read book, Your Neighbor Has AIDS. The book is a guide that informs the community surrounding the person who is HIV positive, and contains a set of sep-by-step pathways that lead caregivers, who may feel helpless and overwhelmed, to finding ways to help.

"I decided to write this book because I know that family members and loved ones play a key role in how quickly people come to terms with being HIV positive," said Lake during a recent book signing. “At least one study has specifically shown that psychological barriers such as guilt or isolation keep women from seeking treatment immediately,” Lake continued. "This is probably also true for men, and quick follow-up to a test that is positive is crucial to getting the treatment that can lead to avoiding possible health related catastrophes."

“Even when family members know that a person is HIV positive, they usually don’t know how to help,” said Jonetta Choi who is a board member of Sankofa Way, founded in 2003 to address spiritual needs in secular places. "Often people are encouraged to pray for healing. Prayers are important, but we can do more,” continued Choi. “We can listen which is sometimes the hardest thing to do. Listen without judgment."

After reading Lake’s book, a young woman who is a social worker commented, "I wish I'd had this book when I first learned that my father had HIV. I didn't know what to do, and your book would have helped.”

Reverend Deborah Lake, is the executive director of Sankofa Way Spiritual Services, a non-profit organization that addresses the spiritual needs of people in the public sector while maintaining the constitutional requirement of separation of church and state. She gives trainings, workshops, and community forums, on sexuality and the spread of HIV, the separation of church and state, and is available to speak at churches, schools, and community groups.

Rev. Lake can be contacted through Sankofa Way: sankofaway@sankofaway.org or Brush Arbor Press: 312 324 3379 for interviews or requests for her to speak.

Your Neighbor Has AIDS is published by Brush Arbor Press, www.brusharborpress.com, and available through Amazon.com, Borders Books and other bookstores for $17.95. ISBN number: 978-0-6151-4269-2