NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Health will join health providers and advocates across the country in observing National HIV Testing Day on Saturday, June 27. The goal of this observance is to promote public awareness and prevention of HIV, and the Tennessee Department of Health is encouraging all sexually active Tennesseans to get tested for HIV. TDOH provides free, confidential testing across the state in local county health departments.

Department of Health statistics show the urgent need for raising awareness about HIV. In 2007, there were 1,043 persons who were newly identified with the HIV virus in Tennessee. The largest number of HIV/AIDS cases occurred among persons aged 35-44 years and accounted for 30 percent of all cases diagnosed in 2007. Among those newly diagnosed cases, 74 percent were men and 26 percent were women; 64 percent of the total were African American.

According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 1,106,400 million HIV-positive individuals nationwide, and one in five of those are unaware that they have HIV. Nationwide, someone is infected with HIV every 49 seconds. TDOH experts note that the virus affects all age groups, and stress the importance of early detection of HIV.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that HIV testing become a routine part of medical care” says Carolyn Wester, MD, MPH, medical director of the state’s HIV/AIDS/STD section. “The earlier people know their status, the quicker they can begin treatment, which leads to longer and healthier lives. Without treatment, the HIV infection can continue to weaken the immune system and will likely progress to AIDS.”

According to statistics from the Tennessee Department of Health, more than 19,000 cases of HIV/AIDS have been diagnosed across the state since 1992. Over this period, an increasing number of cases have been reported among all races and ethnicities, with the sharpest increase among African Americans.

Various sites across the state will provide free, walk-in HIV testing on Saturday, June 27 for National HIV Testing Day. To find your nearest testing site, visit www.hivtest.org. The Tennessee Department of Health offers free HIV tests throughout the year at county health department locations. Contact information for your local County Health Department can be found online at http://health.state.tn.us/LocalDepts/index.html.

To learn more about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and how to protect yourself, visit the Department of Health, HIV/AIDS/STD section Web site at http://health.state.tn.us/STD/std.htm. Questions about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases can also be answered by calling the HIV/AIDS/STD Hotline at 1-800-525-2437.

The Stonewall Inn

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country’s response to the HIV pandemic.

Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration — in both the White House and the Federal agencies — openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

Barack Obama

The conference will be held Saturday, May30, 2009 at the Riverview Inn Hotel, 50 College Street, Clarksville, TN  37040, from 10:00 a.m. to 4p.m.  (www.theriverviewinn.com).

The aim of our event is to enhance partnerships between women and Montgomery County health professionals in order to improve the health of women in our community and promote health awareness, in general.

The conference will include presentations and discussions of

• Women Health and wellness issue
• HIV/AIDS prevention
• Obesity and pre-diabetes
• Cancer awareness
• Violence against women
• Regional women’s health programs

This free event will be open to health care professionals, service providers, consumers, community leaders, policy makers, and the general public.

As a community health care professional, your knowledge and expertise in promoting the health of underserved populations is invaluable to our community, and we sincerely hope we can count on you to join us in this important outreach effort.

To register please log on to www.latinohope.com or call 931-24905330

CAMTAN is the local organization assisting individuals affected by the HIV pandemic within our own demographic. an IRS certified local 501 (C) 3 non-profit in need of community support.

As 2008 comes to a close, consider making a tax-deductible donation to this Clarksville-based non-profit. Started by a small collective of local ministerial leaders and lay people, the Clarksville Area Ministers Technical Assistance Network (CAMTAN) seeks to provide assistance, support and education to persons affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the greater community.

While Metro-Nashville has Nashville Cares, MICTAN, the Ryan White Foundation, Operation Stand Down Nashville-Street Front, a transportation funding grant from the Nashville United Way and a array of philanthropic foundations: Clarksville, Montgomery County, Dover, Stewart County, Erin, Houston County, Charlotte, Dickson, Dickson County, Springfield, Robertson County, Cumberland City, and other outlying areas must relay on the limited resources provided by a small collective of churches and a few private individuals, with which CAMTAN seeks to address the physical and psychological stresses that can accompany an HIV/AIDS infection.

Rev. James W. Hill Jr., pastor of Greenwood C.M. Baptist Church, serves as the Senior Executive Director of this all volunteer effort. Rev. Hill has attended numerous training seminars with the Nashville United Way -Ryan White Foundation, Operation Stand Down Nashville, the MICTAN initiative and Tennessee Dept. of Health to become certified as a HIV/AIDS counselor-facilitator.

MICTAN is the much larger and better funded Metro-Nashville equivalent of CAMTAN- a faith-based fellowship ministry to those impacted by the HIV/AIDS virus. These efforts are non-judgmental and focus on assisting the client in stabilizing their lives in the areas of housing, medication, counseling, personal relationships, fellowship and employment sustainability and include a general community health education outreach. Of the five county service area, Clarksville leads with the highest number of STDs and HIV transmission cases. The need for education and awareness is real and growing. CAMTAN is seeking to raise funding so that they can hire a case manager, a secretary and a driver and stabilize their client medical appointment transportation support system.

Rev. Timothy Grant- CAMTAN booth, 2008 African Street Festival

CAMTAN has participated in and sponsored several health fairs over the past years in an effort to increase community awareness of the various and diverse health issues confronting our collective communities. Information is available on cancer- be it either female or male breast cancer, colo-rectal or prostate cancer, cervical cancer or testicular cancer. Additionally diabetes, hypertension, obesity and weight control, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), depression and other mental health issues are all matters that CAMTAN seeks to aide the community in understanding and confronting. All of these health concerns are also of concern to individuals confronting an HIV/AIDS infection, along with issues of homelessness, abandonment and physical or domestic abuse. CAMTAN seeks to educate the community to raise the level of awareness and understanding of these issues and improve the public’s preventive posture addressing these concerns. It also seeks to provide assistance to those confronting an HIV/AIDS infection and/or the consequences of such an infection upon the client or family members.

Donations, both monetary and in-kind services, may be sent to: CAMTAN, 1325 Dodd Street, Clarksville, TN 37040. Receipts will be sent acknowledging all donations for tax reporting purposes. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return receipt. Rev. Hill is also available to speak with interested groups and coordinate CAMTAN participation in health fairs and other community events. Contact CAMTAN at 931-249-4262/552-3611. Send e-mail to: .

When the first televised ad for the movie version of Broadway’s RENT cabled into our home a couple of years ago, my eldest granddaughter heard the strains of Seasons of Love and the verdict was in: a die hard fan was born and the film version hadn’t yet been released. Yes, we saw RENT (the movie) together, several times, applauded, cried, let the music run through our minds on instant replay. Last summer that granddaughter, Brandi, accompanied Clarksville Online to the live production of RENT at T-PAC in Nashville. Clutching the programs and her newly acquired T-shirt with RENT splayed across the front, Brandi sat with us, mesmerized by this piece of Broadway that had fallen our backyard, so to speak.

Click here to view the embedded video.

RENT closed in New York in June, with a spectacular finale that was filmed in its entirety. That closing night production was captured on film, and arrived in Clarksville Wednesday night for the first of four screenings. Brandi (wearing her RENT T-Shirt), her sister Rochelle, and Clarksville Online were there for every last note. This type of production, like the Met performances which also originate in New York City, run about $20 a ticket, much more than the average movie ticket. But you get what you pay for, but in the case of this Broadway finale of RENT, it would have been worth it at twice the price. And we each want our own DVD of this production.

Cast of RENT in the closing Broadway performance, now caught on film for the world to see

Like the The Met Live in HD, which local theaters do not have an interest in screening, this kind of film is the closest thing to front row center on Broadway. The intricate camera work not only stays focused on the stage as a whole but circumnavigates the action with stunning close-ups that reveal the power and the passion and the joy of this musical.

RENT is Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical, one of the longest running shows on Broadway.

Set in New York City’s gritty East Village, the revolutionary rock opera RENT tells the story of a group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent. “Measuring their lives in love,” these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic. The subject is tough, gritty, and not for young audiences, but it is a modern musical marvel.

Played on a single multidimensional set, the story begins on Christmas and ends on the following Christmas Eve. Through that passage of time, one character, the doomed Angel, enters on a whirlwind, touching the lives of every character with love. The music includes the poignant “Without You,” “I’ll Cover You,” and “Will I“,  the vibrant “You’re Living in America“, a rowdy “La Vie Boheme,” and the finale “No Day But Today.”

The creators of RENT pulled together a cast of storng voices; there are no weak spots, even among the supporting players. The subject matter, the performers, the staging and the music is all strength and power,  and it wrings emotion right out of the viewer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This production stars Will Chase, Adam Kantor, Michael McElroy, Rodney Hicks, Tracie Thomas, Justin Johnston, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Eden Espinosa, and is directed by Michael Grief.

The Roxy Regional Theater will close its 2008-09 season next summer with a staging of this show.

*This stage presentation addresses adult themes and controversial issues. It is not recommended for children.

Five years ago, a meeting of local area ministers resulted in the founding of the Clarksville Area Ministers Technical Assistance Network, CAMTAN. A non-profit group organized to provide mental, physical, and spiritual assistance to those confronting an HIV/AIDS infection. CAMTAN also seeks to provide capacity building faith-based responses to HIV/AIDS. The organization furthers seeks to combat this disease with a prevention education outreach campaign as well.

Dispelling the vast amount of misinformation and simply false data about this disease that is circulating within the community takes a considerable amount their time. CAMTAN’s client service area includes the city of Clarksville; Montgomery, Robertson, Chetham, Dickson, Stewart, Houston and Humphreys Counties. Clarksville is the central operation base.

Pastor James Hill is the executive director. For those dealing with actual infection, support services range from transportation to medical appointments, job interviews or medication pick-ups, to weekly community meals, consultations and fellowship. Coordination and networking with larger organizations in the Metro-Nashville area is also a part of the program. Applying for grants is a major funding objective. IRS regulations require the organization to demonstrate continued viability before being accorded a non-provisional 501(c) (3) status. Many grant funding entities require that non-provisional status to qualify for their large supporting grants.

Several pastors, local churches and private individuals have pledged monthly contributions that enable the program to function in its current limited capacity during this probationary period. This level of support is vital to CAMTAN being able to sustain its operation and meet its mission. While all area ministers have been invited to participate, at a minimum, in a financial support capacity, not all contacts have been favorably received. Sadly, some pledges have failed to materialize and that has had a serious negative impact on the program’s ability to meet its principle objectives. As a non-profit, CAMTAN draws no government funding to execute any of its programs.

Nashville Cares, MICTAN and The Ryan White Foundation do not cover Montgomery County or our neighboring areas. Clients served by CAMATN must rely on the meager resources which CAMTAN can muster to meet its mission. An eight-passenger van, administrative office support located at Greenwood CM Church, a telephone/fax line and email address and a regular community luncheon with fellowship are primary support facets of CAMTAN. A social worker provides case management on a limited basis.

Although several coordination efforts have been attempted, the Montgomery County Health Department and its AIDS Coordinator has not able to meet with CAMTAN clients or participate in past health fairs hosted by the organization. While CAMTAN manned an information table with health brochures and T-shirts, the Health Department was noticeably absent at the August 8th PCA 6th Annual African Street Festival at Fairgrounds Park. This prevented blood pressure checks and diabetes screenings from being part of the community-wide outreach.

Pastor Hill attends several conferences and workshops in the course of a year. Information on infection rates, medical updates, medicinal breakthroughs and adverse reaction alerts, grant writing guidance and grant opportunities are just some of the benefits gained from these gatherings. Ofttimes, the expense of these conferences is borne out of his own pocket because CAMTAN’s funds cannot cover the cost and meet its clients needs. Public education is a major component of the awareness outreach. The impact of health irregularities of all kinds are the focus of community health outreach efforts. For CAMTAN, these ministries are vital in alleviating community health challenges.

CAMTAN is always in need of and appreciative of cash donations. Be it personal, business, organizational or house of worship in origin, financial donations are welcome. For more info on how you can help, write them at: CAMTAN, 1325 Dodd Street, Clarksville, TN 37040. Call at 931-647-5777.

Everyone should have the opportunity to get educated about HIV/AIDS. With knowledge, the community is empowered to protect themselves and their love ones against HIV. The public is invited to come and learn how to protect yourself and love ones against this terrible illness that is affecting our communities, and learn about the resources that are available, for “with wisdom comes power.” With this knowledge, we can empower ourselves to get into care and treatment for ourselves and our love ones.

The program will offer information on HIV/AIDS is, HIV/AIDS awareness, how HIV is spread, an explanation of HIV symptoms, and diagnosing AIDS. The program will also provide counseling and education and HIV/AIDS testing. Refreshments will be served over the course of the event.

For further information, contact Elizabeth Veldez Adamski at 931.249.5330 or Yvette McCutchen at 931. 920.7234.