Larry Cruikshank/ViewAid for AIDS of Nevada Executive Director Jennifer Morss stands outside the organization?s new office building, 701 Shadow Lane.
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The need for the awareness of AIDS still exists, and the numbers of those affected are growing, even as the spotlight has waned, according to Jennifer Morss, newly appointed executive director of Aid for AIDS of Nevada.
"A lot of the complacency by the media is simply because the disease has been around a long time now," Morss said. "People aren't dying at the rate they once were. They're living longer. And because people are living longer with the disease, they need more support than ever, particularly in Clark County."
Morss began her work with the nonprofit organization in 2001, creating AFAN's HIV prevention education program. She held the associate director's position, then served as acting director prior to being appointed the directorship in February.
Morss said AFAN's special events, such as AIDS Walk Las Vegas and the annual Black & White Party, are close to her heart. But she explained that she would like to see the organization succeed in increasing its funding from private sources.
"My goal is to acquire 50 percent of our budget from private funds through community fundraising and grass-roots initiatives," Morss said. "Increasing fundraising opportunities will further AFAN's efforts in helping people affected by HIV/AIDs live longer, live healthier, more dignified lives."
For AFAN, new offices have come along with its new director, as the organization moved into a newly constructed space at 701 Shadow Lane, Suite 170, adjacent to the Southern Nevada Health District. AFAN will hold an open house in its new offices from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday.
Tower Realty donated five months' rent-free to the organization, along with a furniture allowance. Celine Dion donated $100,000 in furnishing, as well.
Morss said the staff is excited about being in the new space.
"If we feel good about being here, our patients will feel even better about coming in," she said.
AFAN provides case management, including legal assistance, housing support, transportation and emergency financial assistance. It's Project UpFront delivers the message of prevention through community outreach and is made up of HIV-positive speakers who educate students and community agencies through personal testimonies about the experience of living with the disease.
Other programs include seminars and support groups on how to maintain a healthy relationship when living with the disease. An interactive therapy group called Art Experience organizes museum trips and other art experiences for HIV-positive individuals.
Education and prevention have been the aim of the organization since its beginning in 1984. Lack of education, said Chris Reynolds, disease intervention specialist for the Southern Nevada Health District, 625 Shadow Lane, is one of the key culprits in numbers that show a rise in incidences of HIV/AIDS among heterosexual women, Hispanics and African-Americans in Clark County.
"One-third of new HIV infections are heterosexual," Reynolds said, adding that 60 to 70 percent are people of color, black and Hispanic.
He pointed out the value of becoming familiar with cause of the disease and resources in testing and prevention.
"People need to learn how to take more responsibility," said Reynolds. "They need to learn that getting tested every six months is not prevention."
He said he who commends the effort of getting tested, but added that taking precautions, and thereby preventing the disease, is the best solution by far.
Reynolds said it is important to begin the conversation about the disease at an early age.
"We have a whole generation of people who are at risk," Reynolds said. "But people are not dying like they were in the '80s. So this generation doesn't know what it's like to see friends die from the disease."
Reynolds urged education, testing and treatment for other sexually transmitted diseases, as victims of what he called a "major outbreak" in syphilis in the Clark County area also have been HIV-positive.
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