This is very cool! And while I know we try real hard around here to do the right thing, this article actually makes us sound even better than we really are! Thanks Anna.
National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) at Helping Up Mission
Anna Fowlkes, Baltimore HIV and AIDS Examiner
Posted: 07/17/2011 5:56 PM
Helping Up Mission, a nonprofit organization located on East Baltimore Street held a National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) event on Monday, June 27, 2011. Derek Spencer, CRNP, Director of the Jacques Initiative, Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland was a featured speaker. Mr. Spencer encouraged the men who attended this event to get tested and to encourage their friends to get tested.
The closing remarks were given by Angela Wakhweya, MD, MSc., Deputy Director, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Infectious Disease and Environmental Health Administration (IDEHA). She congratulated the leadership and staff of Helping Up Mission for all they have done to educate the clients about HIV and STI prevention.
Helping Up Mission offers the largest long-term residential recovery program in Baltimore and has been providing assistance to men in need for 147 years. The organization houses a12 month live-in addiction rehabilitation facility and an overnight guest facility which services the homeless. Helping Up Mission serves 300 men who are working to overcome homelessness, alcoholism, drug addiction and mental illness. The services provided include spiritual life classes, 12-step meetings, one-on-one counseling, medical services, legal services, GED preparation, job search skills, career counseling and job placement.
In addition, the facility houses a chapel that seats 200-250 people and is equipped with surround sound, two large screens and audio-video capability to record all events. There are state-of-the-art classrooms, a library equipped with computers and visual aids for those who are visually handicapped or may have limited reading skills. There is also a “Man-cave” equipped with donated nautilus equipment, pool tables, TV and other leisure entertainment for the men. A two-chair barber station allows each client to get one haircut a week. The roof of the building has a canopied seating area with a 360 degree view of downtown Baltimore.
Helping Up Mission opens their doors to help men put their lives back together. Additionally the organization is helping reduce the spread of HIV in Baltimore by encouraging testing and providing their clients with valuable information about HIV and AIDS. Hats off to Baltimore’s best kept secret – Helping Up Mission.
You can read the story yourself at the Baltimore Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/baltimore?cx=partner-pub-7479725245717969%3A9ze01gmnpyp&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=ISO-8859-1
Just glad to be here and part of it all,
Pastor Gary Byers
Spiritual Life Director