Detroit Group Gives Support to HIV-Positives: Challenge of Working or Returning to Work is Focus of Meetings

A new support group called Power of Work (POW) has formed to help HIV-positive people re-enter the job market. The nonprofit group has 25 members and meets bi-weekly at Goodwill Industries in Detroit. Founded through the efforts of Dr. Oliver Johnson, director of Psychiatric Support at Canfield Mental Health Services in Detroit, and Goodwill staffer Karen Garcia, the group held its first meeting Aug. 30. "This is a support group for people with HIV -- that is for those who have the disease [AIDS], but no symptoms -- who are working or want to go back to work," said Karen Harkness of Goodwill.

The chief problem facing POW group members, according to Harkness, is transportation because the health of some members does not permit them to drive. Others lost their cars battling the disease. The group faces many challenges, such as getting employers to hire HIV-positive people. "We must . . . find employers who will give the person time during the day to take the medicines they need to have," Harkness said. Karen Garcia, a vocational support coordinator with Goodwill, said members "want to talk about how things are going in their lives, on their jobs and their problems." The group brings in speakers who give talks on disability, and it tries to educate members on what employers can and cannot ask about their HIV status. "A lot of education still needs to be done, because AIDS appeared 20 years ago and you still have this stigma and ignorance out there. People are still not aware of how to prevent it," Garcia said. For information, telephone 313-964-3900.

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