Florida: Public Service Campaign Targets HIV Awareness

HIV is everyone's business. So say 14 public service announcements aimed at reaching the Broward County groups at highest risk of contracting the virus -- residents ages 18 to 39 who are African-American, Caribbean-American or Hispanic-American. The recently launched media campaign, sponsored by the federal program Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH 2010), uses a combination of approaches to reach the general public.

Six of the PSAs are spoken word pieces in which people use theatrics while they read original poems aloud. The tone of the performances ranges from comic to tragic. Spoken word is an art form that is becoming popular with young people. "I wanted to represent the Hispanic community so they could see another face that they could identify with," said Miami spoken word artist Amy Baez, 25, who is of Puerto Rican descent. "Many people feel there is no problem [with HIV] if they are monogamous and heterosexual, but they still have to be cautious." Mecca Marcelin, 33, a Haitian-American resident of Miami Lakes, said, "Putting it in lyrical form, they can absorb the message better." The PSAs feature club scenes and an assortment of other social scenarios. Proyecto Uno, a Hispanic music group, contributed announcements in both English and Spanish.

Since 1999, Broward's REACH 2010 campaign has received $3.2 million from CDC. Of that amount, about $104,000 a year has gone to each of three Broward organizations -- the Urban League of Broward County, Hispanic Unity of Florida and Minority Development and Empowerment Inc. -- for outreach, according to Julie Snyder, REACH 2010 project manager. The initial four-year grant has been extended for three years and the campaign's organizers are expected to receive just under $1 million each year.

As of August, Florida's Department of Health records showed that 10,682 Broward residents -- one in 152 people -- had HIV/AIDS, with Florida's HIV/AIDS death rate more than seven times greater for non-whites than whites.

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