Talking OUT Loud

Heads to the Sky: The Living Affected Corporation Soars

by Cornelius Mabin, Jr., Chief Operating Officer

 

As Chief Operating Officer of The Living Affected Corporation, I am proud of the continuing efforts that our organization has been doing in exploring training modules ranging from HIV testing and counseling, being certified for the D-UP HIV diffusion and further achieving community involvement through our HELP Fair which served a dual purpose of both a recognition of Gay Men's HIV Awareness Day testing event but also building more bridges into marginalized communities disporportionately affected by HIV and AIDS

These modules will be apart of the foundation of the organizations emerging Black MSM group, Strilite, which will forge a course to further "message" within the Black community through social networks and friendship circles. The completion of these modules arrive at a critical time as more news has been released concerning a recent estimate by the Centers for Disease Control, that nearly half of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States are in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee–the same region that is leading the nation in persons living with, and dying from, AIDS. The report shows 259 cases of HIV were reported in Arkansas in 2011. It also shows that HIV/AIDS is ravaging the U.S. South and that the crisis is no longer a metropolitan problem, but a home grown reality as well.

Based on that information and our own research, LA Corp has been steadfast in the stance that Arkansas's patchwork system of care is unprepared for the rising number of possible incidences, has refuted Governors Bebee position that "passing condoms in social venues such as bars" wasn't the best use of the taxpayer's dollars and have further issues with lack of energy being forwarded to social determinants such as "housing, employment, food, treatment and education," which are essential to the care continuum. Its LA Corp's position that dealing with individuals from an "holistic" approach is vital in the fight to deal with the disease from all angles and certainly from a community level intervention such as the D-Up program.

With the completion of these modules, this positions LA Corp with staffing that will be empowered with personal "one on one" in- home testing opportunities, expanding circulating harm reduction kits as well as positions individuals directly within friendship circles who have been educated and trained on the transmissions of HIV and AIDS. As apart of the core elements of the program, each newly trained facilitator will seek and identify opinion leaders within the at risk population, raise their awareness of how negative social and cultural factors impact Black MSM and teach the opinion leaders the elements of effective behavior change resulting in more condom usage. Furthermore our Peer Leadership Certification workshop further addressed our approach to creating "home grown" interventions that seek to penetrate deeper into the community.  Each of these innovative approaches  had not been done in the state of Arkansas during the course of the disease and no other agency has directly pursued this target population with culturally appropriate material.

As a sub-grantee of the Arkansas Department of Health,The Living Affected Corporation has been striving to offer as many prevention outlets possible including participating in outreach opportunities and most notably collaborations such as providing leadership in crafting the state's Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Plan that will serve as the official community jurisdictional piece regarding the impact of federal dollars extended to Arkansas for HIV and AIDS. The purpose of this multi-year plan is to assist grantees in the development of a comprehensive and responsive system of care that addresses needs and challenges as they change over time. The Comprehensive Plan is a "living document" that serves as a road map for grantees and should be continually updated as needed. The comprehensive plan should also reflect the community’s vision and values regarding how best to deliver HIV/AIDS services, particularly in the light of the cutbacks in federal, State and local resources. The Living Affected Corporation has lead the investigative team in researching and identifying caveats that will significantly address the President's National HIV/ AIDS Strategy which has three primary goals:

1) reducing the number of people who become infected with HIV,
2) increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV, and
3) reducing HIV-related health disparities.
The NHAS states that more must be done to ensure that new prevention methods are identified and that prevention resources are more strategically deployed. Further, the NHAS recognizes the importance of getting people with HIV into care early after infection to protect their health and reduce the potential of transmitting the virus to others. HIV disproportionately affects people who have less access to prevention and treatment services and, as a result, often have poorer health outcomes. Therefore, the NHAS advocates for the adoption of community-level approaches to reduce HIV infection in high-risk communities and reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. Through the D-Up intervention, LA Corp has embraced the concept of community level interventions that will be an effective tool to move our communities toward the international goal of zero infections as pronounced in December 2011 by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Meanwhile Arkansas's policy makers must re-examine their commitment to this health dilemma and address many measures that could have an overall impact on HIV and AIDS in Arkansas. For instance the 2008 HIV/AIDS Task Force recommendations that sought 3 Million dollars over two years to establish counseling services and 15 HIV testing sites in black, Hispanic and other high-risk communities around the state. The report proposed an annual budget of $150,000 to hire two staff members to manage the services and to pay for overhead costs, such as office space, supplies and travel reimbursement. The task force said then that the testing and counseling sites would cost $975,000 annually. They also budgeted $225,000 annually for an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.

Yet despite the report being widely circulated to Governor Bebee and both House and Senate leadership there was no action taken then or now four years later. Subsequently to that report, another comprehensive report was prepared by the Harvard Law and Policy Clinic of Harvard Law School, entitled the SHARP report ( State Health Access Research Project) which again provided lawmakers a complete analysis of the successes, challenges and opportunities for improving health care access in Arkansas. Especially noting insufficient prevention resources being funded and the necessity of additional state funding being budgeted. Even though the report received wide distribution, as of 2012 only meager increments of change have occurred thus bringing us today with Arkansas being among 7 out of 10 states with the highest HIV/AIDS death rates are in the South.

Even more disturbing of the states statistics is also the continuing lack of a plan to thwart the fact that at least 4,617 individuals are still not in care nor does the appear to be sufficient leadership in forming a strategy to providing a pathway to link this population to services. As cited in the SHARP report and LA Corp concurs that incidences such as this should be apart of the improved "communication and coordination among surveillance, epidemiology, and client services program staff, as well as better sharing data. Simply put, there must be better teamwork within ADH."

Since the report was published improvements have been marginal at best but encouraging, however, the importance of serious day-to-day collection, monitoring and movement of data under the HIV/STD Hepatitis C section should be prioritize similar to at least seventy seven percent of other agencies nationwide. Its imperative that community based organizations such as LA Corp have reliable and accurate data it needs to design programs, evaluate quality and meet grant requirements, helping fulfilling our mission more efficiently and effectively. We challenge the Arkansas Department of Health to discern cumbersome rules, policies and regulations that often obstruct agencies while not allowing a system that is agile and capable of rapid respond times to problems that often preclude planning and follow through. It is our belief that such structuring will help improve effectiveness, coordination, and accountability, allowing us as an organization to maximize our use of limited resources.

Internally the organization is also drilling down on its organizational structure by beginning assessing its future through strategic development exercises via Mr. Damon Jackson, of the Damon Jackson Group which specializes in organizational management and development. Through this work, LA Corp has begun the process to retool, re-think and reposition it's strategies and time lines including a impending 5 year plan. Central to this growth has been redeploying its new mission and vision statements that clarify the groups forward momentum, relevance to the community and destination of becoming the premiere consumer driven organization in a Wellness Institute sphere. Currently we are seeking new board members to answer structural challenges and assist the organization in its mission to be a dynamic force with both innovative and future direct services. We have placed financial compliance and transparency at the top of our " to do" list of internal mechanism that propel the organization which included securing new credentialed financial experts to handle record keeping and filings.

Since assuming the responsibilities of position, I've come to believe that as an organization we have been undeterred from some stark realities that have faced the organization. Nevertheless, The Living Affected Corporation since its inception has persevered in providing prevention, education, advocacy in an effort to support the groups new bold and concise vision statement of "We are the statewide organization that is informed and connected to change the social construct of the community we serve by providing basic human rights." Furthermore we reaffirmed our commitment of refocusing our mission statement which now reads: "Transforming communities through holistic health by providing education and advocacy." To these means we move forward in our pursuit of building human capital while answering the call to help change the world around us. If you would like to join us in making a difference, you can donate through our website at www.livingaffected.org or call us 501.379.8203

Having Our Say in the Living and Affected

Digital Storytelling: A Community Tool to End HIV Stigma



At AIDS.gov we’ve been thinking a lot about the power of storytelling. In the HIV community, everyone has a story to bring to the table, and more people are sharing theirs with new media. Many tools are available to help to facilitate storytelling and have conversations around HIV.
One example of a tool used to share stories with social media is Storify , a website that gathers tweets, blog posts, online videos, photos, news articles, and more from around the web and places them into a single post, or “story.” It provides a space where audiences can see social media conversations from different channels happening in one place. These conversations can be curated to share multiple voices and shared via other existing networks (embedded into websites or blogs, linked to on Twitter and Facebook) to reach audiences. Storify stories archive these conversations and allow audiences to access them at any time. Check out an example from the White House highlighting a Twitter chat on the intersection of HIV/AIDS, violence against women, and gender-related health disparities. Visit Storify’s website to learn more and take a guided tour of its features.

Another approach to tell stories is through digital storytelling. Digital storytelling features a brief, personal narrative story enhanced by sound, video, and symbolic imagery. Stories are user-generated and don’t depend on a third party to frame the experience of the storyteller.

To commemorate National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on May 19, the Banyan Tree Project launched a new community-driven, community-owned initiative that puts the power to end HIV stigma back in the hands of the community. The initiative,”Taking Root: Our Stories, Our Community” is intended to facilitate the creation of an Asian and Pacific Islander community story about the effects of HIV.

According to the Banyan Tree Project: It’s been said that it takes a thousand voices to tell a single story. “Taking Root” is grounded in the power of the individual story, but its territory extends beyond the individual. We are a multitude of voices: there is no singular Asian American or Pacific Islander experience, and the face of HIV is as diverse as the people affected by it. Through the connections forged by these individual experiences, we are able to tell a story about the ways we are affected by HIV. Together, these stories heal and it is through the telling and witnessing of them that we learn to overcome our silence and shame. 
 
The Banyan Tree Project trained Asian and Pacific Islander storytellers affected by HIV to create their own digital stories. They developed their stories during an intensive three-day workshop facilitated by the Center for Digital Storytelling . Participants were trained in the process of producing their own story, from developing their own narratives and producing voiceovers, to using audiovisual and editing equipment to create the final videos. These stories are simple yet powerful, with three-minute narratives recorded over a slideshow of photographs and text.

Earlier this month we attended the Banyan Tree Project’s flagship Asian and Pacific Islander HIV Awareness Day event in San Francisco where six digital stories were screened. Below is one of these digital stories, and you can see others on www.banyantreeproject.org .

The Banyan Tree Project plans to promote these videos nationwide at other events and via social media. Follow updates on these digital stories on Twitter with the hashtag #withoutshame .
Do you have a digital story about HIV to share? Spent some time on Storify? To find out about creating your own Taking Root story or hosting a workshop in your area, contact info@banyantreeproject.org.

Holiday Break OUT

Living Affected Special

Happiness by Robin Wood

Originally Posted on November 14, 2012 by hivark

 

It took me almost two years to find a sense of peace and happiness after my diagnosis, but that’s OKAY. When you are told that you are positive it feels as if the world comes to a complete and utter halt, everything starts moving in slow motion. For me, everything went red-a blur of tests, information, fear, sadness, anger, and nights of uncontrollable crying. You know what though, that was and is OKAY! I went through the "positive grieving" backwards. I threw myself into work, I went full force into what I needed to do to be healthy, and then I was so angry and disgusted that I couldn't even look at myself in a reflection, let alone an actual mirror. My boyfriend that gave me HIV, I couldn't stand the sight of him either. I had told one person, my boss, and he was the only one that I didn't feel viewed me as disgusting when I was around.

Then it was sadness and fear, those days were black. I felt like I couldn't connect with anybody, my only haven was ARCare-they understood. I couldn't live there though, I couldn't camp out in Dr. Moore's front yard just because I felt alone and he understood me. I HAD to find a way to my peace and happiness on my own. I couldn't live in red and black forever. I had to make my "weird" my new normal. So I did. I started reading up more, started asking questions on who to get in touch with, support groups, etc.

I recently worked on a fundraiser for the Magic Johnson foundation, and when I started doing that I started to find my inner peace. I can work and still make a difference in the HIV community. That void, that hole is beginning to go away. It takes time, and again that is OKAY! The people I have chosen to disclose my status to are wonderful, especially my mom. I don't think I could have moved forward without my support system.

What I found that gives me the most happiness is that I am opening myself up to a whole new network of people-people like me. There is no better feeling that being around strong, intelligent, healthy people that are HIV-positive. It gives me hope. We should be proud to be positive, because together we can have a voice that can be heard throughout the world.

We are at a time where we will see changes being made, and we can be a part of those changes and help make them happen. I am a strong, intelligent, determined, HEALTHY, woman. Guess what? I happen to have HIV, and that makes me stronger, this is who I am. My weird became my normal and I embrace it. I am empowered by my status and that fills me with happiness and joy.

Robin Wood

(Editor's note: Ms. Wood currently has been serving as a point person within the Walgreens organization in the fight for HIV/AIDS. Through her efforts she has brought additional awareness and information to area employees as well as customers. Ms.Wood will be joining the LA Corp family in furthering her outreach into the community and beyond. This item is unedited and composed by Ms. Wood.)

The Deep End of Living Affected 2.0

The COP 24/7 Commentary:HIV/AIDS Section Chief Departs

Today, Ms.Tina Long, MS CHES, Hep C/ HIV/ AIDS Section Chief at the Arkansas Department of Health abruptly resigned her post to work as a lobbyist for the March of Dimes organization. Ms. Long departs some eighteen months later still shrouded in a cloud of mystery and uncertainty similar to her July 2011 arrival touted by then Infectious Disease Branch Chief, Dr. James Phillip whom cited in his internally circulated e-mail:

"Tina brings a wealth of valuable education and experience to the position. Tina has a Master’s of Science degree in Health Education from the University of Tennessee. Her Bachelor’s degree is in Health Education/Community Health from UALR. She is a certified health education specialist. Tina is coming to this position from the University of Florida, where she was a coordinator of education and training programs. Prior to that, she was education director for Planned Parenthood of East Tennessee and conducted training for HIV/AIDS prevention."

Meanwhile, in a "one line blip" reported in the August 2011 of National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors newsletter.(http://www.nastad.org/Docs/080748_2011-08-01-NASTAD_News.html#Member ) Ms. Long's arrival item didn't offer any accolades, report any awards presented, interviews given or writings produced nor collaborations that Long may have participated. It seem that she appeared out of no where and no one knew who she was or exactly what she had done specifically in the area of HIV and AIDS.

The statement said, "conducted training for HIV AIDS prevention..." so what training was that and what outcomes were achieved were never concluded to my satisfaction nor anyone else. As an advocate and concerned citizen, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt although I had my reservations then which I now realize were those gut feelings that I rely on when situations just don't seem right and usually they are not.

Apparently Ms. Long shared her resignation news among her colleagues but decided not to make a formal public statement to stakeholders, consumers, advocates or activist to perhaps cites the challenges, barriers or accomplishments if any of her tenure as the point person in this important ADH section. Even more glaring is the fact that in her new post she will purportedly be lobbying for that organization despite her lackluster position on advocating in the HIV/AIDS realm.  I certainly respect her prerogative to not do so, but to not do so again fuels critics into the mind set that the post of "Section Chief" appears to a stepping stone career move for those whom assume it. Furthermore most likely have no intentions of any longevity or possess any real formidable passion for the work in this critical position.

This situation flies in the face of the fact that prior to Ms. Long being hired, the then Arkansas HIV Community Advocates damn begged ADH hiring officials to be in the loop on who was being considered with the possibility of additionally vetting the candidate or finalist for the position. Organization members were emphatic that not only that entity be apart of the process but that it would be in the best interest of the HIV/AIDS community to weigh in on what should be sought for the next director. Yet despite those outcries, letters forwarded, phone calls, e-mails and conversations, all request were quaintly dismissed. Again resulting in an individual brought into what the 2010 SHARP report ( State Healthcare Research Access Project) observed in the following:

"part of the problem may lie in the fact that ADH has abrogated some if its responsibilities in the past, such as administration of ADAP, delegating responsibilities to community based providers. A reassertion of central authority over some functions may cause community based providers to feel that their contributions over the years are not being adequately respected or valued."

This was a high profile report which included a press conference and all the trappings of a forward momentum at that time. Subsequently, proponents of that report have returned to this state to find that only increments of progress have occurred amidst a rising infection rates among African Americans, no defined strategies to track over 4,617 individuals not in care, no coordinated follow through on the Consumer Office within ADH, inadequate HIV prevention interventions juxtaposed to current community structure and lackluster interaction or monitoring of day to day collection, movement or spikes in key data reports.

Ultimately what's needed in this position is an individual whom not only has some "fire in the belly" for the problems but some sure fire leadership skills to "stand for something or be at the mercy of all." Its imperative that hiring officials take a hard look at why it appears that candidates chosen opt out in about 18 months. Money could be an actual issue even though other Section Chief's have earned up $80K and still vamped out. So if its not money then what the hell is it?

At this point the section is fully staffed albeit questionably funded to meet the demands of a state that has a "patchwork system of care." Its no secret that Arkansas has no line item in its budget for HIV prevention not to mention that federal dollars have seen some roll backs and flat lining across the board. For 2013 local CBO's most likely will have to include funding for purchasing testing packets within their minuscule budgets. Furthermore, there appears to be some nebulous understanding about budgets as well as grant writing that must be fixed either with the interim chief or whom ever is chosen.

The next leader of this entity needs to be prepared to assess the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of this section while engaging their considerable cultivated industry resources. We don't need another lightweight follower but a heavyweight direct leader who will be able to network and negotiate or comprise what's needed to get Arkansas in the game toward an AIDS Free generation. COP 24/7 wishes Ms. Long well on her next endeavor but now its time to roll up our sleeves and recruit a robust replacement to get the job done.

Rolling in the Deep End of Living Affected

The Dollars and Sense of Advocacy
This forum has a long and probably tired trail of talking about how important those Benjamin's either will make or break whatever anyone or group is trying to accomplish. I've encouraged, poke, prodded and damn near threw some hissy fits that if we don't support our own causes through raising the necessary funds, then exactly what outcomes can we expect. The recent "Billion" dollar election should be a clear example that hands down, its all about the money. This is obvious as I got this outreach from the national arm of the Stonewall Democrats. It seems that this organization has some "coming to Jesus" meetings about their future and sent out this "SOS" (save our services) cry for assistance from its database.They are not alone in this search for funding streams. Local community based organizations find themselves grappling with the same issue and again, this forum urges our readers to support the agency or cause of your choosing. Don't forget that those tax deductible contributions can be also in-kind, cash, frequent flier miles, stocks or used cars. No matter what, do something before the year is out. Here's the shout out from the Stonewall folks in case you want to choose them for your gift.

A record number of LGBT people were elected to Congress as well as state and local positions. The first lesbian US Senator, the first bisexual, and the first gay person of color in Congress were all major milestones on our journey toward full equality. The biggest milestone, of course, was the reelection of President Obama - the first president to support full marriage equality.

National Stonewall Democrats has been at the forefront of these advances since 1998 when Congressman Barney Frank and LGBT activists founded our organization. Since that time, we've helped lead the Democratic Party to support for full LGBT equality - including the freedom to marry - culminating in a record 550 LGBT delegates at this year's Democratic National Convention. It has truly been a banner year for the LGBT community.

We Must Bridge the Gap

At this point in our organization's history, however, National Stonewall Democrats is facing one of the biggest challenges to date. It's no secret that we've struggled with fundraising over the past few years, but today we are at a crossroads and we're turning to you - our members and supporters.

For the second year in a row, our income has not met expectations. In 2011, we were able to offset the downturn by cutting costs - staff, services, programs; we cut everything to the bare essentials. We saw an uptick in funding at the beginning of 2012 as our renewed messaging and mission focus invigorated new and former donors, but as the campaigns heated up, donors were pulled in many directions and we felt the impact.

As the year closes, we're facing a budget deficit of over $30,000 and if we do not and if we do not bridge this gap, we will likely be forced to close our doors.

We didn't come to this conclusion lightly or quickly. When the board appointed me as executive director a year ago, we took a long, hard look at the entire organization and we realized that, although the political landscape had changed dramatically since our founding in 1998, our organization hadn't changed much. We set out to fix that.

In addition to trimming our budget to the essentials, we revisited our mission and purpose and we have great plans for the future. We retooled our messaging to be more bold and direct. We rekindled old partnerships and started building new ones to expand our coalition of pro-LGBT allies. We re-engaged with our chapters and helped start new ones in places where none had previously existed.

Even with reduced staffing and funding, we have had a year full of progress.

Our Work is Essential

National Stonewall Democrats has a unique position in our movement as an integral part of the Democratic Party's social justice coalition. In order to fulfill that role, the nature of our work must change to adapt to the political realities we face. Our success in traditionally progressive states - the "blue states" - has led us to many victories, but the less progressive states - the "red states" - have lagged behind.

In far too many places, the Democratic Party structures at the state and local level maintain a less than hospitable attitude toward LGBT equality and they are holding us back. In places where there are few openly LGBT elected officials and/or party leaders, stagnation and intransigence has taken hold. These "red states" are where Stonewall Democrats are needed

most and can have the most impact.

Our goals are simple:

• Expand into the 22 states where there are no Stonewall Democrats affiliates while growing our existing membership
• Grow the ranks of pro-equality Democrats in elected and appointed positions by recruiting, positioning, and supporting LGBT leaders who run for elective office or who seek appointments within the Democratic Party
• Assist new leaders to be effective organizers and operatives through training, coaching, and leveraging our network in support of their efforts

All of this work will revolve around three essential core functions for which we are uniquely qualified and positioned to carry out:

• Communications - Developing and disseminating strong messaging and communications in support of pro-equality Democrats
• Advocacy - Lobbying, educating, and advising Democrats regarding issues important to LGBT people and holding the Party and its members accountable to the ideals laid out in the party platform
• Coalition Building - continuing to build and strengthen our relationships with other Democratic Party constituencies, such as labor, immigration, and women

Our Future Is Up to You

We will never be a huge multi-million dollar organization - and we don't need to be - but we do need the resources to complete this important work.

That's where you come in. If everyone receiving this email contributed just $5, we could retire our debt and have a nice cushion going into the new year. If everyone gave $10, we could pay off the debt and have nearly 3/4 of our 2013 operating budget covered too.

You have stepped up in the past and we're asking you to do so again. Please show your support by contributing any amount you can today - $5, $50, $500, even $5000. Every penny counts.

The decision on whether or not National Stonewall Democrats continues operations is in your hands.

Uptick LIving and Affected

From the President: Dealing With Change

Have you every heard the phrase, “no one likes change?” Well, we all know that change is just a part of life, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. Change, at times, is necessary, beneficial and can be completely out of our control. Regardless of the circumstance surrounding any change and we must learn to deal with the changes in our lives and go on. As an organization we must also change and continually look for ways in which we can better meet the needs of our members and at the same time better equip our leaders on the board of directors to stay focused and purpose driven which helps in preventing “burn-out.”

Let’s face it, HIV Arkansas has done a lot of good things and we will continue to do a lot for the HIV Community, however, we must make some minor changes within the organization. Our members are busy our board of directors are busy and we must scale back on our activities. Below are some of the changes that have been approved by the board of directors.

Due to lack of interest and participation in the Positive Living Support Group Meetings in the Ft. Smith area the Positive Living Chapter in Ft. Smith has been suspended. We are grateful for the time and energy that Kari Coffman devoted to this group. Kari will remain active in the HIV community as she endeavors to work with ARHope (Formerly NWA HOPE) and as she develops her Away with Stigma Facebook page.

Many have noticed you are not receiving as many newsletters as before. Several months ago we decided to do a quarterly newsletter instead of a monthly one to cut production time and costs. Our intention is to utilize our email capacity by sending email reminders and updates regularly through electronic means. We are working toward developing a streamlined system for notifications.
Our business meetings have been rescheduled and will occur at the end of each quarter instead of monthly. Our next business meeting will be in December. Our board has determined we can conduct many business decisions through email communications which greatly decreases the amount of time required for board members to attend business meetings.

Our typical monthly socials have been reduced to basically a quarterly schedule as well. We plan to have a Spring Cookout, our Annual Retreat in June, a Fall Cookout and some type of Winter social. We are always open to new ideas and welcome any suggestions you may have for socials and outings. I strongly encourage each member and our friends to make every attempt possible to attend these socials and special events under the new schedule.

Although these things mentioned above are significant changes that have taken place there is one thing that remains in unchanged and that’s our NWA Positive Living Support Meetings. These meetings are held on the first Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. in the Glotzbecker Conference Room at the Rogers Public L:ibrary Chapter. The attendance varies from month to month but the meetings are always uplifting and encouraging to all that attend. We invite everyone to join us for these meetings.
If we don’t see you for the Holiday season, we wish you blessed and happy holiday seasons and a Happy New Year.

REMEMBER, LIFE IS WORTH LIVING AND LONG AS YOU'RE LIVING LIFE ON THE POSITIVE SIDE!
Michael Burks