There has been a silent killer in our community for the past 30 years now. This disease has claimed more lives of our young Black men & women then any other pandemic of plagues among Black men & women. Like other diseases, this illnesses main attack method is caused by an infection that is carried from one person to the next, multiplying at a rapid rate that can be compared to the speed of light.

Although this disease is shares the same acronym as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) this HIV/AIDS virus has nothing to do with the immune system of the body. This HIV/AIDS virus attacks a part of the body that is much more critical to the human body. This disease surpasses the immune system and the heart and heads straight to main source of human existence, The MIND. Some know this disease as the Hood Influence Virus / or the Addition to Incarceration & Death Syndrome, but the name of this disease is more commonly known as is Nihilism.

On October 14, 2010 the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released an HIV Risk Survey that stated “1 in 22 African Americans will become infected with HIV in their lifetime.” This is more than twice the risk of Latinos and eight times the risk of whites. As an African American woman I take this personally, and to say I am mad is an understatement. Upon hearing this statistic, I went on a twitter rant expressing my disgust for this newfound information. Never had I experienced the phrase “made my blood boil” until I came across this article. Granted, it’s no surprise that African Americans are once again at the height of this epidemic but it’s a little unsettling when you can put this new statistic into perspective. I have a social circle of 22 African American friends which means one of them could become infected with HIV and this does not sit well with me.

The more I went on my twitter rant, tears began to fall down my face. I cried, and I cried. I cried because I have seen many die from a disease that is preventable. I can recall watching one of my African American clients as she was dying, going to the hospital day after day seeing how HIV had ravaged her body. It was three of us (all service providers) that cared for her while she was dying. We changed her bedding, changed her hospital clothing, fed her, braided her hair and sang to her as nurses passed by asking us to do their job because they were afraid to touch her, yes – even in 2010. My heart broke each and every day we went into the hospital watching her long for family – family that would never come. I remember talking with her about her final wishes and not being able to understand what she wanted because her throat was completely swollen due to yeast (one of HIV/AIDS’ many effects). When she passed I was, in a sense, grateful. I was tired of seeing her hurt, tired of seeing the LACK of treatment, tired of seeing the LACK of compassion!

County health officials are helping mark National HIV Testing Day by offering free testing during an event at 4981 Market St., in San Diego from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

There will not be a similar event in North County. However, the county provides HIV testing from 2 to 7:30 p.m. in Oceanside on Wednesdays, as part of a weekly clinic offering testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The clinic is located at 104 S. Barnes St.

The HIV testing offered in North County is not free; it is part of a package of STD testing that costs $15 per patient. Fee waivers are available.

The testing is confidential.

Aside from the Saturday event, the county routinely provides free confidential HIV testing at three sites in San Diego: the County Health Services Complex at 3851 Rosecrans St.; the San Diego LGBT Community Center at 3909 Centre St.; and Central Region Public Health Center at 5202 University Ave. The times of the free testing varies.