Not just ‘a gay, white organization’
By Kevin Huelsmann For the St. Louis American
About three or four times a week, David Hervey, pulls a large white RV onto Vandeventer Avenue and heads to North St. Louis in search of sex workers and their patrons or anyone else who might be on the street.
He passes by vacant, crumbling lots to find the “hotspots.” Hervey combs the park benches and walls where prostitutes hang out.
Hervey isn’t looking for a good time. He’s handing out condoms and information about HIV/AIDS and the free testing he provides in the back of the RV. Hervey, a prevention specialist for St. Louis Effort for AIDS (SLEFA), hands out small packages of condoms and lubrication to anyone who wants it. The package also contains information about SLEFA and the services it offers.
“The key in approaching people out here is to address their situation first,” Hervey said. “If they’re homeless and haven’t eaten that day, you’ve got to address that before you start talking to them about getting tested and protecting themselves against HIV/AIDS.”
Some residents have come to recognize Hervey and SLEFA’s mobile testing unit. At several stops on a recent night, residents approached the vehicle, knowing Hervey had free condoms. However, Hervey said he still gets his fair share of strange looks when he offers free condoms from the window of the RV.
“Condoms are the best ice-breaker,” Hervey said. “You get people who are like, ‘What? Condoms?’ and then they come over. Then they listen.”
The most common test offered in the mobile testing unit is a blood sample that takes about two weeks to get results. Other tests such as a saliva swab and a finger-prick test provide quicker results, but are not always as accurate.
“I want them to listen and get tested,” Hervey said.
“If I start talking about taking a blood sample then getting tested for syphilis and hepatitis C, they might get overwhelmed. I usually try to bring that stuff up later.”
On any night, Hervey said, he might test as many as 10 people or as few as none.
“Sometimes, you get people who don’t want to be seen coming up to the RV,” Hervey said.
“But I tell them, ‘Why do you worry about people seeing you come up to the van? People see you doing plenty of other stuff.’ Sometimes it just takes that one person to come up to the van, and then rest see that it’s okay.”
AIDS has ravaged the African-American community in recent years. In 2005, African Americans made up 49 percent of U.S. citizens diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC has also stated that “of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, HIV and AIDS have hit African Americans the hardest.”
In St. Louis, attention recently has been focussed on alarming rates of recent HIV infection in the Walnut Park and Baden neighborhoods.
“We’ve been trying to re-establish contact with key leaders, raise money and appoint committees to address the HIV/AIDS problem in the African-American community,” SLEFA Director Tom Schweizer said.
In driving through the streets, Hervey said he tries to be hospitable and welcoming to fight prevailing attitudes about the organization.
“I want to break down the myth that this is a white, gay organization,” Hervey said. “We used to see that attitude a lot.”
St. Louis Effort for AIDS is located at 1027 Vandeventer Ave. Call (314) 645-6451 for more information.