LAKE COUNTY — AIDSWalk Lake County is just around the corner and preparations for the fourth annual event are under way. Community Care HIV/AIDS Program (CCHAP) is seeking volunteers, participants, vendors and sponsors. Proceeds from the event will assist CCHAP in continuing its mission to provide for area residents living with HIV and/or AIDS.
“Hopefully we”ll do as well as we did last year, if not better,” CHAPP Drop-In Center Program Coordinator Ken Young said.
AIDSWalk Lake County will be held Sept. 17 at Austin Park in Clearlake. An event planning meeting is scheduled from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the CCHAP Drop-In Center, 14644-B Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake. Anyone interested in contributing to the success of the event is welcome to attend.
The event will provide an opportunity for local resource providers to showcase the services they offer in and around Lake County. Non-profit organizations, especially those serving the health field, are greatly encouraged to participate. Retail vendors are also welcome.
Young said a successful AIDSWalk is crucial to continuing CCHAP services, which have been greatly impacted by budgetary cuts throughout the past few years. CCHAP clients Richard Gilmore and Bill Bennett called the organization a life-saver.
“CCHAP is important to me basically because they actually saved my life,” Gilmore said, explaining that when he collapsed, it was CCHAP to the rescue. “A social worker got me to the doctor and I found out my white t-cell count was low. The doctor told me I was at death”s doorstep. Without CCHAP I wouldn”t have known what was going on.”
Gilmore continued, “CCHAP has outstanding service providers. Because of my worker”s experience, she was able to identify my symptoms and get me the care I needed.”
Bennett said that CCHAP gave him his life back. He said he learned about the organization about four years ago through Lakeside Clinic in Lakeport. “I was very sick. I weigh 220 pounds right now; four years ago I weighed 140 pounds,” he said. “These folks have been there to help me go through all the trauma associated with HIV/AIDS. I was isolated. I was wasting away and I was starving to death. I just couldn”t deal with all the issues in my life.”
Bennett said that his condition had long prevented him from enjoying activities he once did. He said now that his health is revived he is looking forward to bicycling again. “I”m entering the Konocti Challenge in October. I had given up bicycling for almost 10 years because my condition was debilitating and I was housebound,” he said. “Thanks to Dr. Kubota and Dr. Brown before him, I was given every trick in the book and assistance in finding the proper treatment for my various problems including depression.”
Gilmore and Bennett said that the services they receive at CCHAP are crucial to their health and overall well-being. They said that among the services, such as resource connection, nutrition guidance and transportation assistance, the support groups offered through CCHAP are indispensable. “CCHAP has developed a community that I can be a part of where I can get the emotional support I need,” Gilmore said. “CCHAP has also given me the opportunity to reach out to other people, especially the young people, and educate them of the seriousness of HIV/AIDS and how impacts our lives.”
Young said education and outreach are the main purposes of Lake County AIDSWalk. He said there are many ways to participate in AIDSWalk 2011. Those wishing to do the footwork and walk the flat, mile course around Austin Park can pay an entry fee or enlist sponsors. The entry fee for an AIDSWalker is $25 for a group of four or $5 donation for an individual walker.
Non-profit organizations, particularly those that promote health and wellness are invited to participate. Table reservations are obtainable with a $25 donation. “We would like to see as many resource providers as we can at this event,” Young said. “This is really their chance to show the public what they are doing to help the community.”
Area retailers who are interested in contributing goods such as water, food, drinks, snacks, lumber, signage, etc. are also being sought as are volunteers to assist with various tasks associated with conducting a successful event. Youth organizations are welcome as well.
“I thought I was dying when I came to Lake County. You need people; you need friends and you need a support system and CCHAP has given me that,” Bennett said. “I can”t envision myself being where I am today without this place.”
For more information regarding AIDSWalk Lake County, contact the CCHAP office at 995-1606.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call directly at 994-6444, ext. 14.
