Community Events

New Certification Class Available for Instructors of HIV/AIDS Prevention Education for Latinos

A new and updated training and certification for new instructors in the American Red Cross Hispanic HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program will be held Oct. 22 - 24 at the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter of American Red Cross, 1955 Monroe Dr., in Atlanta. Participants are required to attend all three days from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. to complete the training.

What are the training objectives?

Participants will learn how to:

• Conduct community-based educational discussions for HIV/AIDS prevention with Latinos/Hispanics.
  
• Share information with people of diverse backgrounds who are members of Hispanic communities, using culturally specific tools to make the information relevant to their lives and to motivate them to adopt behaviors to protect themselves and others from HIV.
  
• Understand and be sensitive to the cultural and psychosocial issues raised by HIV/AIDS.
  
• Share accurate and up-to-date information about HIV/AIDS in a nonjudgmental and culturally sensitive way.
  
• Encourage people to apply the facts about HIV/AIDS to their own behavior.

How do I register?

The registration fee of $130 includes all materials, certificate, books, posters for teaching, brochures, and group activity kits. Cost does not include lunch. To register call (404) 876-3602, dial extension "3," and request class number 04-3308, Hispanic HIV Prevention Education.

Payment can be made by phone with a credit card or by mail with a check or money order. Partial scholarships are available for metro-Atlanta residents. Participants will be responsible for their own hotel accommodations and transportation. For more information on assistance with scholarships, call the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter of the American Red Cross at (404)575-3155.

Who should attend?

People who work with the Latino population, including volunteers, faith leaders, teachers, social workers, health educators, case managers, nonprofit organization employees, health department staff, nurses and doctors, and others.

What are the prerequisites?

Participants must be at least 17 years old and fluent in Spanish. English fluency is not required.

Participants must already possess a strong foundation of understanding and knowledge regarding HIV facts. Participants must have already taken the HIV/AIDS Starter Facts class and must pass the Starter Facts Test as a prerequisite for enrolling in this training. Participants who have passed the HIV/AIDS Facts Test within the past 12 months are not required to take the class or the test again. If you already have extensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS facts and prevention information through your employment, you may request permission to "test out" of the Starter Facts class. (The Instructor Trainer may exempt participants from the Starter Facts class they pass the Starter Facts test with a sufficiently high score. This applies to health educators, health service providers, employees of HIV/AIDS service organizations and others.

The HIV/AIDS Starter Facts class will be offered on Tuesday, Oct. 12, from 6 to 10 p.m. (Class Number 04-1919) at the Red Cross Fulton Service Center.

What is the program philosophy?

The new Hispanic HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention course is designed by Hispanics for Hispanics and is modeled on the teaching methodology of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. Instructors learn how to involve community members in a dialogue, or "plática," by exchanging knowledge and encouraging them to share their interests, concerns and everyday experiences.

This way, the facts of prevention are more meaningful to participants' own lives, and community members are encouraged to apply facts about HIV to their own lives and personal behavior. The course teaches culturally-specific group facilitation and group teaching strategies to enhance the instructor's effectiveness in reaching Latino audiences.

Who are the trainers?

Two Red Cross volunteer Instructor Trainers will facilitate the certification. Greg Bautista is Latino Initiative Director of G-CAPP, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. Rebeca Lee-Pethel is a Public Health Advisor with the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

For more information and to view this information in Spanish, visit http://www.aidsalliance.us/hiv.htm