By Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 3, 2006; M02
Adam Tenner can't help but feel frustrated. "So much time has passed," says the 39-year-old, "and so much work is still left to be done."
It has been 25 years since the first cases of AIDS were reported, and Tenner has been an AIDS activist for 20 of them. Starting off as a peer educator while attending Sarah Lawrence College in 1986, he went on to run the HIV prevention program at YouthCare, a nonprofit organization for at-risk teenagers in Seattle, in the 1990s. In 2001, he became executive director of Metro TeenAIDS ( http://www.metroteenaids.org), a Capitol Hill-based nonprofit group that offers a variety of HIV/AIDS services.
His is a gargantuan task. In a city with a high rate of new HIV cases -- and a school board that has yet to set a health education curriculum for the city's public schools -- Metro TeenAIDS's work is vital.
The organization hosts weekly support groups (with such names as "Where My Girls At?"); offers free HIV testing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; operates a casual drop-in center a few steps from the Eastern Market Metro stop Monday through Friday from 4 to 8 p.m.; and trains teens such as Tyrone Lofton, a senior at McKinley Tech in Northeast Washington, to be peer educators. On any given night, about 25 teenagers stop by the drop-in center. Every week, at least 10 HIV tests are given.
We sat with Tenner and Lofton at the drop-in center while a gaggle of young ladies hummed along with the latest hit by R&B singer Chris Brown on WKYS (93.9 FM).
You know Chris Brown?
Tenner: I work with kids. I have to know Chris Brown.
Lofton:[Laughs.]
So you've been an AIDS peer educator since 1986?
Tenner: Yeah, 20 years ago now.
Lofton: Wow. I'm 17.
Tenner: Thanks for pointing that out, Tyrone.
Lofton:[Laughs.]
When you were starting out as a peer educator, what was the biggest issue?
Tenner: I started because one of the teachers at my college passed away from AIDS. It was kind of a big deal, my teacher's death, and there was a little bit of awareness about AIDS. I mean, our college was right outside New York, where so many people were getting sick and dying. But there wasn't a whole lot of awareness. All we knew was that it wasn't called GRID anymore.
Lofton: What's GRID?
Tenner: GRID stood for gay-related immune deficiency. Or something like that.
Lofton: Huh?
Tenner: This was a long time ago. The really early days. We were young college students. People were going back and forth into the city. And I don't think people were really using protection. I don't think people thought about the risk.
As a peer educator and a high school student, what's the biggest challenge for you?
Lofton: Honestly, people don't want to talk about it. And then you have school officials who are afraid to talk about it, too. Before I became a peer educator two years ago, I actually thought that you couldn't get HIV or any other STDs through oral sex. I actually thought that.
The thing is, there are a lot of students who are ignorant of the disease. Some act like they don't care at all. And some people think you can get HIV by touching somebody.
Where is the city with regard to HIV education in D.C. public schools?
Tenner: Not very far. I mean, the schools are still in the process of developing their standards for health education, which includes HIV education. That will be finished and go before the school board in March. So there's still no HIV/AIDS core curriculum going on. There was supposed to be one this year, at least for high schoolers. That didn't happen.
What does that mean for students?
Tenner: Well, if you're in a good school, or if you're in a school with a teacher who really cares, or the health educator in your school feels it's important, you might get good HIV education. I think we're still a long way from D.C. public schools really doing everything they can do to teach students. But additionally, it's not only their responsibility, right? It's also the responsibility of parents, religious leaders and community-based organizations.
What kind of HIV education are you getting at McKinley Tech?
Lofton: Last year, at my health class, I did a presentation on HIV 101. But as far as the school providing the information, I really didn't witness any. Well, besides me coming in and giving the HIV 101 presentation. And I needed to get permission to give that.
Are you worried that some of your friends aren't really as aware as they should be? Like, not knowing that you can get HIV through oral sex?
Lofton: Some people think they're protecting themselves when they're really not. For example, I heard somebody say that he used two condoms for protection. Which means that there is more friction on the two condoms. Which means that it's easier for them to break. And the whole time this guy was thinking he was being safe.
What would you like to see the city do in terms of educating teens about HIV?
Lofton: Start from a young age. That's when they learn the most. We're all very curious children. I was. So start in elementary schools, but it might be hard because of the parents and how they feel about that. But we have to start at schools. And as early as possible.
Tenner: I agree. The truth is, in general, we're so afraid to talk to young people about HIV because we think talking about HIV means talking about sex, which means that somehow by talking to young people about HIV, it will make them more sexually active.
Here at Metro TeenAIDS, what we believe is, if a young person knows the risks, if a young person has the information, if a young person has a reason not to get HIV, then that young person will protect himself or herself.
