       
3rd Year Louisiana Unhealthiest state. |
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Health-Louisiana
Many people do not realize the great need for comprehensive support services for those suffering from addiction, either in recovery or in need of recovery. Healthcare services are often not available to those with the most need, those in low-income populations, and without health insurance. Those numbers in Louisiana are some of the highest in the nation. One disease that is often directly linked to behaviors in addiction, is Hep C. Hepatitis over 80,000 people in Louisiana. Talking with Timothea, about these issues, and her commitment to this health problem, it became evident to me, that overall there is a lack of education and information by even those of us in the recovering community, and of course the general public. Timothea has provided us with some information to "Pass On" and is working with us (Thanks Timothea!!) on our New Orleans SoberJam event for Alcohol Awareness Month 2003 coming April 19, 2003 to Lafayette Square Park. She is a very gifted musician with a powerful message of hope and healing. Tell me about Siren to Wail Siren To Wail is the only organization statewide Siren to Wail provides peer counseling and deploys educational material to those newly diagnosed and/or living with Hepatitis C. STW offers social services for those seeking help filling out medical forms, applying for financial aid and in need of clinical placement. We provide support groups, free/low cost testing, client counseling and referrals to doctors at no cost to our clients. In addition Siren To Wail produces public service announcements "PSAs" for radio and television Tell me about Timothea I am a singer/songwriter from New Orleans. I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C a little over three years ago while singing in a club in Fla. I decided to use my musical talents and contacts
What
is Hep C? Is there a cure? Are treatments readily available? Well, that's a tuff question. There is a treatment out there but I would say that it clears the virus in about 50 0% of the people. That's great but I would like I would like to see it higher than that before I can call it a full cure. We need more research. What are the greatest barriers in reducing the illness Hep C brings to those in Louisiana? Doctor’s, we don't have enough of them. More primary care doctors need to be educated about Hepatitis C and making the right choice of treatment for that particular that have been educated about Hep C. We need a clinic just for Hep C like the no aids task force has and we need a way to get medicade. I had a client that died while waiting for his card. It came in two days after he passed. The wait is to long. Does insurance cover this? What if you need help, and you don't have insurance? Most insurance companies covers the meds but it is my understanding that the co-payments are still high. It’s not easy to get it after being diagnosed. The meds alone are about $1500 a month. The drug companies have an indigent program and lots of times I can get the meds from them for free but YOU MUST HAVE A DOCTOR. If you don't have insurance than your up the river with out a paddle basically. I send people to Charity but it's at least five months before you can get the first appointment and then it drags out to a year before you start treatment. What happens a lot of times is that people just give up and go into denial. Most then continue to drink. Tell me about your new project what is it about, and what is your mission and hope? We have about six projects in the works right now. Our main mission is providing awareness but once I got started with the organization I began seeing all kinds of needs. We are working on awareness concerts in Baton Rouge and Lafayette along with getting our PSA’S ( Public Service Announcements) on both local radio and TV stations. What inspired you to start this outreach? Is it only for those in New Orleans, or for all of the state? I had a hard time getting any information about my new founded disease and then I was fired for having it. Thus my new founded mission was born. I called it Siren To Wail because I was called the New Orleans Siren and I wail real loud. That’s where the name came from. We’ve been doing most of our outreach in New Orleans and the surrounding area’s. Our videos Have been running steadily on the local TV stations for about a year now. As of 2003 will willl be extending our program and PSA”S both statewide and nationwide What resources do you provide? What are requirements for those who need help? Is it a sliding fee schedule, or totally free service? Our service is free to the public! We send out Hepatitis C informational packages to people or a family member that has been infected with Hepatitis C. We provide peer counseling for those newly diagnosed, testing for those at risk, referrals to social workers to help find placement for the uninsured. We refer people to doctors and clinic’s and we provide support groups in two different locations. We do lots of awareness with the media.
About how many people do you think reach out for help with Hep C, that have or have had addictions? Unfortunately about 70% HopeNetworks, believes partnering and working with groups focused on addiction related issues as a critical link in reducing the impact of addiction in our communities, can you share with us your experiences with those seeking treatment with Hep C, facing barriers in their recovery from Hep C, due to untreated addiction, or a lack of available treatment services. Number one, a doctor will not treat you for the virus if you are using drugs or drinking alcohol. They have just recently ok’ed people to get treatment that are on methadone. If you continue to drink it acts like a poison makes the virus multiply speeding up liver failure. We have to treat the addiction before we can even begin to treat the Hep C. Are people who go to treatment for addictive disorders screened for Hep C? How do those contacting you know they have Hep C?
It
depends on where they go? Most addicts find out they are positive when
they are trying to sell blood or plasma. We can get you a test for $20
here at Siren To Wail and it is strictly confidential. On March 13 we
are having a free testing day in
New
Orleans
so please spread the word. Siren To Wail's Hep C outreach and Support Website Have you Registered with us yet?
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