When I was an iso[lation] or in jail, my HIV medicines were so sporadic
that I even had to tell the captain "hey I gotta stop taking this, because,
yeah you know it's doing me no good in fact it's doing me worse."
Louisiana has one of the highest HIV rates of new infection in the US,
and within the United States, Louisiana's incarceration rate is nearly twice the national average.
The same people who are very heavily policed in this society,
people who use drugs, sex workers, African Americans, Latinos,
people who are disproportionately represented in jails
are also disproportionately burdened by HIV.
In the parish jails which are the county jails
people at risk of HIV or living with HIV are not getting the services that they need.
Well I was in there for about a good three four days,
then finally they came in and told me that I would have to call my mom to send my meds
Because they couldn't get my meds for me.
But then I couldn't call mom because see,
I had been in there and I didn't have privileges to use the phone.
The sad part about many of these cases is that are for very minor crimes,
nonviolent crimes, small drug possessions, disorderly conduct, shoplifting.
It's very important with HIV that you stay on your medication regimen
and that you take it every day
and going to jail is one of the most disruptive events to your health when you have HIV.
As you take your medications not only is your immune system getting better
and able to take care of its own body, but you're also decreasing the amount of virus in your body
therefore making it less likely that that you're going to spread it or transmit it to someone else.
I have clients who are in a cycle of jail, I'm out, back in jail, I'm out, I can't find a job,
or go back to jail and in that cycle it's nearly impossible to work with the jail systems
to get that client their medication.
I said in Orleans Parish jail I was there approximately 44 days before I received my first pill
but at that time my body became resistant to the medicine
and I started getting sick. I had diarrhea bad, I couldn't hold nothing down like
everything I ate I immediately ran to the bathroom. I was vomiting real bad.
I didn't see a doctor until I was released and I was there for seven months
and once you were off your medications and develop resistance
than the cost of everything goes up.
The testing goes up as well as the medications that are available to you.
Now HIV treatment is expensive but under international human rights law
as well as US domestic law it is an obligation on the part of the parish jails.
Lafayette Parish jail has developed a model for HIV testing
that should be expanded throughout the state.
Every inmate is offered an HIV test and most inmates accept the offer.
They are then shown to be positive they meet with the medical staff
and develop a plan for obtaining treatment.
The bigger societal issue is that those individuals are all, you know,
almost ninety-five percent of all people go back into society at some point
that are in jails and prisons and without that knowledge of their condition,
then they're spreading their disease to the rest of the public.
It is imperative that Louisiana parish jails implement a routine HIV testing program for inmates
and make sure that they have a system for connecting that person if they test positive
to care in the community.