Women of Watts prepare for 9th annual march for peace
Organization strives to be one-stop shop for community improvement
Lydia Friend, the founder of Women of Watts, says the mission of her organization is threefold—demonstration, education and appreciation. “We will demonstrate what it takes to acquire our lives back through more participation in our community. This demonstration will be through the heads of households taking control and showing children of the community what it is to be responsible for yourself and your community. We shall demonstrate by cleansing the environment of violence and anything that pollutes the community and children’s minds. We shall demonstrate by being active and we shall march until we successfully fulfill our mission.”
Women of Watts is a resource center that provides a place of refuge for parents who have lost their children to violence. The organization holds group prayer Monday through Friday and hold meetings weekly to help parents who are struggling with grief by introducing them to other parents who have gone through similar experiences.
Women of Watts connects families in need with grief counseling, mortuary discounts, transportation, food services, education, and tries to assist in anyway they can to be a support system for those in need. They also are advocates for health and overall improvement of the community.
“It is our goal to educate any and every person in the community. We shall reach young and older minds and let them know that education is the stairway to a peaceful social environment; that perseverance can take you far beyond your dreams,” said Friend. “We want to help each individual understand knowledge obtained through schooling will create the desire to be productive citizens of the community and eliminate desires to participate in corruption, gang violence and drug activity,” she continued.
On Saturday, June 30, Women of Watts will hold its ninth annual march for peace, and have this year invited the men in the community to get involved as part of “Marching Men to Good Health.” Watts Health Care will be on-site to provide free screening for high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol and HIV/AIDS.
“We are marching to appreciate everything that has been accomplished and everything that shall be accomplished. We shall show our appreciation by keeping up the success. We shall always remember from where our forefathers have come by marching and appreciate where we are going by marching,” said Friend.
Marchers will assemble at 103rd and Wilmington between 8-8:30 a.m. where they will be given a free T-shirt before the march and will end at 103rd and Compton Avenue were the ceremony will begin. The event which is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. will include a car show, bike show, live music, vendors, and ministry and is completely free to the public. Seniors are welcome to skip the march and meet at the event site.
“We have come a ways by demonstrations, education and appreciation, and it’s our intent to carry the torch of success much further,” said Friend.
The recent news in Tulsa, Oklahoma, brings to light an issue that is rare, but nonetheless important — cross infection in the dental office, or the transfer of infection from one patient to another in a health care environment.
The unfortunate reality is that you, as the consumer, have very little chance of knowing what’s going on — it’s a huge trust relationship. Cross contamination is literally invisible because it’s caused by microbes invisible to the human eye, so only the professionals can guarantee that it doesn’t happen.
Evidence is mounting that it is possible to control the virus that causes AIDS with early treatment, so further therapy is not immediately needed.
A recent study in the journal PLOS Pathogens reports that 14 patients with HIV, who received antiretroviral treatment within 10 weeks of infection, had their viral loads decreased so much that scientists say they are “functionally cured.”
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Free HIV testing will be offered and panel discussions will be held in Los Angeles County in connection with Saturday’s 25th observance of World AIDS Day, whose theme is “Working Together for an AIDS-Free Generation.”
Free HIV testing will be offered noon-6 p.m. at L.A. Live, 3-5 p.m. at the AIDS Monument in Lincoln Park in Lincoln Heights and 7-11 p.m. at the Sweet Dreams Dessert Lounge in Whittier.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—In a decision that could put a dent in the Southland’s famed pornographic-film industry, Los Angeles County voters approved a requirement that adult film actors wear condoms.
The “Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act” requires adult film producers to apply for a permit from the county Department of Public Health to shoot sex scenes. Permit fees will finance periodic inspections of film sets to enforce compliance with the requirement that performers use condoms while engaged in sex acts.
Each year, on June 27, the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA), in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), AIDS.gov, and other national and local entities across the country organizes National HIV Testing Day. This unique initiative sends the message, “Take the Test, Take Control,” to those at risk from HIV from those already living with HIV.
