It doesn’t seem very long ago that a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS came with a sense of hopelessness.  Now the diagnosis can come with a motivation to live healthier and extend life.  And when being HIV positive is paired with drug addiction or alcoholism, hope and life must be celebrated.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles understands this and provides comprehensive HIV services as part of our commitment to integrated behavioral healthcare in alcohol and drug treatment.  It is important for HIV positive patients to receive a continuum of care starting as soon as they enter drug or alcohol detox.  It is also important to celebrate life, as we have for several years now, by holding a World AIDS Day event.

We welcome you to join us for our World AIDS Day event, and celebrate life.  The event will include keynote speakers, live performances, food, prizes and more as we celebrate our continued fight for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.  Here is the information:

Date:          December 1, 2009
Time:         10am – Noon
Location:    18646 Oxnard St, Tarzana, CA  91356 <click for map>

World AIDS Day originated through the World Health Organization in 1988 and later turned over to the World AIDS Campaign (WAC) in 2005.  The theme for 2009, as it has been since the WAC took the reins, is “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise” with the subtitle “I Am…”

World AIDS Day is meant to raise awareness and money with the goal of defeating the deadly disease.  
Great progress has been made in extending the lives of HIV positive individuals, but we have a long way to go.  Public awareness about the virus is still lacking, and we still need to at least find a vaccine.

Slogans for 2009 events are “I am accepted”, “I am getting treatment”, and “I am well”.  They promote a positive attitude for all to see that those who are HIV positive can still lead productive lives.  With medication and treatment they can all contribute to society like anyone else.  There are still those in the general public who don’t know this, and take a fear-based approach to HIV/AIDS.

Advancements in medications and treatment for HIV/AIDS have been great over the past two decades.  Through healthy habits, medication, and treatment, individuals can live long and fruitful lives with HIV.  But it is expensive to live with HIV because of the high medical expenses.  So stopping the virus in its tracks is the ultimate goal of researchers.

For many years, researchers have tried to contain this virus.  The problem is that the virus mutates, which makes developing a vaccine very difficult.  Recent progress has been made in finding commonalities in all strains of the virus, opening the door to the discovery of a vaccine.  Research needs to continue to be funded through government and private grants so this can happen.

If you would like more details on the event, or need help with drug addiction or alcohol dependence and HIV, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles greatly appreciates the many patient testimonials we receive.  In the interest of confidentiality and patient privacy, we go to great lengths before posting them for public viewing, so we couldn’t possibly show all of them.  Sometimes former patients will make their relationship with us public, which gives us a chance to show the positive results of the work we do.

The Daily Sundial of California State University, Northridge, posted an article about a former patient of Tarzana Treatment Centers.  While his name and picture are used the story, we will not.  The story is very informative about how he deals with being HIV positive, and his struggles with drug addiction.

In a follow-up interview with us, though, he expressed a desire to paint a clearer picture of his life in recovery and experience with Tarzana Treatment Centers.  His joy lies in recovery and he would like people to know that he does not dwell in the past, but instead uses his experiences to help others.

His hopeful optimism was evident when he spoke of the status of the relationship he has with his children.  While it is still in the rebuilding phase, and may be for some time, they are as open to moving forward and having dad back in their lives.  He shares daily conversations with them through text messages, and a phone call when possible, since they live out of state.

Future goals for this man in recovery include educating the HIV positive as well as non-positive population, and help to remove the stigma surrounding the disease.  He is currently studying Health Education at CSUN, and speaks for Positively Speaking.  He also works with the Tarzana Treatment Centers Community Advisory Board.

Staying active toward his goals proves to help in his own recovery from drug addiction.  He is an example of how positive behavior contributes to long-term recovery.  Due to the circumstances of his life, he is currently on disability and looks forward to the day that he can get back to work and get off of government assistance.  He is always looking forward.

While success in recovery greatly depends on an individual’s motivation, alcohol and drug treatment is often needed to encourage it or for that which is lacking.  For this patient, his motivation came from being tired of chasing a habit.  Knowing the problems his addiction had caused in his life led him to a desperate desire for help.  

Tarzana Treatment Centers was eager, as always, to make available everything he needed to get back on his feet and begin a new life.  “Tarzana Treatment Centers is amazing!” is all he could say to describe our part in his recovery.  He spoke highly of Charlon Davison, saying she was “perfect” when it came to leading him gently towards recovery and taking care of his new health needs.

We wish all of our former patients well, and continued recovery.  This gentleman is a fine example of how recovering individuals contribute positively to society, and are true assets.  Seeing former patients turn a downward spiraling life around makes all of our work worthwhile.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides a wide range of HIV services as part of our commitment to integrated behavioral healthcare in alcohol and drug treatment.  If you or a loved one are HIV positive and need help with alcoholism or drug addiction, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

The link between Drug abuse and HIV/AIDS has been known since the beginning of the epidemic. The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) public service campaign, Learn the Link, explains that although injection drug use is well known as the cause of many new HIV infections, the role that non-injection drug abuse plays in the spread of HIV is less recognized. Drug abuse by any route can put a person at a higher risk for getting HIV. Many drugs alter judgment and inhibition.   Crystal Meth, Cocaine, Ecstasy, GHB, and Alcohol are just a few of the non-injected  drugs which lead people to engage in unsafe behaviors that they would not normally choose if it were not for  the influence of drugs.

Altering judgment and inhibition is not the only link between non-injected drug use and HIV/AIDS. Drug abuse and addiction often affects a person’s overall health, thereby increasing their susceptibility to HIV.  For those already infected by HIV, drug abuse can increase the rate at which HIV progresses to AIDS.

Research has shown that drug abuse treatment is an effective way to prevent the spread of HIV. Drug abusers in treatment stop or reduce their drug use as well as the risky behaviors related to their drug addiction.  Tarzana Treatment Centers takes its 35 years of experience in drug addiction treatment and combines it with its expertise in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, and develops unique and effective drug treatment programs.  This uniqueness and effectiveness can be found in TTC’s Medical Detoxification program, Residential Drug Treatment programs, and Outpatient Drug Treatment programs.

More information about the link between HIV/AIDS and drug abuse is available at NIDA’s Learn the Link public service campaign’s website, http://hiv.drugabuse.gov/english/learn/abuse.html.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles makes a daily effort to find treatment news articles that we can share with our readers in the alcohol and drug treatment community.  The external content was found among other articles of equal informational and educational quality.