GUAHAN Project and Suicide Prevention
The GUAHAN Project (Guam HIV/AIDS Network) is Guam’s only AIDS service organization.  What does this have to do with suicide prevention?  GUAHAN Project has experience in helping people deal with suicidal ideations related to HIV risk or actual infection.  This includes those living with HIV and their loved ones.  This can be an overwhelming experience as they witness a loved one decline in health and become progressively symptomatic.  The physical signs of advanced HIV infection, or an AIDS diagnosis can be devastating to the person living with AIDS and their caregivers.

Financial and psycho-social challenges often make living with HIV extremely difficult.  The lack of HIV/AIDS support services and the specialized care needed to support people living with HIV conspire to create a feeling of hopelessness and despair.  People sometimes feel they have no other option but to end their lives.  These feelings may arise because of the disclosure about their HIV status that may be necessary.
    
The GUAHAN Project offers supportive counseling through home and hospital visits to people living with HIV and their families.  Despite limited Guam resources, viable options exist to improve the overall quality of living with HIV, including referrals to experienced counselors, a support network of other HIV positive individuals, and empowerment interventions that help strengthen individual and family well-being.

Special community events and public speaking opportunities facilitated by the GUAHAN Project help those living with HIV to share their stories.  This establishes the feeling of being in control of their lives, regardless of HIV status.  It also helps to dispel the many myths and misperceptions surrounding HIV/AIDS.

People living with HIV and their families may find support in becoming active community members in the fight against AIDS.  This sense of belonging and contributing to a powerful cause can be effective in averting suicides relating to HIV. In addition, the GUAHAN Pacific has a vast array of helpful resources for the community about the facts of HIV/AIDS.  In addition, the GUAHAN Project offers resources related to mourning, loss and grieving for those who are going through post-suicide experiences.  This support is important as a tool for suicide prevention in that it opens up dialogue that can be helpful in addressing possible elements that may lead people to contemplate suicide.    

Prepared and Submitted By:  Al Silverio

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Director’s Notes:  The Normal Heart
“The human contribution is the essential ingredient.  It is only the giving of oneself to others that we truly live.”  These are the words of Ethel Perry Andrus.  Words that truly represent the work you are about to witness tonight.  The Normal Heart was just another job I auditioned for as a professional actor.  I played the role of Mickey Marcus.  But I did not realize the impact and the importance of this work as a theatre piece and a message piece.  We learn a great deal about each other based on our histories and actions.  This play is a history on the plague we know as AIDS and is one of most important examples of getting to know what we are up against as activists and people living in the age of this disease. 

The presentation of this play is not as unorthodox as you might think.  Plays go through processes of evolution known as staged readings.  The directors, producers, and playwrights need to see the play “on its feet” and more importantly the actors giving the characters a voice.  We as actors kindly and graciously give you this work as an expression of our dedication to educating the public about AIDS and the prejudice that surrounds it.  The work itself is presented in the simplest form possible – bare stage, uniformed costumes, and basic lighting.  It is now your job to use your imagination to create the scenarios and situations.  We hope to help you in the images you create. 

Now we ask you to contribute and to give of yourself for this cause we feel so strongly. 

Ricky Vergara, Director, The Normal Heart (Read More)