What is your topic? Why?
My senior project topic is HIV+ (positive) Drug Rehabilitation. Many people do not realize the amount of HIV+ drug and alcohol abusers that are placed in the same treatment programs as those without HIV. When an HIV+ person enters rehab, they cannot hide their disease. Living with this disease is something that has to be "treated" when a patient enters the rehabilitation process. I think that it is very important to educate others on what it takes for an HIV+ addict to recover, versus what it takes others. Not only do they need help for their addiction, but they need medical and emotional treatment for their HIV as well. I have recently started my service learning at an organization called Straight Talk, which offers counseling and many in-house rehab centers. Here, I have seen firsthand how much this disease affects the patients in rehab, and just how few people even care.
What do you hope to accomplish?
Rehab has been a "hushed" topic for years, as it is often looked down on by our society. Because of this, the programs are rarely called into question as to whether or not they should be changed or updated. I hope to change the negative connotations that many people associate with rehab, especially with it's HIV+ patients. Hopefully, some people will soon see that rehab is a place where people go to help themselves, instead of a place for the "disposable" member of society.
