PHILADELPHIA, February 3, 2009 - One Day At A Time (ODAAT) will be celebrating twenty-five years of service to the community on February 7, 2009, at the AFCOM Center from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
ODAAT's founder, Reverend Henry T. Wells, will be on hand to meet and greet guests from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Ernest E. Jones, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation, will provide the keynote address. Governor Edward G. Rendell, Reverend James T. Baker, Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell, and representatives of the Philadelphia Police Department are also slated to make brief remarks.
One Day At A Time began in 1983 as a residential peer counseling and substance abuse recovery support program. Over the past 25 years ODAAT has increased its scope to address issues of HIV/AIDS and homelessness. Today, ODAAT provides transitional housing, peer support and mentoring, case management, rapid HIV testing, HIV prevention outreach, and HIV/AIDS medical case management.
Reverend Henry T. Wells, founder of One Day At A Time, says "Our mission is to save lives. Our foundations are respect, spirituality, and love for others and ourselves, which sets the groundwork to build on and recover one day at a time. If we don't have that, we will not survive."
Rev. Wells' son, Mel Wells, who today acts as One Day At A Time's president, echoes these sentiments. "We are proud to have helped thousands of low-income and homeless individuals on their journey to recovery over the past twenty-five years. The support we have received from the community and the success of our clients proves to me that God really does have soldiers."
ODAAT reaches 26,000 individuals annually. In 2008, ODAAT tested over 475 individuals for HIV, provided case management for nearly 600 clients, and provided addiction recovery support for over 350 people. Over 60% of ODAAT's new addiction clients achieved and maintained sobriety for six months or more.
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One Day At A Time
Rev. Henry T. Wells, Founder - Mel Wells, President 2532 North Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19132 (215) 226-7860 phone (215) 226-7869 fax www.odaat.us A Program of Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition
HIV Facts:
Gay and bisexual men accounted for a significantly greater proportion of estimated new infections nation-wide in the United States in 2006 than any other risk group.
Philadelphia statistics however reported heterosexual's accounted for the largest population.
HIV Facts:
Injection drug use (IDU) accounted for 12% of estimated new HIV infections in the United States in 2006.
Philadelphia reported a slightly higher statistic of 13%.
Each year, more than 40,000 people become newly infected with HIV in the United States.
That's 109 new infections per day or 1 new infection every 13 minutes.
HIV Fact:
In the United States, men account for 73% of new infections. Philadelphia reports African American women are the fastest growing population.
The CDC estimates that one-quarter of HIV-infected people are unaware of their HIV infection and that these cases account for 54-70% of all new infections.
HIV Facts:
One in every two people living with HIV in the United States is Black. Philadelphia reports 67%of new infections are African Americans.
2006 CDC data indicates about half of the just over 1 million Americans living with HIVS or AIDS are black.
Every 13 minutes another person becomes infected with the HIV virus in the United States.
HIV Facts:
High-risk heterosexual contact accounted for 31% of estimated new HIV infections in the United States in 2006.
Philadelphia reported 55% in the same population.
HIV Fact:
In 2006 the rate of new HIV infections among non-Hispanic blacks was 7 times the rate among whites. Hispanics saw a rate 3 times that of the white population. Whites accounted for 35% of estimated new HIV infections. Asians/Pacific Islanders accounted for roughly 2% and American Indians/Alaska Natives accounted for roughly 1%.
HIV Facts:
The CDC recommends that everyone in the US aged 13-64, regardless of perceived risk, get tested for HIV to help stop the spread of the disease.
It also recommends that sexually active gay and bisexual men be tested for HIV at LEAST once a year.
HIV Facts:
The CDC estimates that African Americans are more severely and disproportionately affected by HIV than any other racial/ethnic group in the United States.
More infections occur among young people under 30 than any other age group. Persons 30-39 have the second highest infection rate.
