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the HERALD Community Wednesday Januarys New networking group provides help for abused women PALMFR Herald Special One of the biggest problems for victims of Family Violence is the feeling of being alone and isolated Often a victim believes he or she is the only person who has experienced the situation Often it seems as if there is nowhere to go for help Beginning this evening Jan the Committee for Improving Family Relationships is sponsor a networking group for women The weekly meeting will run every Wednesday even ing from m at the Georgetown Hospital Connie Karlsson a member of the Com mittee will regularly attend the meetings and can be reached at should you wish to speak to her personally This networking group is essen tially a self help group where abused women can meet share problems and experiences help each other and make new friends Perhaps you are feeling alone and isolated in our community Perhaps you think you re the only person who feels as you do Come and take advantage of this op portumty to meet some other women who will care about you Not only will these women care but they will also understand and not judge your actions You may not even realize you re being abused Do you feel depressed for no reason Do you live from day to day experiencing many highs and lows Do you feel your husband puts you down all the time Do you feel unable to cope with each day Are the kids getting to you Are you losing your temper far loo often Do friends tell you that you ve made your lot in life and must suffer through the consequences Do days pass into weeks and you often can t remember what happened Do you find yourself excusing your husband or boyfriend behavior Do you find yourself compensating for his moods If the answer to any of these questions is YES then you may HELP US HELP OURSELVES be a victim of abuse You deserve a better life You deserve to ex the quality of life that is available to you You need to be surrounded by positive and supportive people who will help you Yes it is a big step to admit something might be wrong in your life Yes it is a big step to come and meet with strangers But I can guarantee you that it will be worth your effort You will find women who care and want to be there for you I recall the difficulty I had in recognizing I was being abused At first I talked of the relation ship which had ended as being abusive Finally I d put a name to what had happened between us It was months before I was finally able to tell someone about the physical abuse I can now talk about the verbalemotional abuse Even today I haven t been able to discuss the sexual abuse in detail because it sickens me I know how it feels to not realize it was abuse that was affecting my life Maybe you just have the feel ing that there is something wrong in your life Maybe you want your life to be better Maybe you are just a woman who wants to find out more about Family Violence Don miss the opportunity to at tend the networking group meetings If you are unable to reach Con me and you want more tion about the meetings you can call the Committee Chairperson Pam Johnston at She will be glad to talk to you and tell you about it As busy single moms these women may be out when you call so please leave a message on s answering machine She will return your call Reaching out can change the rest of your life Take that step forward I eel free to contact by directing letters to her attention at the Herald All correspondence will remain confidential Should you wish to speak to Jacie call the Distress Centre at 1211 and your call will be returned If you are a woman or child in crisis or an abusive male wauling help call the Distress Centre or dial Halton residents to have easier access to AIDS testing By LISA BOONSTOPPEL POT The Herald For people who want anonymous AIDS testing there will soon be a testing clinic in Hamilton Hamilton General Hospital s sexually transmitted disease clime is one of eight sites that the Ministry of Health has established in Ontario for anonymous testing The Ministry plans to open the clinic by mid tolate January said Janice Benson the coordinator of the Regional Health Depart AIDS project She explained that the clinics ac tually test for Human Im Virus the virus which causes Acquired munodeficiency Syndrom AIDS She said people interested in the anonymous testing are required to make an appointment beforehand by calling A coding system will likely be used to preser ve the caller anonymity Once the appointment is made the patient receives pre test selling The counselling is vital As well once some people talk to the coun they find out they really t at risk of contracting HIV she said According to an AIDS test sup plied by the Region people at high risk are those who ve had sex with New drug treats Chlamydia Chlamydia a recently recognized sexually transmitted disease STD which cloaks itself bv being virtually symptomless has rapidly become the leading STD in Canada among young adults But now a new oral an abacterial drug which has recently received approval from Health and Welfare Canada will change the way physicians treat Canada biggest STD sold in Canada by Or Pharmaceutical and McNeil Pharmaceutical Divisions of ORTHO has received approval for the treat ment of many common infections including lower respiratory tract infections pneumonia and acute exacerbations of chronic chilis urinary tract infections skin and skin structure infec tions prostatitis inflammation of the prostate gland addition to gonorrhea and chlamydia It is the last two indications however that are causing excite for physicians Chlamydia pronounced is the most frequent ly reported STD in this country and most often accompanies cases of Serious health problems Chlamydia represents a serious health problem in Canada because it can lead to conditions such as nonspecific urethritis inflammation and irritation of the urethra cervicitis inflam mation of the cervix pelvic in flammatory disease and ectopic PHOTO SPECIAL pregnancy implantation of the fertilized egg outside the uterus usually in the fallopian tubes One in women affected Health officials estimate that three per cent of all Canadian women suffer from chlamydia but in populations of young sex active women the estimated prevalence jumps to one in 10 women Ve know that the reported figures on chlamydia are just the tip of the iceberg and the of cases are still unreported and more importantly often go untreated because of a lack of vious symptoms says Dr Richard Head of the Department of Microbiology and Head of the Department of Diseases at Hotel Dieu in Montreal Women are at the greatest risk because untreated chlamydia can infertility he said If you re treating gonorrhea which is more easily identified because it is usually ac com pan led by painful symp toms you should be treating for chlamydia as well even if you re unsure if it present said Dr Monsset adding that this is now the recommendation of both The Centre for Disease Control and Health and Welfare Canada Health officials admit that the test for chlamydia is not a reliable indicator of whether the disease is present No visible symptoms We know that about to 70 per cent of people with gonorrhea and chlamydia exhibit no symp toms which means they are con tinuing to spread the disease ig norant of the fact that they are carrying it Monsset Even when patients are aware of the disease and given medica they may not take the medication as prescribed because there are no symptoms to remind them of the infection In the past STDs such as gonor rhea were treated with penicillin often administered as an in injection while chlamydia was treated with an antibiotic up to four times a day for 10 days These varying drug regiments often affected a pa compliance in particular having to receive an injection One week of treatment Now with this new drug treat ment compliance is no longer a problem For the first time in Canada there is a single drug available called which can treat both gonorrhea and chlamydia effect and quick ly at the same time This drug should greatly increase com for young sexually active people because they will only have to take one drug orally for one week The tragedy of chlamydia and gonorrhea is that they are so often left untreated despite the fact that early treatment can cure both diseases completely and quickly said Monsset more than one partner a sexually transmitted disease sex while der the influence of drugs sex without a condom or those who have ever used unsterilized needles The clinic takes a vial of blood from the patient which is sent to the Ministry of Health It takes anywhere from two to six weeks for the results The patient must them return to the clinic to find out the result and will receive counselling again whether the test is negative or positive The anonymous testing is one of three different types of testing currently available said Mrs Ben son Besides the anonymous testing there is also nominal testing which is performed by a physician and requires patient identification The Regional Health Department also offers AIDS testing which is termed non nominal said Ms Benson The Region asks for the patients name but the testing is done under code so only the doctor the nurse and the patient will ever know the result of the test The Health Department also of fers pre- and post test counselling A lot of poeple are comfortable with this type of testing she said The Regional HIV testing is performed at three sites Brant St in Burlington 123 Maurice Dr in OakviIIe and 231 Main St in Milton It s 100 per cent funded by the Ministry of Health For more information about HIV testing and AIDS call the Halton Regional AIDS project office at 8113 target food stores SERVICE Passport I WE RENT In 3 Mln VIDEO CAMERAS STEVEN C FOSTER B A LLB BARRISTER SOLICITOR 37 MAIN ST SOUTH GEORGETOWN ONT 3G2 873 fax 873 P0DGERS OPEN 24 HRS 7 DAYS A WEEK 51 ST GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN LIONS ARE SEEKING THF CITIZEN YEAR The Georgetown Lions Club is again looking for the Citizen of the Year someone who has given unself ishly to the community The Lions Club wants help from you in picking our most deserving citizen or group for 1 991 Nominations are now being received for Georgetown Citizen of the Year Please mail nominations with supporting resume post marked not later than Jan 31 1 992 to Georgetown Lions Club Citizen of the Year P O Box 73 George town The wmners of the award will be made known in March at a dinner to be held in the Lions Club Hall on March 2 1 992 The public is invited to attend this special evening Tickets are available from Lions Club members I