February 28, 2023 BY imani leave a comment
MASS is black history. MASS was founded by Mrs. Marolyn Edmonds 25 years ago. Growing up in the age of segregation, Mrs. Edmonds’ parents raised her to have pride in who she is. Her family instilled in her that she could do anything if she wanted it, and she wanted it! She spent over 50 years in the medical field working as a nurse and in administration. In the later part of her career, she created the Minority AIDS Support Services. Recently, she came out of retirement for a bit to share with us her story of creating MASS and how the HIV epidemic has changed throughout the years. Here is her story:
MASS: What was it like at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic?
Mrs. Edmonds: HIV wasn’t in Hampton Roads at the beginning of the epidemic. It was something that was happening in places like California. Being a nurse in the hospital in the 80s, I saw firsthand the effects of HIV in this area. Advanced HIV was really bad during that time. The HIV treatment was almost as bad as the disease. The gay men population was heavily affected. Imagine covid times three. Everyone was dying and nurses and doctors were afraid to care for people with HIV because they didn’t know anything about it. The patients were so young and so sick. I had children the age of some of them. I became one of the few nurses that were willing to treat HIV patients.
MASS: What was MASS like during the early days?
Mrs. Edmonds: When we first started, I was working as a director in a home health agency that serviced HIV patients. At that time, the hospitals did not know what to do with them so they just sent them home. In the early days, it was just a few of us. It wasn’t many organizations that worked in this field. Things begin to change in the 1990s/ 2000s when the government begins to earmark money for HIV Care and Prevention (Ryan White). During this time, MASS received a grant to go inside of the prisons and provide pre-release case management. Once the prisoners were released, we set up transitional housing, transportation, and doctor visits. We were able to expand from there.
MASS: What should someone do if they test positive?
Mrs. Edmonds: If you take an HIV test and it comes back positive, you need to get enrolled in medical care to get treatment as early as possible. If you don’t have medical insurance, you still have options. We can get you treatment for free. It’s not the time to get scared. If you run away, you might be in a bad situation where no one can help you. Stay in care and you will live a good life.
In Mrs. Edmonds’ lifetime, she has seen a tremendous change in the treatment of HIV-positive individuals. The US has made a lot of progress with HIV since the HIV epidemic first started. This is attributed to the increased amount of government funding and education resources that organizations like MASS provide and are provided with. Today, MASS has around 75 employees, 3 locations to get tested at (including an STD treatment clinic), a transportation van, and several transitional houses that we own. We will continue to provide transportation, outreach, HIV Treatment Management, free testing, and now FREE TREATMENT in Hampton Roads to meet the need of the seven cities. Honor Mrs. Edmonds and other early HIV pioneers and schedule your appointment to be tested.
(Pictured left Stanley and Marolyn Edmonds, Founders)