About this project

Living With AIDS was conceived, filmed, and edited by Alex Trzebucki as part of an independent study project in the Department of Biology at Davidson College, under the directino of Dr. David Wessner. In this documentary, Alex provides a brief snapshot into the life of Beverly, an HIV+ woman, and her HIV+ daughter. More specifically, he focuses on the help Beverly has received from CarolinaRAIN, the Regional AIDS Interfaith Network, a volunteer faith support network whose goal is to provide practical and spiritual support to people with HIV/AIDS.

According to Alex, "Over four months, I attended RAIN meetings, interviewed RAIN representatives, and visited with Beverly and her child on numerous occasions. Living with AIDS seeks to show the power of a support system and how genuine concern and love for a complete stranger can be deeply transforming and meaningful for both the giver and the receiver.

To obtain a DVD of this documentary, please contact Dr. David Wessner.

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Bonus Featurettes

This featurette delves into religion's place in the HIV crisis. Amy Brooks, Ruth Deal, and Beverly discuss the persistance of stigma through faith communities and society. Amy discusses how RAIN attempts to ease the suffering of HIV+ individuals and redefine the role religion can play in their lives.

Amy, Ruth, and Beverly discuss the CareTEAM model used by the Regional AIDS Interfaith Network. Through this system RAIN assists HIV+ individuals in logistical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of their struggle. Beverly tells how she first learned of RAIN and how important they have been in her life.

In this featurette from my 2002 Documentary "HIV Healthcare", HIV physicians from New York and North Carolina discuss the need for better education methods and preventative efforts among the young population in this country. Dr. Carol Harris, a leading infectious disease physician and director of the World AIDS Institute at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, details the hardest part of her long history with AIDS--new infections and the failure of education. Along with Dr. Freda Chu, an infectious disease physician in the New York area, and J. Wesley Thompson, PA-C, of the Jemsek Clinic in Huntersville, North Carolina, the issue of stemming new HIV infections is discussed as an imperative for reducing the rate of infectious in the fastest growing sector of new HIV infection--young people.