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Dianne Carter is a case manager at the Harm Reduction Center in Roseburg, which strives to raise awareness and prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. Four years ago, Carter lost her son to AIDS.
As a young man, Scott Beckman's ambition to work in radio took him far away from his hometown.
Four years ago, the son of Roseburg's Dianne Carter was taken away by something else entirely.
At 19, Beckman — or Scott James, as he was known on radio —moved away from Roseburg for a broadcasting job in Las Vegas.
Beckman worked as a country music DJ, eventually ending up in Los Angeles.
“He had this rich, deep voice and he could talk a mile a minute,” Carter said.
Then he got so sick he could no longer do the job he loved so much.
Beckman was suffering from AIDS. He died of complications related to the disease when he was just 39.
“I was one of those ignorant mothers. I was one of those people that thought AIDS only happens to other people,” Carter said. “If I had been armed with some information, perhaps I could have saved his life.”
Spreading lifesaving information is the goal behind a Monday evening fundraiser planned by Roseburg's Harm Reduction Center of Southern Oregon, where Carter works as a case manager. The show features four female impersonators, The Dreamgirls, at the Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino Resort. The Harm Reduction Center, which partners with Douglas County Public Health and other local health agencies, strives to build awareness and prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis C.
“It's going to be fun, but it's also going to be serious,” said Carter of the event.
For 23 years, the Harm Reduction Center has been providing services such as connecting people who are HIV-positive to programs providing free prescription drugs. These drugs normally cost between $3,000 and $4,000 a month, Carter said. HIV-positive clients can also receive free dental and visual services and help with rent. The center also offers services like free testing for HIV and hepatitis C.
Dreamgirls performers first met with Billy Russo, the Harm Reduction Center's executive director, last year while they were performing at Seven Feathers. Female impersonator Wendal Jackson said the group told Russo if the center ever needed their help, they'd gladly do it. Russo took them up on the offer.
“We do a lot of charity work,” said Jackson. “So we thought it would be cool to donate our time for that.”
The group will perform a special tribute to entertainers such as Diana Ross and Cher called “Glitz in the Sticks.” The Dreamgirls are appearing in the show on their day off, at no cost to the center.
Carter said the organization is hoping to use show proceeds to expand its educational services in local middle and high schools. She said education is key to preventing the spread of these diseases, and the earlier that people learn about them, the better. Ellis Poole, the Harm Reduction Center's CEO, said expanding education efforts is the main goal of the fundraiser.
“We need to inform our young people that these are very deadly and dangerous diseases,” he said.
Before he died, Carter's son told her he would have loved to be able to educate young people about HIV, but he was afraid of losing his job if people found out he had the virus. So Carter has taken his dream upon herself.
“I'm driven to serve as many children as possible because of my own personal experience,” she said. “That's what draws me (to work at the center), is to help other parents not have to go through what I had to go through.”
If people question why a rural community like Douglas County needs services such as those offered by the Harm Reduction Center, Carter points out that HIV is not a problem only in places such as Africa or among gay men. She said she works with just as many HIV-positive people who are heterosexual men and women.
Carter works with about 40 Douglas County residents who are HIV positive, but she said there are much more out there who don't know about this resource available to them.
Poole said the Harm Reduction center still goes unnoticed after more than two decades in operation.
“Not a lot of people know about us,” he said. “We want people to know we're here.”
Health officials report there are about 150 people with HIV or AIDS in Douglas County. Nearly 1,000 people have hepatitis C.
Carter said few resources are available for people suffering from hepatitis C, which can cause severe liver damage. Many seen at the Harm Recovery Center don't have health insurance. Poole described the rate of hepatitis C infections in the county as “epidemic.”
Carter said she hopes the fundraiser will help people understand the crucial role of education in stopping the spread of HIV and hepatitis C .
“I can speak for my son. He would say, ‘Be safe, use protection,'” she said. “A few seconds of pleasure is not worth your life.”
Poole would like to work himself out of a job.
“I would like to see that eventually there won't be a need for this organization,” he said.
You can reach reporter Inka Bajandas at 957-4202 or by e-mail at ibajandas@nrtoday.com.
Four years ago, the son of Roseburg's Dianne Carter was taken away by something else entirely.
At 19, Beckman — or Scott James, as he was known on radio —moved away from Roseburg for a broadcasting job in Las Vegas.
Beckman worked as a country music DJ, eventually ending up in Los Angeles.
“He had this rich, deep voice and he could talk a mile a minute,” Carter said.
Then he got so sick he could no longer do the job he loved so much.
Beckman was suffering from AIDS. He died of complications related to the disease when he was just 39.
“I was one of those ignorant mothers. I was one of those people that thought AIDS only happens to other people,” Carter said. “If I had been armed with some information, perhaps I could have saved his life.”
Spreading lifesaving information is the goal behind a Monday evening fundraiser planned by Roseburg's Harm Reduction Center of Southern Oregon, where Carter works as a case manager. The show features four female impersonators, The Dreamgirls, at the Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino Resort. The Harm Reduction Center, which partners with Douglas County Public Health and other local health agencies, strives to build awareness and prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis C.
“It's going to be fun, but it's also going to be serious,” said Carter of the event.
For 23 years, the Harm Reduction Center has been providing services such as connecting people who are HIV-positive to programs providing free prescription drugs. These drugs normally cost between $3,000 and $4,000 a month, Carter said. HIV-positive clients can also receive free dental and visual services and help with rent. The center also offers services like free testing for HIV and hepatitis C.
Dreamgirls performers first met with Billy Russo, the Harm Reduction Center's executive director, last year while they were performing at Seven Feathers. Female impersonator Wendal Jackson said the group told Russo if the center ever needed their help, they'd gladly do it. Russo took them up on the offer.
“We do a lot of charity work,” said Jackson. “So we thought it would be cool to donate our time for that.”
The group will perform a special tribute to entertainers such as Diana Ross and Cher called “Glitz in the Sticks.” The Dreamgirls are appearing in the show on their day off, at no cost to the center.
Carter said the organization is hoping to use show proceeds to expand its educational services in local middle and high schools. She said education is key to preventing the spread of these diseases, and the earlier that people learn about them, the better. Ellis Poole, the Harm Reduction Center's CEO, said expanding education efforts is the main goal of the fundraiser.
“We need to inform our young people that these are very deadly and dangerous diseases,” he said.
Before he died, Carter's son told her he would have loved to be able to educate young people about HIV, but he was afraid of losing his job if people found out he had the virus. So Carter has taken his dream upon herself.
“I'm driven to serve as many children as possible because of my own personal experience,” she said. “That's what draws me (to work at the center), is to help other parents not have to go through what I had to go through.”
If people question why a rural community like Douglas County needs services such as those offered by the Harm Reduction Center, Carter points out that HIV is not a problem only in places such as Africa or among gay men. She said she works with just as many HIV-positive people who are heterosexual men and women.
Carter works with about 40 Douglas County residents who are HIV positive, but she said there are much more out there who don't know about this resource available to them.
Poole said the Harm Reduction center still goes unnoticed after more than two decades in operation.
“Not a lot of people know about us,” he said. “We want people to know we're here.”
Health officials report there are about 150 people with HIV or AIDS in Douglas County. Nearly 1,000 people have hepatitis C.
Carter said few resources are available for people suffering from hepatitis C, which can cause severe liver damage. Many seen at the Harm Recovery Center don't have health insurance. Poole described the rate of hepatitis C infections in the county as “epidemic.”
Carter said she hopes the fundraiser will help people understand the crucial role of education in stopping the spread of HIV and hepatitis C .
“I can speak for my son. He would say, ‘Be safe, use protection,'” she said. “A few seconds of pleasure is not worth your life.”
Poole would like to work himself out of a job.
“I would like to see that eventually there won't be a need for this organization,” he said.
You can reach reporter Inka Bajandas at 957-4202 or by e-mail at ibajandas@nrtoday.com.
