State honors 2 LI teens for HIV, AIDS education work

Alba Bonilla was in the ninth grade when a table at a local health fair caught her attention. She learned that her home community of Hempstead had one of the highest rates of AIDS-HIV infections in Nassau County and volunteers were needed to educate others about prevention.

"I was shocked," said Bonilla, now 15 and in the 10th grade at Hempstead High School. "And they were telling us if we wanted to join, to help the community and I was like 'I am down for that.' I wanted to help my community."

Bonilla and Jana Jackson, 17, of Amityville, were among those honored Tuesday in Albany by state Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines for their contributions to HIV and AIDS education. The ceremony at Plaza Convention Center Tuesday marked the observance of World AIDS Day Wednesday. More than 125,000 individuals are living with HIV or AIDS in New York State.

Bonilla volunteers as a youth peer educator for Leadership Training Institute's HIV-AIDS prevention program called Communities of Color, based in Hempstead. Bonilla, who also speaks Spanish, visits local churches and community groups to raise awareness.

"She heard about what we are doing and she said, 'I am willing to give it a shot,' and she is really good at what she does," said Preeti Sulibhavi, program manager for Communities of Color.

Bonilla said she believes she connects with her fellow students.

"I am making a difference and I think it's really important," she said. "I am educating teens and I am a teen and other kids understand me."

Jackson has been the voice of young people at the Long Island Regional Committee's Faith Communities Project, developed by the state Department of Health in recognition of the significant role faith communities play in HIV-AIDS prevention and support/care efforts. As part of the group, Jackson visits local churches to talk about HIV and AIDS. Jackson also educates her peers at Amityville High School.

"Basically it is a topic that a lot of people don't like to talk about and it is a very important topic," said Jackson, a high school senior who wants to be a pediatrician.