is not your average thrift shop. Yes, the Dallas store offers a selection of clothing and furniture, but now it also offers free HIV testing and is about to open a community pharmacy.
Just walk past the racks of brightly colored button up t-shirts and high-heeled shoes to get to the HIV testing area inside the Out of the Closet thrift store.
All you have to do is complete a basic questionnaire on one of the electronic kiosks and an HIV counselor will come get you to be tested. Results take one minute.
鈥淲e get probably anywhere from 12 to 15 people a day getting HIV testing, Tuesday through Saturday,鈥� says Bret Camp. Camp is the Texas regional director for the 鈥� that鈥檚 the nonprofit that operates t Thrift Stores across the country.
Back in the 鈥�90s, Camps says it would take three weeks to get the results from an HIV test. Studies have shown that some people don鈥檛 return after getting tested, so today鈥檚 speedy finger stick breaks down one barrier to treatment.
鈥淭he important thing about doing HIV testing in a setting like a thrift store,鈥� Camps says, 鈥渋s that allows people who may not access HIV testing through a conventional clinical setting and in order to have the impact on HIV prevention we need to have you need all the options.鈥�
More than 1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV, and almost 20 percent don鈥檛 know they鈥檙e infected.
. Many factors contribute to the high infection rate, including drug abuse, homelessness and using sex for survival. In Dallas County, more than 13,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS, representing an increase of 41 percent in more than nine years.
鈥淲e鈥檙e making a lot of progress,鈥� Camp says. 鈥淏ut one infection is more than we really need to be seeing. And by testing and treating and offering options and linking people into health care it鈥檚 going to have the greatest impact in reducing HIV infection rates.鈥�
A Pharmacy And A Dressing Room
The Dallas Out of the Closet will be the 22nd in the network to have both free HIV testing and a pharmacy.
鈥淥ur pharmacy will have everything from blood pressure meds to diabetes supplies,鈥� Camp says. 鈥淚t won鈥檛 be like any other pharmacy. How many places can you go and look at jeans while you鈥檙e waiting for your medication?鈥�
It鈥檚 an innovative idea, says , a professor of medicine at Stanford University who also serves on the .
A number of organizations, including the CDC and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended universal HIV testing. Of course testing is only the first step, Owens says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important for people to get tested and in a way in that they can get connected to care and treated and counseled about HIV.鈥�
Owens explains treating someone with HIV not only benefits that person, but the rest of the community because the drugs reduce their infectivity.
鈥淪o treatment for HIV not only benefits the person who has HIV but it also provides a very important public health benefit and that鈥檚 important.鈥�
