Taxi Drivers

Back in May facilitators from the Red Cross came to Santa Barbara and gave a workshop on Stigma & Discrimination related to HIV. The idea was that those that received the workshop would then train taxi drivers to talk to their passengers about HIV and give them pamphlets about HIV to put in their car and a cassette about HIV to play (there’s that whole training of trainers concept again). Well, just like CPTRT they used a power point and expected the taxi drivers to come to meetings and sit for a few hours and listen to a power point presentation. After the workshop we met with the taxi drivers to see if they were interested and of course they were (they always are in the beginning). Then we planned some meetings and a few people came the first time and then the numbers continued to dwindle. Finally we decided that if they wouldn’t come to us we would go to them. Since then one of the other members of the HIV Network and I have been going to the taxi stops a few times a week and just chatting with the taxi drivers while they wait for their next passenger and it has worked incredibly well. We are using some of the materials from the “Here Among Us…” manual and gee whiz, they work a lot better than a power point presentation. So far we have gone five times and talked to over 20 taxi drivers. Now that they know us and are interested they are suggesting we have a real meeting with everybody there (go figure). This more than anything makes me feel like a real volunteer, just sitting on the curb talking to taxi drivers in their element and answering the questions that they have. At first I was a little nervous, but they are really nice and most of them are pretty interested. Now when I walk through the streets all the taxi drivers say hello to me (which is much better than them giving me cat calls).