Personal Reflection Paper

Tatiana Canettieri
HLTH 1110-001
Tricia Bishop
April, 20th 2016
Sexual Minority
This Social Health and Diversity class encouraged me to have a different
perspective of the world and a different view of social issues. Before, I would feel
overwhelmed of the injustice around me and I didn't know where to start in order to
make changes. And I also felt that I had no power to make changes on such relevant
issues. The improvement of my perspective happened because I was able to
understand that changes are a combination of a few things. The first one is making
yourself knowledgeable about the issue. Next, you must consider yourself an ally to
then connect with the minority group. Finally, you must use your voice and your actions
on your day by day life as a tool to make continuous change.
The social issue that I chose to work with during this semester is sexual minority
as it has, for many years, been a controversial subject where I am currently living, Utah;
for many reasons, but mainly because of the strong religious culture. I feel very
passionate and empowered about helping people to open their minds and hearts to
respect what is not part of their personal norms. And I feel that, as an ally, I can help to
create a strong community sense in Utah, by helping to connect people for what they
have in common, other than disconnecting people for their differences.
Besides taking actions on my daily routine, I though it was really important that
this class required a community learning, because I believe experiences bring an

effective change within us. My volunteering experience was through the Utah Aids
Foundation. Upon researching about the correlation between Aids and sexual minority
groups, I found how the consequences of being a part of a minority group affect in many
areas of their lives. The discrimination towards the LGBTQ community puts them into a
higher risk of HIV infection. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
calculated approximately 50,000 new HIV infections every year in the U.S., which
among them 63% accounts for gay and bisexual men. Organizations like the Utah Aids
Foundation help to educate and to promote services to sexual minority groups aiming to
prevent HIV infection and to empower people that are living with HIV/AIDS.
The amazing experience started with the orientation, where all the volunteers
gathered to learn a little more about the organization. There were so many of us that the
room was filled. It was incredible to feel the energy of all of those people willing to give
their time to such a great cause. Combining my schedule availability and my skills, I
decided to volunteer for the Food Bank; the organization provides a food pantry that
helps to off-set the financial burden that comes with additional health care expenses.
I stocked the items onto the shelves, unloaded food trucks, checked in people to food
pantry, bagged the groceries, and cleaned the place. In the beginning, I was worried
that I felt that I had no skills that would truly make a difference in peoples lives, but what
I really learned is that there was much more about the food bank than I was expecting.
The interaction with them was what I think really made the difference, I realized that
they were not just there for the food, but also for the talk, they would come back every
week with a new story to tell about their lives, and they were eager to share it with us.
The Utah Aids Foundation partnered up with many other organizations, so for example,

The Utah Food Bank would come to deliver produce, meat, bread, canned food, and
many other items. Also, we would receive help from boys and girls that were sent by a
judge to complete volunteer hours because of bad behavior. Even though I don't
necessarily agree with the juvenile system in the United States, I was given a chance to
interact with these kids and possibly be the ear, the smile, the non judgement interaction
that they needed at the moment.
Being part of this volunteering allowed me to see that we must view people as a
whole, other than defining people for their sexual orientation or gender identity.
For instance, it really helped me to not automatically assign people to boxes, and they
approached the counter to check in, but, instead, to treat and respect them as
individuals, before any pre-concepts could come to mind. Whenever I am able to do
that, at the Utah Aids Foundation, or in any interaction in my life, I find more possibilities
to connect with people, and with myself. By doing that, I have found myself much lighter
and not only inspired, but also supported by others.