When Pete Williams found out he might have HIV, he had no idea where or who to turn to.

Williams, a non-student who was new to the Carbondale area, said the days he thought he was possibly infected with the virus were some of the scariest of his life – until he found himself at the Longbranch Coffee House.

The caf’eacute; has been partnering with the Jackson County Health Department for more than five years to provide free and anonymous HIV testing for those who may be concerned. Along with the Newman Catholic Student Center and the Student Health Center, these are the only places in Carbondale to go for free testing.

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“People just find themselves in these situations, I never expected to find myself in this situation,” Williams said. “Honestly, I didn’t know where to go, students know to go to the health center, but what if you’re not a student?”

The tests are available at the Newman Center on the first and third Thursdays of every month while Longbranch takes the second and fourth Thursdays.

Williams said it was initially hard for him to believe he might be infected and had difficulty finding a place where he could get tested on his limited budget.

“I didn’t eat anything for three days, it was the most scared I’ve ever been about anything,” Williams said. “No matter what you do, it’s like this ticking clock in the back of your mind.”

“Chris,” a made up name used by an assortment of counselors working the clinic, greets people willing to be tested. Using the fake name allows for anonymity because some of the counselors themselves are HIV-positive.

Steve St. Julian, coordinator for HIV prevention, treatment adherence and outreach at the Southern Illinois Health Consortium, administers the HIV tests at Longbranch and the Newman Center.

St. Julian said the Newman Center and Longbranch were chosen for their relaxed atmosphere and locations. The atmosphere also helped to open people’s minds about some HIV stereotypes, he said.

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“We wanted to present it as normal of a risk as possible,” St. Julian said. “We really wanted to push that the people who are most at risk are the hetero population, and among the hetero population, the most at risk are young women.”

The testing could take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. Results are usually ready within a week and can be obtained at the Jackson County Health Department office, located on Route 13 between Carbondale and Murphysboro.

Should a patient test positive, the JCHD provides a caseworker when the results are given to immediately guide the patient into care.

People with HIV are eligible for assistance from the Illinois AIDS Drug Assistance Program and some qualify to receive rent assistance and discounts on prescriptions.

St. Julian said about 25 percent of patients are regular customers, with about 50 percent having had some sort of HIV test before. St. Julian said these regular tests are what the Jackson County Health Department wants to promote the most.

“Some people come in because they’ve just recently had some risky behavior, and they’re just trying to get it off their mind, and some people come in every six months, like clockwork,” Julian said. “That’s exactly what we want.”

Daily Egyptian writer David Lopez can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 273 or at [email protected].