http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/aidsprojec_6188.mp3
Many girls and women don’t consider themselves at risk for HIV/AIDS. But a local event tonight hopes to show that they are also vulnerable to the disease. KSMU’s Chasity Mayes reports.
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a nationwide initiative to raise awareness of the increasing impact the disease can have on the female population. AIDS Project of the Ozarks, or APO in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is hosting an event to provide information specifically for women and girls.
Danica Wilson is the coordinator of the event. She says tonight’s event will include music, and that she hopes it will bring awareness to the community.
“The awareness needs to happen. I still feel like in talking to people in prevention activities and outreach events that there are still far to many people who are under a mistaken impression about who is at risk for HIV, and that certainly includes our female population,” says Wilson.
Wilson also says the best way for the community to get involved is by volunteering their time for events like the one they are having this evening.
The event will offer information about testing sites for HIV and empower women to make healthy choices for themselves through education. According to APO, Every 35 minutes a woman in the U.S. tests positive for HIV. APO is hoping to stop fear in the community by spreading the word, not the disease.
Tonight’s event will begin at 7pm at 303 Park Central West in downtown Springfield.
For KSMU News, I’m Chasity Mayes.