FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Beverly Thames, San Mateo County Health System, (650) 573-3935
San Mateo County Announces National HIV Testing Day Activities
Events in San Mateo to Address the Continuing Crisis of HIV/AIDS in Black Communities
SAN MATEO, Calif. - The San Mateo County Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD)/HIV Program is using National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) as an opportunity to raise awareness about the continuing crisis of HIV/AIDS in the black community. Although census data show that blacks make up only 3.5 percent of San Mateo County's population, they account for 17.4 percent of the 2,148 AIDS cases documented as of December 2007. Nationally, AIDS is the leading cause of death among black women ages of 24 to 34, and the second leading cause of death for black men ages 35 to 44.
To focus attention on the continuing crisis of HIV/AIDS in the African American community, the STD/HIV Program will host a press conference on June 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Center, 725 Monte Diablo Avenue in San Mateo. Key San Mateo County political and government officials, faith-based leaders, community stakeholders, and people living with HIV/AIDS have agreed to have an HIV test administered publicly as a way to reduce stigma associated with knowing one's HIV status and to encourage vulnerable communities to be tested.
The following community leaders have agreed to be tested:
* Heyward Robinson, Ph.D., Mayor of Menlo Park
* David Woods, Vice Mayor of East Palo Alto
* Rev. Mary Frazier, Bread of Life Center, East Palo Alto
* Rev. Andre Harris, Born Again Christian Center, East Palo Alto
* Rev. Albert Macklin, New Sweet Home Church, East Palo Alto
* Rev. Larry Ellis, Pilgrim Baptist Church, San Mateo
* Gloria Brown, African American Community Health Advisory Committee
* Ellen Sweetin, Director of STD/HIV Program, San Mateo County Health System
* Stephen Kaplan, Director of Alcohol and Other Drugs, San Mateo County Health System
Also on display during the press conference will be the photographic exhibit "I am...," featuring residents who are living with and/or affected by HIV/AIDS.
"The silence surrounding this disease is killing us," says David Lewis, a community program specialist and counselor with the STD/HIV program, as well as longtime substance abuse, recovery, and incarceration activist in East Palo Alto. He continues, "It's time for Black America to stand up, accept ownership of this epidemic, and commit ourselves to fight it with every resource we can muster."
NHTD, officially observed on June 27, is a national effort designed to promote HIV testing, encourage communities to know their HIV status, and to get involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In observance of NHTD, the San Mateo County STD/HIV Program will conduct special HIV testing events on June 24 in San Mateo and June 26 in Daly City.
National HIV Testing Day Events in San Mateo County:
Press Conference
Monday, June 22, 2009, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Martin Luther King Center, 725 Monte Diablo Avenue, San Mateo
HIV Testing Events in San Mateo and Daly City
Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Martin Luther King Center, 725 Monte Diablo Avenue, San Mateo
Friday, June 26, 2009, 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.
War Memorial Community Center, 6655 Mission Street, Daly City
For more information about NHTD events, contact Darryl Lampkin, San Mateo County HIV Testing & Outreach Coordinator, at (650) 573-3643 or dlampkin@co.sanmateo.ca.us.
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Attend a special television taping of the Talking with Henrietta show, which will discuss the National HIV Testing Day Events and the incidence of HIV/AIDS in the community. Go here for more details.