Eugene (KMTR) - A local health resource center is reaching out to a group which is at high-risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. Outreach coordinators are calling their latest move “groundbreaking.”
According to the HIV Alliance of Lane County, even though blacks make up only 13% the U.S. population, they account for about half of the people who live with HIV/AIDS. Black women between the ages of 15 and 27 are the group which shows the fastest-growing number of new infections.
Tuesday, February 8, is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. HIV Alliance is teaming up with the Black Student Union at the University of Oregon to reach out to as many people of color as possible on that day, offering HIV tests. The tests are free and results come back in 20 minutes.
Tony Fuller of HIV Alliance says this is the first time the agency has really started focusing on communities of color, so it is a significant event for them.
“To be honest with you, it’s groundbreaking. It's an opportunity. It's the first time we've ever done this and its something that we hope to continue annually,” Fuller said.
The Black Student Union and HIV Allinance are offering free testing to people of color at the University of Oregon on Tuesday, February 9. The event runs from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at the Multicultural Center in the EMU. Due to the limited number of test providers, testing will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.
The rapid test kits for Tuesday’s free testing outreach day were donated by the makers of the OraQuick Rapid HIV Test.
