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| http://www.nationalblackaidsday.org |
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black people account for 44% of the new infections. As a way to educate blacks about
the disease and promote testing, the nation recognized the annual Black HIV/AIDS Awareness
Day on February 7. Community organizations and groups gathered to share
information with the community about the disease, the importance of early
testing and safe sex practices.
In Rock Hill, Catawba Care hosted an annual
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day event in observation of the national
initiative to encourage Blacks to “get educated, get tested, get involved, and
get treated” (CatawbaCare.org). This year’s free event featured food, door
prizes, entertainment, health screenings and HIV testing for the Rock Hill and
surrounding area communities.
Catawba Care serves a little over 500 patients, the
executive director Anita Case, LMSW said.
Case explained the importance to get tested regularly.
The earlier individuals are tested, the more likely they are
to live a healthy life, she said.
The event featured various community organizations who
shared educational information to the attendees. One of the organizations attending
the event was StatusBoiz, in collaboration with StatusGurlz, is an organization
that provides “HIV prevention and education program in North and South Carolina
for Black men and Transgender Women.” The organization’s goal is “to work
together to find effective ways to HIV prevention” (StatusBoiz.com).
The project director Darrin Johnson said their main purpose
is to reduce the infection rates in the community. This is similar to Catawba
Care’s purpose, who the organization has partnered with in the past.
Back in July, Always PHREA featured Catawba Care Prevention
Specialist Alton Murray, who is one of the planners of the program, held last
Saturday.
Murray explained during his PHREAdom Leader interview that the
reality is people are having sex which makes safe sex education necessary.
Therefore, it is important to reach out into the community and educate black
people.
For more information about Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day or
Catawba Care, please visit http://nationalblackaidsday.org and http://www.catawbacare.org.
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| Always PHREA founder Crystal Starkes, left, with her soror supporting the event. Sigma Gamma Rho has a national HIV/AIDS initiative called A3 for Life. |
