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Faculty members at the University of
Rhode Island are helping people learn their HIV status and preventing them from
transmitting the disease. In honor of World AIDS Day, December 1, Annie Kosar,
coordinator of the LGBTQ Programs and Services at the LGBTQ Center, and her
team gave free HIV testing at the Center.
Also, confidential testing will
continue in Room 111 of Adams Hall from 3–5 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each
month to raise awareness of AIDS on campus and provide testing for any student
who wants it.
AIDS Project Rhode Island and Naomi
Thompson—chief diversity officer and vice president of community, equity, and
diversity at the university—were present at the opening of the event. In her
address, Thompson—who oversees the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal
Opportunity, the Multicultural Center, the Women’s Center, and the LGBTQ
Center—said that she hoped to spread awareness and create a more welcoming and
inclusive environment where people appreciate and understand differences.
AIDS Project Rhode Island provided
facts and statistics about unprotected sex and the rates of sexual intercourse
involving adolescents in the state. The presenters said Rhode Island ranks
first among the six New England states in teen birth rates among 15 and 19 year-olds.
Approximately 29 births out of 1,000 in the state are in this age group, making
the state second to Maine, which has 26 births per 1,000.
Statistics show that among
communities of color and injecting drug users, the rate of HIV infection has
decreased 66 percent and 89 percent respectively, but has increased 100 percent
among gay and bisexual men. Also, Massachusetts has experienced a 48 percent
decrease in new HIV infections since 2000, dropping from 1,192 to 622 per year,
while Rhode Island has had a 16 percent decrease in the same time period,
remaining at about the same level of 126 to 106.
Thompson announced that $1.5 million
has been dedicated to the construction of a free-standing LGBTQ Center and
praised the levels of commitment of the president, the university leadership,
and the provost. The event organizers urged individuals who think they may be
infected to get tested so that they can begin treatment.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
