AIDS Project RI Offers Special Hours for Free Testing
Saturday, October 15th is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, and AIDS Project RI will be hosting a special walk-in testing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its office at 9 Pleasant Street, Providence, RI (For those using a GPS to find the location, the zip code is 02906.) No appointment is needed.
There will be fast, free anonymous and rapid HIV, hepatitis C, and syphilis testing available. Testing will be provided in Spanish as needed and test counselors will be on hand. More information about testing is available by calling (401) 831-5522 ext. 3824 or emailing takecharge@aidsprojectri.org. Also at www.aidsprojectri.org.
Did you know?
- HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) without treatment can lead to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Treatment for AIDS has improved greatly over the years and people with AIDS, with appropriate care, can expect to live a long healthy life. While this information is generally known, AIDS Project RI outreach staff have found that younger people often don’t understand the connection between HIV and AIDS.
- The RI Department of Health reports, in a 2015 “Minority Health Facts Hispanics/Latinos” information sheet, the “HIV rate is approximately two times higher for Hispanics/Latinos than for the state as a whole and about four times higher than the white population.”
- Earlier this year, the federal Centers for Disease Control reported that one in four Latino men in the United States who have sex with men will be HIV+ in their lifetime.
AIDS Project RI offers weekly walk-in testing hours on Tuesdays from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. and Thursdays from 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. or by individual appointment. More information is available at www.aidsprojectri.org. For important LGBTQ Latino resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention click here.
[From a News Release]
