Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey counties will join the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women's Health, in taking action against HIV/AIDS.
On March 10, National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day will be recognized with posters, brochures, and other information about free area resources related to HIV and AIDS testing and prevention will be available during Healthy Communities Coalition’s regular March public meeting.
Christy McGill, executive director of Healthy Communities Coalition, explained, “We wanted to take action against HIV/AIDS by sharing information about the free resources for prevention and testing in our region. More and more women have become infected with HIV since it was first reported in the early 1980s. Today, about one in four Americans living with HIV are women.”
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) is a nationwide observance to raise awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls and encourage them to get tested. It’s also aimed at empowering communities and organizations to take action in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS Testing Group Featured at April 14 Coalition Meeting: In addition to the March 10 distribution of resource information, Healthy Communities Coalition’s public meeting on April 14 will feature speakers from Northern Nevada HOPES, which offers confidential, extensive Counseling and Testing Services for any individual who feels they might be at risk for having HIV.
HOPES offers a rapid HIV blood test that provides results within 15 minutes, and a needle-free test mouth swab test (results are available in a week).
For more information on National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and how you can take action, click here.
To find county and state data about HIV/AIDS, go here.
Healthy Communities Coalition convenes on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 9 a.m. at the Silver Springs Community Center to work together on issues of regional importance for promoting wellness and preventing suicide, violence, and alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse. To learn more about Healthy Communities Coalition, please call (775) 246-7550 or visit www.healthycomm.org or www.facebook.com/healthycommunitiescoalition.