Get Educated
Strigma and Ignorance still an issue today
It's been exactly thirty years since AIDS was first recognized in the United States. Since then, more than half a million people have died from the disease in this country alone, and more than a million Americans are currently living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
In the early days of the epidemic, little was known about what caused the illness or how it was transmitted, and rumors soon circulated that it could be spread by sneezing, a handshake, kissing or even sharing utensils. Growing public fear led some to call for a quarantine of those diagnosed with the disease. And in 1985, a 13-year-old boy named Ryan White, who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion, made headlines when he was banned from attending school. It was just one of many instances of people living with AIDS being stigmatized and ostracized. Three decades later, ABC News wanted to see if people still misunderstood the disease. Would they feel uneasy if they were near an individual whom they knew was carrying the AIDS virus? Watch the video below and draw your own conclusion.
Excerpts from ABC's What Would You Do?
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Community Awareness
The AIDS Fund offers free educational programs to community groups, schools, churches and businesses.
RAYN
Reaching Area Youth Now, (RAYN) is an empowerment program for gay, bisexual, and questioning youth, (males ages 13-26) that provides fun social events, support networks and sesions on relationships and safe sex.
SAYES
Serving Area Youth through Education & Support, (SAYES) is an empowerment program for children infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS. SAYES provides various opportunities for youth through field trips, recreational activities, nurturing, tutoring and mentoring. TACT partners with volunteers to offer these children alternatives different than what they may have been born into; giving them the tools necessary to break the cycle of HIV and poverty.
The AIDS Fund provides HIV education and risk reduction programs to the general public with an emphasis on individuals at high risk for HIV and STD's.
Street Outreach
Aimed at reaching adults who are at high risk for contracting HIV. These programs provide street outreach to substance abusers and people who exchange sex for money or drugs. As part of these interventions, The AIDS Fund provides intensive outreach, education and support to individuals and their families.
