Local outreach group sponsors HIV awareness event

ATLANTA - Atlanta has some of the highest HIV infection rates in the nation. The city ranked third in new cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. In honor of National HIV Testing Day, a local outreach group sponsored a program on Saturday to help educate people on awareness and prevention.
          
A Vision 4 Hope held Unity Fest at Best Friends Restaurant and Lounge on Godby Road in College Park to raise awareness and help reduce the disproportionate impact of the potentially deadly disease on communities of color.

"We’re using Unity Fest as a party with a purpose but also to educate the community on what sexual health and prevention looks like," said Dewayne Crowder, Executive Director of A Vision 4 Hope.

The event ran from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and featured fun things to do like a bounce house, skating, food and music, along with educational services and free preventative health services like STI testing, monkeypox vaccines and more. They also gave out free condoms.

HIV and AIDS has hit the Black community much harder than other ethnic groups.

Emory University and Gilead Sciences, Inc. put out a recent study. The rate of Black men with HIV is more than six times the rate for white men in Atlanta. Among Black women, it's nearly 17 times the rate of white women.

"It’s not just an LGBT thing, it includes everybody," said Cedrick Harris, the group’s outreach strategy specialist. "Everyone needs to be educated on their sexual health. Your sexual health is part of your overall health, and you want to take care of that," Harris said.