Please join the Utah Pride Center's HIV Prevention Team for the following events to commemorate Worlds AIDS Day on December 1st.
No One's Stigma: A night of Spoken Word
The Utah Pride Center's HIV Prevention Team, Sugarhouse Coffee and Planned Parenthood of Utah Teen Council present a World AIDS Day Open Mic to fight back against stigma and empower our community through creative expression. Are you a bad ass MC? Do you have a story to tell? Are you over HIV/AIDS stigma? We need every voice we can get to speak out against stigma. The work doesn't end at World AIDS Day, but this is a powerful opportunity to engage in a movement that impacts ALL OF US. After we are done ripping the stage, we will come together for a candlelight vigil to honor those we have lost. If you are interested in performing, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or via Facebook.
When: December 1st from 6:30 - 9:00 PM
Where: Sugarhouse Coffee, 1100 East 2100 South, Salt Lake City
Free HIV Testing!
In addition to the regular weekly HIV Testing, the Prevention Team and the Utah Department of Health will be hosting free HIV testing at Westminster College.
When: November 29th from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Where: Westminster College, SHAW Building (Cafeteria), 1804 South 1300 East
For the regular HIV Testing days and times, check out our calendar.
Film Screening & Panel Discussion, Longtime Companion
In honor of World AIDS Day, please join the Salt Lake Public Library, Salt Lake Valley Health Department, and the Utah Pride Center for a balloon release to acknowledge those infected with HIV and to make a pledge to protect one's own health. This will be followed by a screening of the film, Longtime Companion, followed by a panel discussion. For more information, check out the Facebook event.
When: Friday, December 2nd from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Where: Salt Lake City Public Library, 200 East 400 South
From IMDB: "Perhaps the first filme to put a human face on the AIDS epidemic, Longtime Companion follows the lives of a small circle of friends from the first mention of the disease in the New York Times in 1981. First referred to as "Gay-Related-Immune-Disorder," we watch the effect of the disease as it devestates the lives of our protagonists. Jumping between Manhattan and Fire Island, vignettes carry us from the it-couldn't-happen-to-me mentality of the early days of the disease to the invasive effect it has had on all of our lives, today. The title of the film comes from the New York Times' refusal to acknowledge same-sex relationships in their obituary section during this period. Instead, survivors were referred to as 'Longtime Companions' of the deceased."
In addition to the events listed above, Utah State University's Center for Women and Gender is hosting numerous events surrounding The AIDS Memorial Quilt by the NAMES Project Foundation. Download the poster for these events here.
One in five gay men in the United States has HIV, and almost half of those who carry the virus are unaware that they are infected, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.
The study tested more than 8,000 men in 21 cities in 2008, making it the most comprehensive such research by the CDC. It found that young, sexually active gay men and those in minority groups are least likely to know their health status, even as infection rates are climbing among men who have sex with men, while the rates of other at-risk groups - heterosexuals and intravenous drug users - are falling.
The findings were released Thursday, ahead of National Gay Men's HIV Awareness Day on Monday.
A CDC official called for a sharper focus on testing. "This study's message is clear: HIV exacts a devastating toll on men who have sex with men in America's major cities, and yet far too many of those who are infected don't know it," said Kevin Fenton, director of the agency's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention.
