KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar BluffRaising awareness about HIV and AIDS

Raising awareness about HIV and AIDS

By Arnold Wyrick - bio | email

CARBONDALE, Il (KFVS) -World AIDS Day brings awareness of the disease and how to prevent it's spread.

On the first day of December health officials from across Southern Illinois teamed up on the SIU campus to provide free HIV screenings and counseling.

"Awareness is probably the most important thing we as educators and counselors are trying to get at, to try to reduce the numbers of new HIV cases," said Christy Hamilton a wellness coordinator at SIU's Student Health Center.

"We're doing this because the Centers for Disease Control tells us the number of cases are on the rise."

And getting tested is the only way to know if you do, or do not have HIV.

Along with the free screenings people could see firsthand the cost in human lives from the disease.  The AIDS quilts hanging in Student Ballroom D at the SIU Student Center represent all of the people in Southern Illinois who have died from AIDS.

"I remember being an undergrad and not having a care in the world and so now realizing this is real, this is a reality this can happen to everybody. These quilts are a representation of that," said Nicole Woods assistant coach for the SIU Women's team.

"With an estimated 350,000 people living in the United States with HIV and they don't even know it, it's even more important that everyone get tested annually. Just to be sure of whether or not you've been infected," Hamilton said.

The free HIV screenings take place Wednesday and Thursday from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

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