We Need YOUR Support!!!!

One of our local HIV/AIDS support groups, Positives Empowering Positives (PEP), will be hosting their annual end of the year World AIDS banquet. During this fun-filled event we take a moment to distribute a creatively designed box full of goodies to the guests who are living with HIV/AIDS. We include items in the box that will help these individuals on every level, empowering them from the inside out. This year we are asking for everyone's support with a contribution of any of the following items:

Shoe Boxes
Lotion
Sanitary pads
Nail polish and remover
Gift cards for food
tooth paste & brushes
soap/shower gel
deodorant
dishing washing liquid
mouth wash
small inspirational books
journal
nail clippers
socks
shaving cream
shampoo
hand sanitizers

Please feel free to comment below and let us know if you would like to support our efforts! Thank you in advance.

April is STD Awareness Month. Do You Have a Burning Sexual Health Question??? TEXT US!

Did you know that "1 in 2 people who are sexually active will get a sexually transmitted disease (STD) by the time they are 25"? Everyday in April we will post a NEW STD fact to keep you informed of some of the issues that can result from not taking control of your sexual health. So if you take a look to the right side of this blog, you will notice Today's STD Fact. Does this Fact pertain to you? A friend? or A loved one? Well help us spread the message by updating your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc with our daily STD facts. That's our challenge to you....will you be an advocate?

We are well into STD Awareness Month and in order to bring attention to the community about safe sex we will be holding a couple of tabling events in which we encourage you all to stop by.

• April 12th - Library Partnership from 2-5 pm (1130 NE 16th Ave)
• April 17th  & April 30th - Walgreens from 2-5 (The intersection of Waldo Road and University Ave, 1120 E University Ave)

If you or anyone you know has a questions about sex, sexual transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS feel free to send an a text to 352-316-4023 and you will get a response immediately. If it is something you were always curious to have answered and never knew who to ask or were to shy to address, this is your chance. This texting campaign has been in full effect since 2010 and people have sent in an array of questions  that we're not reluctant to answer. Take a look at a few of the questions we have received over the years exactly how they were texted:

1. Is there somewhere to get immediate STD testing?
2. Me and my boyfriend broke up and I told him I did not want to get back together with him. He then told me infected with me with AIDS, what do I do and I might be pregnant.
3. Where can I buy the vibrating condom? 
4. How does a prince charles piercing affect condom use?
5. Can a guy get HIV/AIDS by receiving oral sex?
6. Can you get a disease if someone fingers you?
7. Why do bodily fluids have a taste…when my boyfriend performs oral sex on me he says it has a taste he doesn’t like..i drink plenty of water, I have even tasted it myself, I do not know what is the cause.
8. I have a problem, is a person had sex and there were more people involved and one did not use a condom, can I have an std? I was involved in a foursome and 1 person pulled out and did not use a condom on me.

Now wouldn't you like to know the answers to these questions? Well text a question of your own and you will get a response immediately. If you find that condoms are too expensive, we can mail you condoms for free by simply sending an email to Teresa_White2@doh.state.fl.us.

Your sexual health is not something to take for granted. If you have worries text in a question and if you need condoms send an email. There is no excuse! STD Awareness Month is in full effect....use your resources! Be sure to visit www.313HIV.com for more information.  

The Birth of a New Beginning?

Earlier this week, doctors at the University of Mississippi center were shocked to find that a baby they treated 18 months prior with aggressive anti-viral drugs, tested negative for HIV.      

Initially, the mother of the baby was unaware that she was HIV positive at the time of her pregnancy; therefore doctors had not been treating her baby during the pregnancy to reduce mother to baby HIV transmission. Thirty hours after the baby's birth, doctors administered the antiviral medications and within a month the baby had no detectable signs of HIV. Over time, the mother began missing doctor's appointments and when she return with the 18 month baby, doctors were surprised to find that the virus had not spread. 

Such findings bring new hope and optimism to the way we see the future of HIV. This opens new doors and paths for researchers in understanding how to combat the virus. Though this isn't a cure for HIV, it is a stepping stoning towards it. The article, A baby now free of HIV has doctors talking about 'cure', accompanied by the quick NBC newscast, goes into further details about the recent development. Also, the following video sums up the story and simplifies the complexity of these findings. 

Doctors Cure Baby of HIV

by DNewsChannel

HIV...It Takes a Community!

The Minority AIDS program is made up of the dedicated volunteers in the Gainesville community who  are certified to provide free HIV and STD testing, put together HIV forums and seminars, and provide pertinent HIV/AIDS information to the array of people that make up the community. With an ever changing society, we strive to come up with innovate ideas to continuously target and update the community on our events and the resources we have to offer. 

HIV is more than just a virus, but a state of mind, as it takes everyone's commitment to help support this movement and invoke change in the HIV/AIDS community. The preconceived notions and stigma associated with those infected with HIV is killing faster than the virus itself. 

As volunteers, we put much of our efforts into mobilizing our community through education, testing, and preventative measures. As individuals, we all have our own personal reasons to why we dedicate so much of our time and energy into the work that we do. However, we can all say that we share the same goal and passion in trying to prevent and control the spread of HIV.

HIV is preventable and it is with the help of every individual we can fade the scars of the infected and mend the hearts of the affected. We found our call to action, will you? Follow the Minority AIDS volunteers on our journey to not only change HIV/AIDS, but to change you!