Aids Awareness 5K coming to Florala
Published 12:00 am Saturday, August 17, 2019
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Intersectional Hope has teamed up with AIDS Alabama to help brings AIDS awareness to south Alabama in the form of a 5K Walk/Run.
“This is something that has never been done around here,” Robyn Burnett said. “People with HIV are often stigmatized, oppressed or marginalized. We want to get rid of that stigma and educate people on HIV.”
The event will be held at Florala City Park on Oct. 12.
There is a $25 registration fee, which includes a free T-shirt. Registration is available at http://runsignup.com/Race/AL/Florala/ihope.
AIDS Alabama will also be on hand at the race to provide free HIV testing.
“We know that will the race, we are going to get predominantly Caucasian females to participate,” Burnett said. “After the race, we will have an awards banquet and an awareness seminar. Following that, we will hold a block party in the predominantly African-American and lower income neighborhood of Martin Luther King Street. The mobile testing unit will also be there. We are hoping that if they see one person get tested, they be more open to get tested themselves. If anyone test positive, it will be confidential. We will also help them get the medication they need if they can’t afford it. Even if they don’t test positive, we can still help them with prevention. We can get them Truvada, which helps reduce the risk of getting HIV. If we can get people, to take this and use methods of protection, we can eradicate this disease.”