Coalition of Latino Aids Service Providers attempt to educate the community

    New estimates identify Latino gay men as moving from the fourth to third most impacted population in new HIV cases. In an effort to educate and reduce the number of infected Latinos, CLASP (Coalition of Latino Aids Service Providers) hosts for the fourth time, a family event for National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD), October 13, 2011.  CLASP will be bringing the message back to the community with this event, which will take place at the Sherman Heights Community Center. It will include free HIV testing; entertainment, food, and testimonials of HIV/AIDS infected and affected individuals.

    NLAAD will kick off the event at 3:00pm with entertainment and free early HIV testing provided by the Health and Human Service branch of the County. This year we are inviting; the event is open to agencies that deal with health disparities other than HIV. We would like to reach out to a broader audience by including booths with information on a variety of health issues facing Latinos today. The event’s main purpose is still geared toward HIV education and screening. According to the CDC’s MMWR, the HIV prevalence rates in Hispanics are 2.6 times the rate for whites (585.3 per 100,000 compared to 224.3 per 100,000), nation wide (Oct. 3, 2008).  NLADD is a family oriented event that strives to fight stigma about HIV in the Latino community, thus lowering HIV prevalence. The event expects partition of over 300 community members.

    CLASP was established in 2001.  The coalition includes membership from UCSD, County of San Diego, Planned Parenthood, Family Health Center and Chicano Federation, just to name few. All agencies actively provide HIV services and prevention to the community. The mission of CLASP is to provide collaborative, comprehensive and culturally sensitive HIV services and prevention strategies and education to folks of all backgrounds, with an emphasis on Latino Populations.