Cascade AIDS Project Celebrates National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), Cascade Aids Project (CAP) will host its third Annual NBHAAD celebration on from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Feb 11 at the Boys & Girls Club located at 454 SE 165th Avenue in Portland.

This year’s event will feature a three-on-three basketball tournament with prizes, including three $2,000 scholarships for the winning team members. Additional activities will include free haircuts, face painting, hand/foot massages, family friendly activities, free food, blood pressure screens courtesy of Concordia University, blood glucose screens courtesy of Outside In, free dental care courtesy of OHSU, and for the first time ever we will attempt to administer 100 free rapid 1-minute HIV screenings courtesy of Cascade AIDS Project.

Founded in 1999 as a national response to the growing HIV and AIDS epidemic in African American communities, the NBHAAD initiative leverages a national platform to educate, bring awareness, and mobilize the Black and diaspora communities. The focus of NBHAAD is to educate members of the Black and diaspora communities about the basics of HIV and AIDS. NBHAAD has four key focus areas which encourage people to:

• Get Educated about HIV and AIDS;
• Get Involved in community prevention efforts;
• Get Tested to know their status; and
• Get Treated to receive the continuum of care needed to live with HIV/AIDS.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the Black and Diaspora communities have the most severe burden of HIV of all racial/ethnic groups in the United States. These communities face a higher rate of poverty than other racial/ethnic groups that results in decreased access to high-quality health care, housing, and HIV prevention education—directly and indirectly increasing the risk for HIV infection and affecting the health of people living with and at risk for HIV. 

More information can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1689295591141015/.