HOUSTON— Do you know your status? Well, if you don’t, here’s your chance to find out, courtesy of Houston’s hip hop community.
The National HIV Testing Day HDHHS kicked off its citywide campaign Monday to provide four days of HIV and STD screenings along with basic HIV/STD educational groups for the fifth annual Hip Hop for HIV Awareness Campaign.
The Houston Department of Health and Human Services-Bureau of HIV/STD and Viral Hepatitis Prevention has teamed up with Radio One Inc., KBXX-FM 97.9 The Box, AIDS Foundation Houston, Clear and other community based organizations to bring the free concert to Houston’s youth community as a trade off for “knowing their status.”
HIP HOP for HIV Awareness is an innovative way to take health services to the most impacted communities and to create a safe environment to get information, testing and treatment services for a variety of diseases including HIV, Syphilis, Chlamydia and Gonorrhea.
HIV and Syphilis results will be provided the same day. Chlamydia and Gonorrhea results will be provided a few days later by phone.
This is the country’s largest single testing event of its kind. The main objective of the campaign is to raise community awareness of these very serious infections for so many whom would never access HIV or STD services through traditional means.
Youth and young adults of all racial and ethnic minority backgrounds are impacted by socioeconomic and health disparities that lead to challenges with access to necessary health services. Also, cultural and community fear, stigmas and discrimination around persons infected with HIV prohibit some from seeking information about the facts surrounding these diseases.
In order to get the free concert tickets, participants, ages 15 to 40, must have a valid photo ID (drivers license, state, military or school ID) and get tested for HIV and other STDs at various locations around Houston. They will also be provided education about these diseases with counselors.
For a complete list of testing locations, visit theboxhouston.com.
