The Holiday Season is upon us with many of us giving special thanks during our Thanksgiving festivities and the frenetic days ahead filled with good cheer and gift giving.
Sunday, December 1st is World AIDS Day and it might be appropriate to pause for a few minutes and remember why this annual commemoration is so important.
In the nearly 33 years since HIV/AIDS first reared its head, more than 25 million people have died. There are an estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS, with more than 50,000 new HIV infections each year.
Every minute six people, ages 14-24 are infected with HIV the virus that causes AIDS. Young adults represent half of the new HIV infections.
New Hampshire is not immune from this insidious disease and in our State, thousands of individuals are infected and affected by the impact of HIV/AIDS including mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, partners, spouses and friends to name but a few.
Susan MacNeil, the Executive Director of AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region (ASMR) joined me at WKXL for "Downtown Dialogues" the other day.
Her agency, like several others scattered around New Hampshire, provide services to countless individuals who must deal daily with the issues associated with HIV/AIDS including the stigma that remains attached.
ASMR like the other organizations, provides testing, educational information and support services and continues, after 25 years, to do this with "Kindness. compassion and love".
During our wide-ranging chat we talked about the perception of HIV/AIDS in the Granite State and advances that have been made. We also discussed the panels from the AIDS Quilt that are currently on display in parts of the state.
For more information about ASMR and the AIDS Quilt and where it can be seen, you can check out the agency's website at:
