Southern AIDS Living Quilt Project Launch to Break Down Barriers

NEW ORLEANS, Oct 16, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Web-based project educates and empowers through personal stories of Louisiana women and others across the South

Seventy percent of people living with AIDS in Louisiana are minorities, with AIDS being the leading cause of death for African American women ages 25-34 today. On Wednesday, October 22, The Southern AIDS Coalition (SAC) and Test for Life will launch the Southern AIDS Living Quilt ( www.livingquilt.org), a website featuring real-life video stories from southern women on the frontlines of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Living Quilt project brings to life the impact of HIV/AIDS in the South, highlighting the disproportionate impact on women, particularly women of color, and providing critical information about routine testing and prevention services and the importance of early diagnosis.

Southern AIDS Coalition and Test for Life host:

National Launch of the Southern AIDS Living Quilt

Wednesday, October, 22, 2008

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CT

The Collins C. Diboll Gallery, Tulane University School of Public Health

1440 Canal Street

New Orleans, LA

Event Overview: Introduction, launch and demonstration of the Living Quilt website featuring a panel discussion with Living Quilt participants (including women from Louisiana) and leading state and regional HIV/AIDS policy experts. Speakers will address the changing face of HIV/AIDS, its devastating impact on minorities and what can be done to combat the spread of the disease.

Confirmed Participants:

Evelyn Foust, SAC Co-Chair, HIV/STD Director, NC Department of Health & Human Services

Beth Scalco, Director of HIV/AIDS Program, Louisiana Office of Public Health

Bambi Gaddist, Executive Director, South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council

Rebecca A. Clark, M.D., Director, Maternal/Child HIV Outpatient Program, Medical Center of Louisiana

Noel Twilbeck, Executive Director, NO/AIDS Task Force

Louisiana Living Quilt participants

To RSVP or to ask questions, please e-mail info@livingquilt.org or call 1-800-461-6946.

About the Southern AIDS Coalition

The Southern AIDS Coalition was formed in 2001 as a membership organization of government representatives, corporations, and community advocates. This unique partnership is borne from the burgeoning numbers of people in the South whose new infection rates are much higher than the rest of the U.S. population. SAC highlights that federal funds do not meet the needs of those living with HIV in the South and are not equally distributed across the country. SAC works to provide southern citizens an opportunity for adequate HIV/AIDS prevention information, treatment, and health care. SAC is a federally recognized 501(c)3.

SOURCE Southern AIDS Coalition

 http://www.livingquilt.org/

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