TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa organizations are giving away free resources and kits to residents on Dec. 1 for World AIDS Day.
HIV/AIDS began as an epidemic in 1981 after five cases were first reported in Los Angeles, CA. The virus previously known as GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) perpetuated attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.
In 1982, the name AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was officially adopted as the virus is not limited to only the LGBTQ+ community.
World AIDS Day is meant to raise awareness, celebrate progress, and break the stigma around HIV/AIDS testing.
Local leaders said it’s also a somber celebration of the lives lost to the virus since the 1980s.
Executive Director of Oklahomans for Equality Dorothy Ballard told 2 News AIDS treatments are expanding and creating better outcomes.
"We are not looking at quote-on-quote a death sentence. We are looking at you living with a condition that can be sustained and where you can thrive,” said Ballard.
A lot changed in the last 40 years since the start of the aids epidemic.
“What we have come to understand about HIV/AIDS is the longer-term impacts. So, what it does to a person in the totality of health, which is happily very positive now, outcomes are wonderful. It’s not what it was perceived to be before," said Ballard.
People living with the virus live longer, happier lives than they did in the 1980s. But Ballard said the road to today wasn’t easy.
“We also don’t want people to lose just how deeply impacted our community and the world was by the advent of HIV/AIDS. When that came onto the scene, it was so deeply changing on every level, and it also increased the amount of social stigmas that we faced," Ballard said.
On World AIDS Day, she wants people to remember that hard road. She shared her thoughts on why the history is important.
"So understanding the history of that and where people are coming from that and why those efforts are still so important today. It's kind of where we try to make our approach on World AIDS Day,” said Ballard.
Along with the variety of services the Equality Center provides, they partner with Health Outreach Prevention Education, better known to the community as HOPE. HOPE provides free prevention and testing resources to the community.
Jeremy Simmons with HOPE said testing is important to detect the virus so people can receive proper treatment quickly.
"While testing has gotten more common, it has less stigma, and it is more commonly accessed, there is still about 1 in 5 people who have HIV who don’t know they have it. So we have to really keep pushing that drive for people who need to keep coming to get tested so that we can have the best outcomes," said Simmons.
Founded in the 1990s, HOPE expanded its mission to offer more to the Tulsa community.
People are welcome to come to their facility to access a vending machine that dispenses Narcan and HIV testing kits or get treated by one of their trained professionals while learning about treatment options and stopping the spread.
Organizations like HOPE and the Equality Center use informational pamphlets to help educate the Tulsa community.
Simmons told 2 News that 20% of HIV-positive people in Oklahoma are under the age of 24. The rural communities see most cases.
“Oklahoma is one of 7 states that has a much larger impact of rural HIV. This is one of the downsides we have really tried to hit with our education. People sometimes think Oklahoma isn’t impacted, but we have a much higher rate of overdose deaths for example, and things like that. So it's like, no, people here are having sex and using injection drugs just like everywhere, and we are not immune to that,” Simmons said.
On Dec. 1, HOPE's mobile units are going around Tulsa to hand out free testing kits and resources.
HOPE mobile units locations Dec. 1:
- Friday, Tulsa Eagle 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Friday, Cruise-N Club 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
You can also pick up kits at HOPE's headquarters at 3354 E. 51st St. or find one of their vending machines.
Vending machines:
- Club Majestic: 124 N Boston Ave
- Oklahoma State University, Colvin Recreation Center, 101 Colvin Ctr
For more information on specific testing and services, visit hopetesting.org.
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