FIU to host National Latino AIDS Awareness Day educational block party Oct. 15

Students are encouraged to participate in the first Paella Block Party, which will take place from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in front of PG5 at MMC. Educational materials on HIV/AIDS prevention and contributing risk factors will be distributed at the event.

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences will host a Paella Block Party designed to raise awareness among FIU students on Friday, Oct. 15, National Latino AIDS Awareness Day.

The event will take place in front of PG5 at Modesto A. Maidique Campus from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Paella Block Party will feature free Spanish-inspired fare, as well as education about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and information on substance abuse and how it can lead to risky sexual practices, games and giveaways.

Rapid HIV testing and counseling will be offered to those interested.

According to FIU nursing professors Sandra Gracia Jones and Katherine Chadwell, co-directors of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSAH) grant supporting next Friday’s “Paella Block Party,” recent statistics on HIV/AIDS contraction in Miami and among the Hispanic community are sobering:

–        The Centers for Disease Control ranks Miami as No. 1 in AIDS cases among U.S. cities.

–        Nearly 1 in every 5 new cases of HIV are contracted by Hispanics.

–        One of the fastest growing HIV/AIDS risk groups is Hispanic women ages 18-25.

“Now more than ever, we have to reach out to Miami’s youth to help them make the right choices and take the right actions to avoid becoming another statistic,” said Jones, a recognized HIV/AIDS nurse researcher and expert who has helmed the national pilot study for the student-led educational intervention project known as SENORITAS (Student Education Needed in Order to Reduce Infection and Transmission of AIDS/HIV and STIs) at FIU since 2003.

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day is a collective movement that focuses on educating and mobilizing Hispanic/Latino communities to increase their knowledge and understanding on the impact of HIV/AIDS. The day’s goal is to draw attention to the importance of testing, education and prevention among community members.

For more information on HIV/AIDS and the Hispanic community, visit www.nlaad.org.