Miami, FL, October 9, 2002 – REACH
2010 – a community-based coalition led by Florida International
University to reduce HIV in Broward County’s minority communities
– will kick-off its local HIV-prevention public service
announcement (PSA) media campaign this Tuesday, October 15 from
11:00 a.m. until noon at the Broward County Southwest Regional
Library, Room 111, located at 16835 Sheridan St. in Pembroke Pines
(1 mile west of I-75).
The 14 PSAs to be premiered are an essential part of the strategic
communications plan the project is implementing to stop the ongoing
spread of HIV in Broward’s minority communities.
“HIV/AIDS is devastating to Broward’s minority communities
and others in South Florida. These messages were created to remind
us about the continuing spread of HIV disease, and to help us
always keep thoughts of prevention in mind,” says Dr. William
Darrow, the project leader for REACH 2010 and professor of Public
Health at Florida International University (FIU).
The locally produced PSAs will grace South Florida’s TV
screens, radio airwaves and newspapers immediately after their
release. Their purpose is to emphasize that HIV prevention is
everybody’s business.
Many of the PSAs feature local artists advocating HIV prevention
through culturally sensitive messages delivered in the popular
art form of “spoken word” poetry. One PSA portrays
young women discussing how they take responsibility for their
protection. Others dramatize the extent of the HIV-AIDS problem
in minority communities; the choices that can help protect them,
and the wisdom of getting an HIV test.
The PSAs were filmed using hip and trendy themes that match the
lifestyles, beliefs and activities of young to middle-aged adults.
“Coalition partners wanted to make sure that the PSAs would
appeal to those who most needed to hear the messages, and that
young adults would respond appropriately by participating in HIV-prevention
efforts and taking ownership of the local HIV problem,”
said Ula Zucker, REACH communications and media coordinator.
REACH 2010 is a community mobilization project funded by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The goal is to eliminate
disparities in HIV disease among African-American, Hispanic and
Caribbean residents of Broward County who are hit the hardest
by HIV/AIDS. Coalition partners include the Urban League of Broward
County, Hispanic Unity of Florida, Minority Development and Empowerment,
and Florida International University (FIU), which has served as
the central coordinating organization since the Broward coalition
formed in 1999.
For more information about HIV prevention or to join our project’s
community network fighting the spread of HIV, call 1-877-HIV-FREE.
To speak with someone about the REACH 2010 project, call Ula Zucker
at (305) 919-4723 or Julie Snyder, project manager, at (305) 919-4758.
REACH 2010 at Florida International
University (BBC)
3000 NE 151st St. REACH TR #7,Miami, FL 33181
Contact: Ula Françoise Zucker, Media and Communications
Coord.
Telephone: (305)-919-4723 or (954)-261-7477
Email: uzucker@fiu.edu
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