December is AIDs Awareness Month
Stop AIDs-Keep the Promise

December is the month we are called to unite in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  According to UNAIDS, close to 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. 

There is some good news.  U.S. deaths due to AIDS are declining.  The bad news is that the spread of AIDS continues. Why?  Public attention has diminished, in part because people infected with the disease are living longer.  Diminished public attention has meant that resources have not kept pace with the increasing number of people living with AIDS; funding is being stretched to serve more people.

Funding for some services, such as outreach and education, has actually decreased.  "Community outreach and education needs to continue," says Patti Capouch, Executive Director of the Frannie Peabody Center, an HIV/AIDS service organization located in Portland, ME.  "To stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, the public can't forget about this issue. It needs to be on people's radar screen. It's relevant."  In Maine, about 1,200 individuals currently live with HIV/AIDS and between 40 and 50 new cases are reported each year

Visits HUD's website to learn more about the HOPWA Program.