WHAT: Congressional and Latino community leaders announce preparations for National Latino AIDS Awareness Day in 100 cities across the United States to call for expansion of resources for preventing spread of HIV infection in Latino communities and promote local activities to raise national, state and local awareness of expanding HIV/AIDS epidemic in Latino communities.
WHO: Congressional Leaders and Representatives of National and Local Latino organizations. Moderated by Laura Esquivel, (Latino Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Organization) and Alberto Santana (National Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors). Speakers include Congress Member Hilda Solis (Chair, Health Committee for Congressional Hispanic Caucus); Congress Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Catalina Sol (HIV Program Director, Clinica del Pueblo); Dennis DeLeon (President, Latino Commission on AIDS, New York, New York); Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez (President, Hispanic Federation, New York, New York); John Colon (Executive Director VIDA/SIDA, Chicago, Illinois) and Evelyn Ullah, (Director of the Office of HIV/AIDS at the Miami-Dade County Department of Health), and Juan Ledesma (Prevention Program Director, Bienestar Human Services, Los Angeles, California).
WHERE AND WHEN: Room 1116, Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. Panel Discussion from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and Press Conference at 11:30 a.m.
WHY: On Oct. 15 in cities around the United States, Latino leadership will sponsor diverse activities that respond to the state of AIDS among Latinos in 2003 in their specific communities. In recognition of the surging new infections among Latinas and young Latinos/as, different localities and leaders will use the day to promote and sponsor activities on prevention. Others will use the day to make religious leaders and public officials aware of the needs in reducing new infections and caring for those Latinos with the virus. Others will use traditional expressions as an opportunity to demonstrate the curative power of our culture.
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