HIV continues to increase among populations in our community.  Because there is no cure for HIV, the only way to stop the spread is through prevention education, AIDS awareness, HIV testing and prevention counseling.

The Outreach Services department of the AIDS Task Force deals with a broad range of individuals, educating more than 8,000 people and testing more than 900 people annually. Providing education and testing is important in combating HIV in that it identifies those individuals who are infected with HIV but are unaware of their status; it expands the task force's volunteer base for direct and indirect services for persons living with HIV; and it provides HIV prevention education programs so that persons are better equipped to make healthy decisions which will reduce the likelihood of HIV infection.  

To accomplish these goals, outreach staff and trained volunteers present regular and periodic HIV educations to persons in a variety of settings from jails and homeless shelters to middle and high schools.  During HIV prevention educations, participants are educated on basic HIV/AIDS; information regarding substance use and its correlation with HIV; information about other STDs, including untreated STDs and the increased risk for HIV transmission; and risk reduction and behavior change.  All participants are given specific information regarding HIV and risk behaviors, access to free condoms when appropriate, and access to free HIV testing and prevention counseling. Educations include a strong risk reduction component that focuses on identification of one's own risk behaviors, decreased sexual activity when influenced by substance use, decreased number of sexual partners, increased condom usage, and increased knowledge of HIV.

While providing HIV prevention education is a primary component of the Outreach Services department, the task force also provides HIV testing and HIV prevention counseling.  Participants who wish to receive an HIV test can choose a confidential or anonymous test, and all testing is done through the OraSure© test, an oral HIV antibody test.  Clients receiving an HIV test are required to receive pre and post test counseling to assess risk behaviors, document any changes in behavior, and develop a plan for ongoing risk reductions. All testing and counseling is done in a private setting and results are given two weeks following the initial test.