The fourth annual Red Lock HIV/AIDS campaign is underway this week in Sault Ste. Mary It is launched by the HIV AIDS Resource Program or HARP of the Group’s Health Center, with the aim of reducing stigma and barriers to treatment.
There are four Red Lock facilities in different parts of the city: the waterfront, the Sault Area Hospital, the group health center and Fort Creek.
Shana Shipperbottom, HARP team leader, said there is still a huge stigma attached to people living with HIV and AIDS.
“There are still so many myths and misconceptions, and people’s mindsets are still stuck in the 1980s,” he said.
“So we hope to be able to offer education to people and raise awareness that it is not like before. And things have really changed a lot. There are many advances in treatment (and) prevention.”
The old stigma can often lead to a reluctance to get tested or seek treatment, Shipperbottom said, adding that they have come a long way since the 1990s, when the disease was first considered treatable.
The Red Lock campaign runs until December 1, which is World AIDS Day.