- Slug: BC-CNS-AIDS Walk. 1,300 words.
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By Brenna Gauchat
Cronkite News
TEMPE – Kenyon Belyeu was handing out leaflets and condoms at the Aunt Rita’s Paint the Town Red AIDS Walk Arizona & 5K Run, when he talked candidly about his own HIV diagnosis – a discovery he made only because he was being treated for substance use disorder.
“Terros came to do HIV testing and STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing,” said Belyeu, a Terros Health program supervisor. “I found out nine years ago that I was HIV positive and if I never went to rehab or if I never got tested, I would never know my status.”
Terros Health, an Arizona-based health care company, was just one of the many partner organizations involved in the AIDS Walk Arizona & 5K Run on April 6. Aunt Rita’s Foundation, which began in 1988 with the purpose of “filling in the gaps” in community HIV care, was the organizer of this year’s event. The foundation supports HIV prevention and treatment programs with grants to groups like Terros Health that may not have the budget to cover its wide range of HIV-related services.
Continue reading “Annual 5K walk & run tackles misinformation and stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS”