Kentucky: HIV/AIDS Effort Reaches Out to Louisville's Latinos

Ahead of the 2011 African-American and Hispanic/Latino Leadership Conference on HIV/AIDS, Oct. 25-26 at the Galt House, a free community dialogue was held at the hotel on Sunday.

The discussion was designed to engage Latino community members and provide them with HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment information, said Sigga Jagne, state HIV/AIDS branch manager and co-chair of the conference. Among the groups represented were the Center for Women and Families, St. Rita Catholic Church, and the Americana Community Center.

"It's something that's taboo. People don't talk about it, although it's there," Jagne said of HIV/AIDS. "Sometimes social factors, such as a lack of access to good health care and language barriers, can be a deterrent, too."

"The trick is, how do we get them talking about something with a lot of stigma," said Angel Rubio, a consultant who works with Jagne's branch.

Yolanda Moore, bilingual community outreach coordinator for St. Rita's, which as a large Hispanic contingent, said HIV is a growing concern for Latinos. Community groups need to work together to determine what are the infection drivers and what can be done to address these, she said. An HIV testing event Moore organized this summer saw only two people show up, she said.

The conference is in its 15th year; the theme for 2011 is "Get educated. Get tested. Get involved, Get Treated."

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