Portland: AIDS War Gets Thousands on Their Feet

Some 5,000 people walked through downtown Portland, Ore. on Saturday, Sept. 20, to bring money and attention to a resurgent AIDS epidemic. The 17th annual Portland AIDS Walk raised a record $235,000 for Cascade AIDS Project, a nonprofit support agency for people with HIV/AIDS. The slogan of this year's AIDS Walk was "It's not over." "The issue has slipped off the radar screen," said Thomas Bruner, executive director. "We're a society that likes to rally for the short haul ... and then move on." AIDS deaths in Oregon rose 16 percent last year after five years of decline, Bruner said, and newly diagnosed AIDS cases were up 10 percent. Roughly 5,350 Oregonians are living with HIV/AIDS, and 3,000 have died from the disease.

Back to other news for September 26, 2003