The On-Going Battle of the AIDS Stigma

An estimated 35,000 North Carolina residents are living with HIV and or AIDS.

December 1 is World AIDS Day. For 20 years in Winston-Salem, Aids Care Services has been helping people battling this disease and supporting their families. Administrators say while people are still dying from complications related to this disease, advanced treatments are enabling more to live relatively healthy lives. Rivkah Meder is ACS director of development and community relations. She says there is still one hurdle they haven't overcome.   "One client said her family would throw away glasses she was drinking from. Another said he was forced to use plastic silverware and disposable dishes when he was with his family. So I think stigma and fear are still a big problem in all of the counties we serve.”  

ACS serves about 2,500 clients in Forsyth and 8 other counties in the western Piedmont. To combat social fear and stigma of HIV/AIDS, ACS is launching a new marketing campaign of inclusion Sunday,  December 1. The campaign includes a new logo and a newspaper ad that will appear in the Winston-Salem Journal, Sunday. About 80 individuals, business and civic leaders have signed the ad showing their support of people living with HIV/AIDS.