Regional AIDS day reflections announced

BANGOR – In observance of World AIDS Day on Monday, Dec. 1, Eastern Maine AIDS Network and Wabanaki Mental Health are teaming up to participate in daylong regional events to raise awareness about HIV-AIDS. They are asking members of the community to join them in a day of remembrance and reflection.

In the 20 years since World AIDS Day was first observed, significant advances in response to HIV have been achieved when there was strong and committed leadership. To recognize and encourage those contributions, the theme for World AIDS Day 2008 is “Leadership.”

In Maine, more people than ever are living with HIV-AIDS, organizers said, and the increase in new diagnoses is creating greater challenges in prevention, education, care and treatment.

The World AIDS Day events schedule:

ORONO – 10 a.m.-4 p.m., University of Maine, Memorial Union. Panels from The Names Project Northern New England Chapter will be on display to the public.

ORONO – 10 a.m.-4 p.m., University of Maine, Wabanaki Center. Allen Sockabasin will offer free HIV testing for the Native American population at the university.

PLEASANT POINT – 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Pleasant Point Health Center. Staff from Pleasant Point Health Center and from the Wabanaki Center will offer information and testing to the community at Pleasant Point. Tribal TV will air the video “Our Story,” produced by native youth.

BANGOR – 6:30-8 p.m., Hammond Street Congregational Church, 28 High St. An open house will feature quilt panels from The Names Project’s Northern New England Chapter, a timeline of HIV, information about HIV-AIDS and red ribbons for the public. The Rev. Mark Doty will speak about the meaning of World AIDS Day, the red ribbon and the importance of community support and leadership. Ja’Nette Converse, sister of the late Autum Aquino, will be the keynote speaker, discussing her experience growing up with a mother and sister infected with HIV, who both died of complications from the disease.

. 7-8 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church, 6 Easy St., Pittsfield. As part of a service led by the Rev. Margaret Beckman, Dr. Jean Lavigne, an AIDS activist who has been living with HIV-AIDS for more than 20 years, will speak about the importance of leadership and how leadership matters in making a difference in the lives of those living with HIV-AIDS.

For more information, visit www.maineaidsnetwork.com or call toll-free 877-990-3626.