AIDS has not gone away.
Gary Roche, a community support worker with the AIDS Committee of Guelph and Wellington County was at the Fergus Sportsplex on Nov. 27 as part of a week long effort throughout Guelph and Wellington County to raise awareness.
Roche said the Cookie Awareness Campaign includes travelling to different locations within Guelph and Wellington County to distribute Red Ribbon shortbread cookies to bring more of an awareness that AIDS is still an issue.
“Sometimes it is forgotten about, but it is still important because people are still being affected,” said Roche.
He added it is important to keep the issue in the forefront in terms of prevention and treatment.
While this is the second year of the cookie campaign, it is the first year expanding the campaign beyond the city borders.
“But because the committee covers all of Wellington County, and there are people within the county living with HIV/AIDS we wanted to be able to spread the awareness throughout the county.”
Awareness events began Nov. 24 finalizing with the World AIDS Day vigil in downtown Guelph.
“Part of that is to commemorate people who have been lost,” Roche said.
In addition, various workshops and seminars were taking place.
“People think HIV is no longer a problem, but it is. It is still happening right across the world and right here.
“We want to make people aware that this is not an issue which is somewhere else, it is still here.”
