Sacramento AIDS Groups Work to Halt HIV Transmission Among Minorities

Several Sacramento-based AIDS groups are stepping up efforts to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among African Americans and other minorities, the Sacramento Bee reports. African Americans account for 9.65% of Sacramento County residents but represented 28% of the county's AIDS cases last year. Marty Keale, executive director of the Center for AIDS Research and Education Services, said that when it comes to AIDS education and care, race "doesn't matter" as much as economic factors. Many HIV-positive African Americans in Sacramento County are living in poverty, which limits their access to health care, housing and nutrients, Keale said. CARES is currently working to broaden its outreach to local African Americans, especially those who "may have had bad experiences with health care in the past." The organization is trying to "track down clients who have abandoned [CARES'] services" by scouring local homeless shelters and soup kitchens. The Sacramento AIDS agency Breaking Barriers is also working to broaden its outreach to local minorities. The organization recently assembled a group of African-American, Latino and Asian women who are HIV-positive to work as volunteers. The women will try to convince sex workers, drug users and other women at high risk for HIV to be tested for the virus and get medical treatment (Griffith, Sacramento Bee, 1/2).