New HIV Prevention/Anti-Stigma Campaign Featuring HIV Positive & Negative Persons 'TOGETHER' Launches Across ...( SAN FRANCISCO Aug. 19 /- TOGETHE...),Health

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- "TOGETHER ... HIV STOPS WITH US" is the message of the new media campaign launching today in areas across the country including: Boston, Long Beach and Alameda County, CA. Billboards, transit ads, posters featuring real HIV positive people, and a wide spectrum of HIV negative persons in their lives -- family members, friends, care providers and partners talking about real issues.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080819/AQTU040)

The campaign ads and website (http://www.HIVSTOPSWITHUS.org) highlight relationships in which HIV positive and negative people come together to both prevent the further transmission of the disease as well as provide acceptance and support.

U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee [D-CA] a champion in HIV/AIDS prevention efforts praised HIV STOPS WITH US; "I am proud of the campaign for putting real faces on our AIDS epidemic."

Each city has its own customized local campaign and a section on the campaign's website where the HIV positive spokespeople tell their stories and engage in dialogue with other members of the community. Local health departments and community-based agencies fund the campaign and work to assure cultural relevancy and provide outreach and other support services. Local partners include JRI Health/Boston Public Health Commission, The City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services and the Alameda County Public Health Department. In the coming months Los Angeles, New York City and Buffalo will join in this effort.

"We are making progress in preventing the spread of HIV, but not fast enough," said Douglas Brooks, Vice President of Health Services at JRI, the campaign's Boston partner. "With 1,000 Massachusetts residents newly diagnosed with HIV every year, it is clear that we must do everything we
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