January 18, 2008

Latina Sorority Shows Support for HIV Assistance Bill

Upon learning of a proposed bill that would provide additional care for U.S. Latinos and other minorities living with HIV, the Indiana University chapter of Latina sorority Gamma Phi Omega has been increasing its efforts to spread HIV/AIDS awareness throughout both school and community, Indiana Daily Student reports (idsnews.com, 1/18).

According to the school paper, the sorority has worked closely with La Casa Latino Cultural Center at Indiana University to promote HIV/AIDS programming in response to H.R. 2736: HIV Emergency Local Partnership Act of 2007. Congress proposed the bill after data revealed Latin Americans were among the hardest hit by the epidemic.

“Since the beginning of the semester, some of us were doing some research [on the bill],” Gamma Phi Omega senior Adrienne Garcia told the student paper. “It was affecting the Latino community, but HIV/AIDS is also not talked about highly amongst other things in the Latino community.”

Garcia and her sisters are working to help change all that. Through their work with La Casa—including the creation of an STD testing site within the center—the sorority has also connected with Bloomington Hospital’s Positive Link, a local AIDS service organization, to generate support for the bill and initiate conversations about HIV among Indiana’s Latino student body.

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