World AIDS Day is Dec. 1 and for the HIV affected community especially, this is a big day.
Laguna Beach’s HIV Advisory Committee is commissioned to educate about HIV issues and to reduce the stigma associated with the infection. City funds allocated with the committee’s recommendation fund free HIV testing at the Laguna Beach Community Clinic.
Results are ready in 20 minutes from a drop of blood. No appointment is needed.
To memorialize those who have died of AIDS, committee members have enlisted high school students and others to place red ribbons around trees in Downtown. Each ribbon will bear the name of a person who has died from AIDS. The names were submitted by the loved ones of those being remembered. In the cobblestone area of Main Beach there will be a “memorial tree” where the public can attach a heart with the first name of someone they’d like to memorialize.
At 4 p.m. a non-denominational ceremony is planned at Main Beach to honor people who have died of HIV complications. Names of people who have passed away will be read aloud during the brief ceremony.
