Since its discovery 20 years ago, the AIDS virus has become a worldwide problem, infecting 50 million people, with no cure available.
Thirteen years ago, Dec. 1 was named “World AIDS Day” in an attempt to raise awareness and bring hope to those living with the virus. The HIV Alliance, a Lane County agency that provides HIV and AIDS-related services, will be hosting an event this World AIDS Day to keep people aware that HIV and AIDS are a constant threat.Leslie Habetler, an HIV Alliance spokeswoman, said looking toward the future is especially important.
“People have developed a complacent attitude towards the virus because it seems like it’s going away,” Habetler said. “But in reality, there has been a rise in HIV infections.”
More than 1,500 people in Lane County are estimated to be infected with HIV, with only a third of them knowing they are infected.
There has been a rise in infections within specific groups throughout Lane County and the nation. These groups include people under the age of 25, people of color, women and children.
World AIDS Day organizers say they hope they event will not only alert the public to the virus but also let people know about Lane County services for AIDS victims and their relatives.
HIV Alliance, which is a combination of the former Lane County organizations HIV/AIDS Resources and Lane County AIDS Hospice Services, offers many outreach services to people in these groups, which usually include people who engage in risky behavior.
Risky behavior includes having unprotected sex with multiple partners and sharing needles through intravenous drug use. For some, it is too embarrassing to admit they are putting themselves in danger of contracting the virus, and therefore, they don’t get tested.
HIV Alliance executive director Diane Lang Brissenden, who has been with the alliance for five months, said free, confidential testing is one of the most important services provided. Sometimes, however, convincing those who fall into the “high risk” category to get tested can be difficult.
“Providing HIV education is easier because you can directly talk to a group of people,” Brissenden said. “Prevention and testing, however, require being out there with the population and trying to make them aware of their risky behavior.”
That’s why HIV Alliance offers a location where the Lane County Public Health Department can conduct confidential testing. “To go to a family doctor and say you’re engaging in risky behavior is just too hard for some,” Brissenden said.

Marc Miller, an HIV prevention specialist for Lane County Public Health, said the department provides HIV testing at its own agency as well as at the HIV Alliance.
Miller said Lane County Public Health also provides treatment and community outreach programs for HIV and AIDS patients.Other agencies that provide HIV testing include the White Bird Clinic, Planned Parenthood, and the organization New Roads, which tests through its Looking Glass program. Looking Glass deals specifically with high-risk adolescents.
Other prevention services the HIV Alliance provides include a needle exchange, where intravenous drug users can exchange their used needles for clean ones. The exchange is an effort to get infected needles off the street and lower the number of pediatric AIDS cases, which include babies born with the virus. There is also a Latino Outreach project, which is the first program offered in Spanish.Past World AIDS Day events in Eugene were intended solely for HIV victims and their friends and relatives, but this year’s event will be open to the public, Habetler said. The HIV Alliance’s event will be held in the Hult Center Lobby from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will include several speakers, including Brissenden and Cascade AIDS Project Volunteer Coordinator Rose Colborn.
Colborn will be focusing on the global AIDS problem and referring to her outreach experience in Russia. Brissenden will be focusing on the local AIDS problem. A statement made by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Eugene, will also be read.
After the speakers, the ceremony will move outside for a candle lighting and a reading of the names of those who have died of the AIDS virus. Students from Roosevelt Middle School will be ringing bells before the names are read.
The HIV Alliance doesn’t get a list of names to read, but rather takes names that are sent to them from the community.
The Lane County Public Health Department has created a display of past World AIDS Day posters in the Public Service Building, located at 125 E. 8th Ave. in Eugene. It will be open for public viewing through December.