by Nearly 10 thousand people live with HIV/AIDS in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
130 of those people are young adults.
Youth AIDS Projects (YAP) is an organization in the Twin Cities that provides awareness and education and offers free testing around the metro.
YAP is housed in the University of Minnesota’s Pediatrics Department, and it has offered medical case management for students and community members with HIV/AIDS since 1989. YAP community engagement director Oceane Lune said they work specifically with young adults who are often in tough situations.
“Youth still have an interesting struggle with HIV,” Lune said. “Many of our people are youth of color or LGBT youth, which makes it more challenging. Having a place where people can get one or more of their burdens lessened is super beneficial.”
This week was National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day, and YAP hopes its visits to campus and the surrounding community will spread awareness about HIV.
“People are still getting infected, so we still need to have those conversations,” Lune said.
YAP provides free HIV testing weekly to encourage young people to “Know Their Status” at the YAP outreach office, located in the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis.
65% of people living with HIV/AIDS in Minnesota are people of color. YAP says it hopes to focus on local marginalized communities to prevent the spread.
“The more you know about HIV, the less stigma comes with it because you understand it better,” Lune said.
