GROUPS WARN OF RISING HIV RATES AMONG LATINOS
By AMANDA SCHOENBERG OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN

Warning of rising HIV rates among Latinos, several local groups will host a barbecue in Ramsay Park on Saturday from 1-3 p.m. to commemorate the second annual National Latino AIDS Awareness Day.

Although Latinos account for 15 percent of the U.S. population, they make up 20 percent of people with AIDS. And rates are on the rise; the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that new HIV infections rose 26 percent among Latinos last year.

In Santa Cruz County, there have been 575 AIDS cases to date, 16 percent among Latinos, Soccoro Guttierez of the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency reported.

The Santa Cruz Aids Project, the Santa Cruz Needle Exchange and the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency will provide free food and information on the effects of HIV/AIDS among the Latino community during the Saturday event.

Guttierez provides free and confidential HIV testing every Wednesday from 2:30-4:30 p.m. in front of Del Sol Market on Union Street. She sees about four to five people per month, many of them very low-income residents or homeless. There is also a needle exchange program in Watsonville on Mondays from 2-3 p.m. and Wednesdays from 3-4:30, also in front of Del Sol Market.

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