800-PLUS EXPECTED TO JOIN SUNDAY'S AIDS FUND-RAISER.Byline: Douglas Clark
Douglas Clark (born 1942) is an English poet. Clark was born in Darlington, County Durham, England, to Scottish parents in 1942. Daily News Staff Writer More than 800 people are expected to take part in the sixth annual AIDS Walk AIDS Walk is a walkathon fundraiser that raises money to combat the AIDS epidemic. The funds raised from AIDS Walks usually benefit a local AIDS service organization (such as Gay Men's Health Crisis or the AIDS Project Los Angeles), which provide services and advocacy for local in downtown Ventura on Saturday, walking for pledge donations of more than $85,000, organizers say. The money will help organizations such as the Camarillo-based Ventura County AIDS Partnership initiate new services for Ventura County residents afflicted af·flict tr.v. af·flict·ed, af·flict·ing, af·flicts To inflict grievous physical or mental suffering on. [Middle English afflighten, from afflight, with the HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. virus. ``We've raised $60,000 so far, but we're depending on the success of the walk to help us meet our $85,000 goal,'' said Art McDermott, program manager for the AIDS Partnership. If the goal is met, the AIDS Partnership will have $170,000 to spend in 1998, due to a dollar-for-dollar match provided by the National AIDS Fund. A large portion of the partnership's budget will be used to pay for two new programs for eastern Ventura County. A transportation service would bring HIV and AIDS patients from east Ventura County to the medical center located in the west county. Also, the partnership will begin a new recruitment and training program that will help more AIDS educators reach sexually active adults and youth in eastern Ventura County. ``The need is huge,'' Doug Green, executive director of AIDS Care Inc., which organized the walk, said of the services. Martina Melero, coordinator for the county's AIDS Surveillance Program, said that while statistics for the county, state and nation show a decline in AIDS deaths, the number of Ventura County residents seeking services at the AIDS clinic at the Ventura County Medical Center Ventura County Medical Center is a hospital in the city of Ventura, California, USA. It is a 208 bed acute care hospital. The county also operates a 49 bed campus in Santa Paula. is increasing. ``The number of people infected in·fect tr.v. in·fect·ed, in·fect·ing, in·fects 1. To contaminate with a pathogenic microorganism or agent. 2. To communicate a pathogen or disease to. 3. To invade and produce infection in. with sexually transmitted diseases Sexually transmitted diseases Infections that are acquired and transmitted by sexual contact. Although virtually any infection may be transmitted during intimate contact, the term sexually transmitted disease is restricted to conditions that are largely dropped after the AIDS epidemic was reported in the 1980s, now it's going up. We've seen an increase in high-risk behavior high-risk behavior Public health A lifestyle activity that places a person at ↑ risk of suffering a particular condition. See Safe sex practices. , which can lead to HIV (infection),'' she said. From 1983 to the present, there were 679 AIDS cases reported in Ventura County. For that same period, there were 433 deaths. Melero said the new programs proposed by the AIDS Partnership area needed in eastern Ventura County. ``Transportation is terrible from the east part of the county to Ventura. You can take a bus, but that will take two or three hours. Someone who's sick can't do that,'' she said. Green agreed, calling the transportation program a ``great, unmet need.'' Although McDermott and Melero would prefer having an AIDS clinic in the east county, so far that has proved too expensive. ``If we can't bring a clinic to the patients in the east county, we'll bring the patients to the clinic,'' McDermott said. The AIDS Partnership will receive 10 percent of the AIDS Walk proceeds. The rest will be given to AIDS Care Inc. and Christopher's Place, a home for AIDS patients. Walk participants will register at 8 a.m. before beginning the walk at 9 a.m. Those who want to participate can call (805) 643-0446 for more information. |
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