Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Examiner - December 1, 2006
Stephanie Tracy,stracy@baltimoreexaminer.com
The 18th annual candlelight Walk for HIV/AIDS Awareness to honor World AIDS Day will begin at 6:15 p.m. and proceed through downtown, around State Circle, and end at the Stanton Community Center on West Washington Street. Participants will carry lit candles in memory of those who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS. Angela Jackson, a Baltimore-based author who has lived with HIV for 22 years, will be the guest speaker at an inter-religious gathering from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. In addition to writing, Jackson is a motivational speaker and works as an HIV testing counselor.
Wayne Schwandt, who helped organize the walk, said participation varies with the weather, but said the walk has drawn as many as 200 people in previous years. The walk is one of many being organized across the country to commemorate World AIDS Day. The Anne Arundel County event has been organized by a coalition of volunteer groups and churches, including Schwandt's church, Metropolitan Community Church of the Chesapeake in Annapolis. This year's walk was paid for by donations and proceeds from a walk-a-thon held by inmates at the state's prison complex in Jessup.
"We want to keep the public conversation about HIV/AIDS in our community before the public," Schwandt said. "There is so much happening in the world that it's gone way to the back burner for many people. ... AIDS does not discriminate against anyone, and it is a constant issue in both the heterosexual and the gay community."
According to statistics from the Anne Arundel County Health Department, 3 percent of the reported HIV/AIDS cases in Maryland came from Anne Arundel County. Baltimore City makes up 50 percent of the state's reported cases. Department figures were from 2004, the most recent year available.
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