Church offers free HIV testing
Focus is black community
Published: Sat, Mar. 01, 2008 11:26AM
Modified Sat, Mar. 01, 2008 03:31PM
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closeRALEIGH -- A Raleigh church organized a free public screening for HIV and syphilis today, in hopes of stemming the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in the black community.
Christian Faith Baptist Church worked with Wake County Human Services and two outreach groups to offer the tests at Southgate Plaza Shopping Center off Rock Quarry Road.
The church’s pastor, David C. Forbes Sr., said churches are independent and respected in the African-American community, making them an effective means of reaching people about AIDS.
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“We believe it is an extension of practicing our faith,” Forbes said. “The Lord does not want people to perish from ignorance.”
By 3 p.m., outreach workers had spoken to about 150 people and tested 32 of them, most black and Hispanic, said Lynice Williams, who leads the church’s AIDS ministry.
Blacks make up less than 22 percent of North Carolina’s population, yet accounted for two-thirds of new HIV and AIDS cases in the state in 2006, the most recent year for which numbers are available, according to the state Division of Public Health.
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