HIV Seminar Targets Latino Community

A free workshop for those infected with or affected by AIDS or HIV will be offered in Spanish on Saturday by Bienestar Latino AIDS Project, a Van Nuys-based social service agency.

The daylong presentation called “Salud Sin Fronteras,” or “Health Without Barriers,” will feature professionals in the AIDS/HIV field who will discuss treatments and medication, relaxation exercises, sexual activity after the infection, and women and HIV.

The purpose of the workshop, said event coordinator Elizabeth Escobedo, is to “have people who are HIV-positive or who have AIDS [have] access [to] social services.”

“This was organized because we’ve noticed that, especially in the Latino community, the social services are not used until there is an emergency,” she said.

Cultural beliefs, language barriers and the fear that too many questions asked about resident status keep many Latinos away from social service organizations, Escobedo said.

Women with AIDS or who are HIV-positive, as well as parents with children who are infected are especially encouraged to attend, said Escobedo, particularly because there are still many misconceptions among women in the Latino community about how AIDS is transmitted.

The workshop will include a panel of HIV- or AIDS-infected persons who will discuss their experiences.

Bienestar Latino AIDS Project was first established in 1989 to educate gay men about AIDS. One of six Southern California locations, the facility in Van Nuys, at 6850 Van Nuys Blvd., provides free, anonymous HIV testing every other Monday, as well as counseling and support groups for men and women.

Salud Sin Fronteras will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, 18355 Roscoe Blvd., Northridge. Free breakfast, lunch and child-care will be provided.

Reservations, which are required for the event, may be made by calling (818) 908-3820.