This National HIV Testing Day the STD/HIV/Hepatitis Program (SHHP) is continuing, Start It! Louisiana, a statewide campaign taking place, June 24 – 29, 2020 that encourages conversations about sexual health. The slogan for the campaign is “It doesn’t matter how, it just matters that you do.” We understand talking about sexual health isn’t a standardized process and sometimes we may struggle to find the right words to get that conversation going. This page offers a number of different resources to help support you in starting that conversation about your sexual health. Check it out!
National HIV Testing Day Fact Sheets
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English
Spanish
Why Should I Start It?
We all should start practicing sexual health because we want to protect ourselves and our partners from STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections). Of the estimated 25,300 people living with HIV in Louisiana, about 1 in 5 are un-diagnosed and unaware of their status (Click here for more info). Like most STIs we don’t know we are living with them until we are tested for them. Fortunately there’s treatment for all STIs and some are even curable. Consider this as our way of starting the conversation with you about sexual health. Start sharing the knowledge you’ve learned and encourage family friends partners and even yourself to start: PrEP, using condoms, talking with loved ones, using treatment, and getting tested.
Who can Start It?
Everyone! Sexual health is something that everyone can start and share. It doesn’t matter what age you are, what ethnic background you’re from, what your sexual orientation is, or what’s your gender identity, it matters that you start sexual health. This could be as minimal as having the conversation about sexual health, or we can kick it up a bit and start PrEP, and even explore U=U.
How can I Start It?
Start Talking
Sometimes talking about sexual health is the most difficult thing to do. How do you talk about sex without making it awkward? Honestly there’s no perfect way to do it, it just matters that you do and we have tips to help you Start It!
Start Testing
Getting tested can save your life. It doesn’t matter what the results are it just matters that you’re healthy. We can provide you with the tools you’ll need to remain healthy, like PrEP, HIV Treatment, and condoms. So don’t be intimidated start getting tested! For National HIV Testing Day we are doing statewide testing from June 24-29. Scroll down to see who’s testing near you!
Start Treatment
Today there’s treatment and cures for all STDs. It doesn’t matter if your test results come back positive or negative, it matters that you get the right treatment to keep you healthy! People living with HIV can now achieve an Undetectable status which means if we are living with HIV and take our medication as prescribed we can become undetectable and can’t transmit HIV to other people (U=U).
Start PrEP
Did your know there’s a pill to prevent HIV? It’s called PrEP, when this pill is taken daily it can drastically reduce your chances of contracting HIV more than 90%. It doesn’t matter how you protect yourself it just matters that you do.
Where can I Start It?
During the activation of Start It! Louisiana June 24 – 29, 2020 we are encouraging everyone to start testing for HIV, Syphilis, and Viral Hepatitis. Find your city below and see who’s going to be testing near you.
Region 1
| Name of Event | Date | Time | Address | Services offered | Contact Person | Special Note |
| “National HIV Testing Day” | 6/26/20 | 2 pm – 6 pm | 2727 South Broad Street, New Orleans, LA 70125 | FREE HIV testing | Veronica Magee 504-566-7955 vmagee@brotherhood.org |
Free give-a-ways and a $25 gift card. |
| “National HIV Testing Day” | 6/29/20 | 9 am – 2 pm | Low Barrier Shelter (downtown New Orleans), 1530 Gravier Street, New Orleans, LA 70112 | FREE HIV testing | Tiffanie Smith 985-333-2010 tiffanie.smith@startcorp.org |
Region 2
| Name of Event | Date | Time | Address | Services offered | Contact Person |
| “National HIV Testing Day” | 6/27/20 | 24 hours starting at 8:00 am, call to make an appointment | 4560 North Blvd., Suite 100, Baton Rouge, LA 70806 | FREE HIV, Syphilis and Hep C Rapid tests | AJ Johnson (225) 268-9336 stdaids@aol.com |
| “National HIV Testing Day” | 6/27/20 | 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm | Cedar Crest Bar by Provo 10467 Airline Hwy., Baton Rouge |
FREE HIV, Syphilis and Hep C Rapid tests plus free masks and voter registration. Contact Shirley Lolis to schedule appointment | Shirley Lolis (225) 338-9333 slolismetro1@gmail.com Gjvar Payne (225) 250-0768 gjvarmikael@gmail.com |
Region 7
| Name of Event | Date | Time | Address | Services offered | Contact Person |
| “National HIV Testing Day” | 6/24/20 – 6/25/20 | Please call to make an appointment | The Philadelphia Center @ 2020 Centenary Blvd, Shreveport | FREE HIV, Syphilis and Hep C Rapid tests | Virginia Player (318) 222-6633 ext 2114 vplayer@philadelphiacenter.org |
Region 8
| Name of Event | Date | Time | Address | Services offered | Contact Person |
| “Awareness is Knowledge” | Monday – Friday | 8:45 am – 4:00 pm; Friday: 8:45 am – 1:00 pm Call to make an appointment |
1801 North 7th Street, suite A | FREE HIV, Syphilis and Hep C Rapid tests | Gwendolyn Guillory gwen@go-care.org 318-325-1092 ext. 113 or Rusty @ ext. 102 |