Anne Arundel Health Department Hosts HIV & STD Informational Workshop

From Anne Arundel County Health Dept.: The Anne Arundel County Department of Health will present a free informational workshop to local barbers and hairstylists focusing on the important role they play in educating their clients on HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). The program will be held on Tuesday, May 9, 2017, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Kingdom Kafe located at 1350 Blair Drive, Odenton, MD 21113. Lunch will be provided.

The workshop, “Barbers and Hairstylists Who Cut and Care,” is open to local hair care professionals and will include STD and HIV/AIDS 101, HIV/STD Prevention Strategies, Easy HIV Testing and the Impact of Addiction and Opioids in Anne Arundel County. There will also be a question and answer panel discussion featuring Department of Health staff and several barbers and hairstylists. The workshop will provide information on ways to implement HIV/STD education in barbershops and salons and how to start the conversation about HIV, which disproportionately affects African Americans. As of June 2016, about 67 percent of those diagnosed with HIV/AIDs in Anne Arundel County were African American.

For more information about the event, contact Kristy Frashure at 410-222-4113 orhdfras00@aacounty.org.

For free HIV testing and information on HIV/AIDS services, call 410-222-7108 or visit the Department of Health’s webpage, www.aahealth.org/hiv/aids. For free Safe Sex Kits, to help protect against STDs, county residents can call 410-222-7382 or visit www.aahealth.org/safesexkit.

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