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Letter to the editor

New steps in AIDS fight

The fourth annual AIDS Walk seeks to double participation.

By NICOLE HUTCHESON, Times Staff Writer
Published September 6, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - As an AIDS client advocate, Anthony Barros is the first to applaud medical advances in treating the disease, but he's also quick to follow with a reminder that the problem is far from being solved.

"We no longer see emaciated people who weigh 75 and 80 pounds or have big lesions on them," said Barros, a coordinator for the AIDS Service Association of Pinellas. "But we still have a huge infection rate, and we still need to treat the people who need treatment and help. None of that has gone away."

It's a message Barros and others hope to drive home with this year's AIDS Walk St. Petersburg. In its fourth year, the event is organized by ASAP, a division of the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast. It seeks to raise money for services and programs that benefit people infected and affected by the disease.

The 5K walk, which will begin at downtown's North Shore Park, serves two purposes: to educate the public and help raise money.

"Government money is going away," said Barros, a lead event organizer. "That means it's up to the community to pick up the slack."

Barros moved to St. Petersburg from Colorado about eight years ago. He had participated in AIDS Walks there for years.

Once in St. Petersburg, "I kept waiting for an AIDS Walk to happen, and it just never happened," he said.

With the help of the city, ASAP organized a walk that drew 350 participants its first year and raised about $18,500.

Last year the event drew 1,200 participants and raised $90,000.

This year organizers say they would like to double the number of participants and raise $125,000. This year's walk highlights the vast numbers affected by the disease, said Ann Sherman-White, coordinator for ASAP's department of prevention and testing.

"If you're breathing you're a target," said Sherman-White, who has worked to include church and youth groups in this year's event. "And we're hoping that having events like this can attract a wider range of people that will become more vocal as well as active as it relates to the fight against AIDS."

The money raised will be used to help ASAP clients with medical co-payments and to replenish the organization's food pantry. The organization serves an average of 500 people a year with one or more services.

"It takes a village to raise a child," Barros said. "But it takes a community to keep people alive."

Nicole Hutcheson can be reached at nhutcheson@sptimes.com or 727 893-8828.

Fast facts

If you go

What: AIDS Walk St. Petersburg.

When: 10 a.m. to noon Saturday; registration begins at 9 a.m.

Where: North Shore Park, 901 North Shore Drive NE.

Details: The walk raises money for the AIDS Service Association of Pinellas. Visit www.AIDSWalkStPetersburg.org or call 328-3268.

[Last modified September 5, 2007, 22:06:15]