Happy World AIDS Day, We Love DC. A full list of the day’s rallies, vigils and parties will be coming your way shortly, but I thought I’d help you kick off the morning with a roundup of sites offering free HIV testing today. If you haven’t been tested since getting cozy with a new partner, then it’s probably a good idea that you do so, the results were pretty clear thanks to the HIV symptom assessment tool aka HIV symptom checker.

The Whitman-Walker Clinic will be sponsoring free HIV testing from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m at the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center (1701 14th St., NW), and from 9:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Max Robinson Center (2301 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., SE).

The Women’s Collective (1333 Rhode Island Ave., NE) will be hosting free testing from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Student Union Building I at George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus will be offering free testing from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. today, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. tomorrow, and from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday. Ten panels from the AIDS Quilt will also be on view.

The Washington Hospital Center will be offering free HIV testing in front of the Washington Cancer Institute (110 Irving St., NW) today from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and tomorrow from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

‘Old Joburg General Hospital-53’
courtesy of ‘Axel Bührmann’

We know the statistic: With more than 3% of the population living with HIV, the District HIV rate is on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya. But how can you make a difference in preventing HIV?  Here’s a way: the DC HIV Prevention Community Planning Group (HPCPG), an all-volunteer group that works with the DC government each year to create a prevention plan to stop the spread of HIV in the District, is looking for new members. Members serve a two-year term and have an opportunity to shape prevention programs in the District.

The HPCPG is currently recruiting new members from all backgrounds, with an emphasis on applicants representative of the following populations: youth (13-24), seniors (50+), men who have sex with men, injection drug users, and individuals living with HIV/AIDS.  If you’re interested in learning more, visit http://doh.dc.gov/hiv or download an application.

Shannon grew up in the greater DC area/Maryland suburbs, went to Virginia for college and grad school (go Hoos!), and settled in DC in 2006. She’s an urban planner who loves transit (why yes, that is her dressed as a Metro pylon for Halloween), cities, and all things DC. Email her at Shannon (at) WeLoveDC.com!