The mission of the
AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City is to build awareness about HIV/AIDS and to raise funds
to support the work of nonprofit organizations that provide HIV/AIDS direct
care, support services and education.
History
Since 1998, the AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City has
distributed more than $333,000 to HIV/AIDS nonprofit organizations serving the
greater Oklahoma City community through direct health services, HIV/AIDS education and prevention and
community awareness. Thousands of people
living in our community have benefited from the funds raised through the
AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City.
Involvement
and Participation
- Educate yourself, your friends and family about HIV
- Make
a financial contribution to AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City
- Choose AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City as the beneficiary of your
service project or
fundraiser
- Form a Walk Team at your company, civic club, religious
congregation, or school
- Ask a representative from AIDS Walk of Oklahoma City to
speak at your next meeting or
function
- Tell
others about the AIDS Walk’s mission and how to get involved
Organizations Benefiting from AIDS Walk of
The following
nonprofit organizations in the
AIDS
Support Program, Inc./The Winds House operates two
residences and provides shelter, food, transportation, financial and emotional
support to the residents.
Regional
AIDS Intercommunity Network (recent merger of RAIN-Oklahoma and CarePoint, Inc.) provides health care
and support services to qualifying persons, including peer education and
non-medical practical assistance to people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the
state of Oklahoma through a strong network of volunteers.
Guiding
Right, Inc. provides prevention education and direct services
to African Americans through risk reduction education, street and community
outreach, and prevention case management.
Legal
Aid Services of
North
Care Center provides mental health services and counseling
education for issues associated with HIV/AIDS.
Northern
Lights Alternatives, Inc. helps individuals affected by HIV/AIDS to find
purpose and value in their lives through the AIDS Mastery Workshop.
Other
Options, Inc. operates the Friends Food Pantry, the largest food pantry in western
Planned
Parenthood of Central Oklahoma, Inc. provides prevention education to area groups
without other means of financial support.
Red
Rock North offers services to individuals with HIV/AIDS who also have mental
health and/or drug and alcohol problems.
What is HIV?
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS. This
virus may be passed from one person to another when infected blood, semen, or
vaginal secretions come in contact with an uninfected person’s broken skin or
mucous membranes*. In addition, infected pregnant women can pass HIV to their
baby during pregnancy or delivery, as well as through breast-feeding. People
with HIV have what is called HIV infection. Some of these people will develop
AIDS as a result of their HIV infection.
How Does HIV Cause AIDS?
HIV destroys a certain kind of blood cell (CD4+ T cells) which is
crucial to the normal function of the human immune system. In fact, loss of
these cells in people with HIV is an extremely powerful predictor of the
development of AIDS. Studies of thousands of people have revealed that most
people infected with HIV carry the virus for years before enough damage is done
to the immune system for AIDS to develop. However, sensitive tests have shown a
strong connection between the amount of HIV in the blood and the decline in
CD4+ T cells and the development of AIDS. Reducing the amount of virus in the
body with anti-retroviral therapies can dramatically slow the destruction of a
person’s immune system.
How long does it take for HIV to cause
AIDS?
Prior to 1996, scientists estimated that about half the
people with HIV would develop AIDS within 10 years after becoming infected.
This time varied greatly from person to person and depended on many factors,
including a person's health status and their health-related behaviors.
Since
1996, the introduction of powerful anti-retroviral therapies has dramatically
changed the progression time between HIV infection and the development of AIDS.
There are also other medical treatments that can prevent or cure some of the
illnesses associated with AIDS, though the treatments do not cure AIDS itself.
Because of these advances in drug therapies and other medical treatments,
estimates of how many people will develop AIDS and how soon are being
recalculated, revised, or are currently being studied.
As with other diseases,
early detection of infection allows more options for treatment and preventive
health care.
How
Many People Have HIV & AIDS?
UNITED
STATES
HIV Infection: An estimated 850,000—950,000 persons in the
AIDS Cases: The cumulative estimated number
of diagnoses of AIDS through 2003 in the
WORLDWIDE
- Approximately 34.9
million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS.
- More than 20
million people with HIV/AIDS have died since the first AIDS cases were
identified in
1981.
- The total number of
children orphaned by AIDS at the end of 2003 was 15 million.
- Approximately
14,000 people are infected with HIV each
day.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that
850,000 to 950,000
residents
are living with HIV infection, one-quarter of whom are unaware of their
infection.
Board
of Directors
2008
Officers