DEPUTY BP YVONNE GRAHAM AND BROOKLYN YOUTH TO CROSS BROOKLYN BRIDGE
TO “SPEAK OUT” FOR AIDS EDUCATION

Day of action to commemorate World Aids Day 2006.

4:00 P.M.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30
BROOKLYN BOROUGH HALL PLAZA
209 JORALEMON STREET
BETWEEN COURT & ADAMS STREETS
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

On Thursday, November 30, Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham will mark the eve of World AIDS Day 2006 by addressing the current state of HIV/AIDS in Brooklyn and crossing the Brooklyn Bridge with Project Reach Youth’s Project Speak Out on AIDS Facts and Education (S.A.F.E). “Speak Out! 2006” will be a day of action aimed at bringing attention to the HIV/AIDS crisis as it affects New York City’s young people. World AIDS Day, officially observed December 1, originated in 1988 and is dedicated to raising awareness of the global AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. This year’s World AIDS Day theme is “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise.” Deputy Borough President Graham will be joined by Manhattan Deputy Borough President Rosemonde Pierre-Louis, Project S.A.F.E. Director Jason Hargrove, HIV activist L. Joy Williams, Project S.A.F.E. youth peer leaders, and representatives from Planned Parenthood, GMHC, HEAT Clinic, Brooklyn LIVES, NYC Police Athletic League, THEO, and El Puente.

The press conference will conclude with assembled community leaders, young people and families making a walk of solidarity across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall in honor of the upcoming World AIDS day and the 25th anniversary of the first published report on AIDS.

Project S.A.F.E. is sponsored by Project Reach Youth, a Brooklyn-based non-profit organization that fosters youth development and leadership to prepare young people to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood. Project S.A.F.E aims to increase HIV/AIDS awareness to ensure that no one becomes infected with HIV due to lack of information.

According to the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, there are an estimated 96,829 New York City residents living with HIV/AIDS, including 23,888 Brooklynites. Deputy Borough President Graham is proud to join the young people of Project S.A.F.E as they raise awareness of HIV/AIDS education and work to provide the knowledge that can be the difference between life and death.