CLEARLAKE — Community Care, a nonprofit agency, will provide free-of-charge, anonymous HIV testing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 15 at the Bridge Peer Support Center.
People interested in testing will have an opportunity to meet with a test counselor before and after testing. Counseling before and after a HIV test is important because it provides critical information about HIV itself and about the testing process, according to Community Care Program Director Doris McConnell.
The oral swab test will provide results in 20 minutes. Once the results are available, people will be given the results in private and in person.
More than 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV infection and almost one in six are unaware of their infection. Early diagnosis and treatment saves lives, McConnell stated.
The Bridge Peer Support Center is located at 14954 Burns Valley Road in Clearlake.
