The Freeholder Board has partnered with Iris House of Plainfield to offer three free Women’s HIV/AIDS Awareness events at the three Union County College campuses in Plainfield, Cranford and Elizabeth.

Each event includes a brief educational presentation followed by Q&A with expert staff from Iris House. Rapid, confidential HIV/AIDS testing will be offered separately at each campus. To ensure privacy, testing will take place in the Iris House mobile unit parked at each UCC campus during the educational presentation event times.

Iris House, named for early HIV Activist Iris De La Cruz, was the nation’s first HIV/AIDS agency to provide family focused services to women of color infected and affected by HIV. It offers comprehensive support, prevention and education services for women, families, and underserved populations affected by HIV/AIDS and other health disparities in a safe, family-centered environment by passionate, professional and culturally competent staff.

For more information about Iris House and its comprehensive services visit irishouse.org.

All three events are open to the public.

The educational presentations will begin at 2:00 p.m. on each day. Testing at the mobile units also be available on a walk-in basis for individuals ages 18 and older from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day.

The Iris House presentations are designed to cover basic facts about HIV and AIDS including:

– What is HIV
– What is the difference between HIV and AIDS
– How is HIV transmitted: fact vs. myth
– How to protect against HIV includes: condoms, abstinence, and other methods

Union County College Cranford Campus, in Room SD229 in the new Student Development Building. The main entrance to the campus is located at 1033 Springfield Avenue in Cranford.