World AIDS day was celebrated in Fall River on November 29, 2012 with a ceremony at Gromada Plaza in front of Government Center. About two dozen people gathered at noon to mark the 23rd anniversary of the worldwide event, the eighteenth time it was celebrated in Fall River. According to Fall River Health and Human Services Director Henry Vaillancourt, M.D., 221 people are living with AIDS in the city, 63% of whom are male. Vaillancourt noted that the largest group in Fall River is represented by intravenous drug users, which accounts for 37.5 percent of the total. Connie Rocha-Mimoso of Seven Hills Behavioral Health talked about the world-wide effort to get to zero cases of AIDS. The event continued in the evening with a candlelight vigil from Government Center to Sociedade Cultural Acoriana where local organizations were recognized for their service over the past year. Click here for a video of the event.  Click here read the Herald News article about the event. Click here to see photos from the 2009 event. For more information, contact the STEP Outreach Center at 508-235-1012.
 

(Top row, left) Emilo Riveira holds his Chihuahua, Yogi, and balloons along with Elsa Reyes at Gromada Plaza before the ceremony. (Top row, center and right) Connie Rocha-Mimoso of Seven Hills Behavioral Health opens the ceremony and invites Mayor William Flanagan to give some remarks about the impact of HIV/AIDS in Fall River. (Middle row, left) City Health and Human Services Director Dr. Henry Vaillancourt gives some of the statistics describing the toll of HIV/AIDS in Fall River. (Middle row, right) Natasha Vera and Jealexis DeLossantos hold cutouts of the AIDS ribbon. (Bottom row, left) SSTAR Project Aware staff Wanda Cruz and Leonor Luz listen to the speakers. (Bottom row, right) People, including Mark Viveiros, right, gather on the Plaza.