AIDS Walk Ottawa begins its 11th year in a co-sponsored relationship between AIDS Committee of Ottawa and Bruce House in partnership with ten AIDS service organizations based in and working for people living in the Ottawa region. AIDS Walk Ottawa will happen on Saturday, September 22 at 7PM. This year the event is a candle lit walk and we encourage everyone to be part of WHITE NIGHT by dressing in any clothing that is white---be it a wedding dress, a toga, white jeans and t-shirt or your favourite white tuxedo! We want Ottawa to light up the night in remembrance of those who have gone before while lighting the way for those living with AIDS now and in the future. There IS hope but there is still no cure.

Currently, it is a fact that HIV/AIDS infection rates are on their way back up. Since the first reports of the disease twenty years ago, public awareness has peaked and fallen as new drug therapies prevented deaths in the huge numbers we saw in the early 1980s. With fewer fatalities and targeted campaigns aimed at preventing the spread of the infection, AIDS faded from the public eye and we saw a decline in the number of infections. Yet, despite this and the continuing education and awareness campaigns by the many AIDS Service agencies across the country, AIDS infection rates are going back up among gay men, injection drug users AND among heterosexuals. AIDS has NOT disappeared. It is a very real public health issue - one that needs to be addressed by politicians and health care professionals as much as by the man and woman on the street.

As a participant in WHITE NIGHT, you play a significant role in raising awareness of this disease. You and your donor friends ensure continued access to the essential services being provided by the following partners in this AIDS Walk: