Mayor Al McDonald made the declaration official as volunteer and AIDS Community of North Bay and Area staff gathered at the White Water Gallery.
As the day is meant to raise awareness to help fight the spread of AIDS and it’s prevention, HIV health Coordinator Kathleen Jodouin says there’s still a great deal of mystery and stigma surrounding AIDS.
“There’s still this misconception that HIV is a big city issue so is a lot of stigma and oppression are community faces. We want to make sure we do our work to raise awareness and eliminate that stigma.”
The downtown core was then decorated with hand-knitted scarves made by over 80 volunteers. Jodouin says the red scarf symbolizes the red ribbon, supporting AIDS awareness. Over 350 scarves were hung throughout downtown. As AIDS awareness weeks wraps up, Aboriginal AIDS Awareness week begins.