Sunday, June 27, was National HIV testing day. Some Americans believe that HIV is something that they do not need to worry about as it is a thing of the past. This is highly inaccurate as every nine-and-a-half minutes, someone in the United States is infected with HIV. With this statistic in mind, it is extremely likely that we all know someone who is HIV positive. While this is extremely shocking, every person has the power to do something to stop this epidemic – we can all get tested. This stops the spread of the disease and provides people with information on how to be healthy in the future, whether they are HIV positive or negative. Another important thing that we can do is to say no to I-1107 and yes to I-1098. The state of Washington needs to have revenue for essential health programs – including reproductive health. Without access to trusted reproductive health care providers, many people will not have the resources to protect themselves against STDs, HIV, or unplanned pregnancies. As HIV affects all of our communities, individual actions as well as group efforts are required in order to ensure that safety net services are maintained in our state. A commitment to this goal is the only way to make real progress.

Cameron Michels, Kirkland