Community World AIDS Day event brings testing and resources to Prince George's
A free World AIDS Day community program is taking place today at the Suitland Community Center, offering HIV prevention information, testing, screenings and panel discussions with health partners and local elected officials. The event aims to reduce stigma and connect Prince George's County residents to treatment and prevention services.
Today Prince George's County hosts a regional World AIDS Day program at the Suitland Community Center, 5600 Regency Lane in Forestville. Titled Your Health, Your Power: A Community Day of Awareness and Action, the free event is part of broader DMV World AIDS Day programming and brings testing resources, prevention information and screenings to the county.
Organizers set up panels featuring health partners and local elected officials to discuss access to care, prevention options and ways to reduce stigma in communities disproportionately affected by HIV. Onsite testing and screening services are intended to identify residents in need of treatment and to link them with prevention services. The event also provides information on local community resources so residents who test positive, or who seek prevention tools, can find timely follow up care.
This gathering matters for public health because accessible testing and clear pathways to care reduce transmission, improve health outcomes and lower long term costs for families and the health system. Stigma often discourages people from seeking testing and treatment, so public facing screenings and conversations with health leaders aim to normalize care and expand the reach of prevention services. By holding the program at a neighborhood community center, organizers seek to make services physically and culturally accessible to a broad cross section of county residents.
Beyond immediate testing and referrals, the presence of local elected officials signals attention to health equity and the policy choices that shape access to services. Residents who attend can learn about prevention options, including testing frequency recommendations and how to connect with ongoing treatment providers. The event offers a moment for community members to raise concerns about service gaps and for public officials and health partners to hear those concerns directly.
For residents seeking services today, the Suitland Community Center will host the program through the day. The regional World AIDS Day initiative highlights that local testing and prevention resources are available within Prince George's County, and that community level events remain a key strategy to reduce stigma and improve health equity.
