Nonprofit Hosts Street Performances in LA for World Aids Day Excerpts from Original HIV/AIDS Telenovela Web Series

On World AIDS Day AltaMed Health Services Launches an HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign with an Original Four Episode Telenovela Web Series to Raise Awareness for HIV/AIDS Prevention

Los Angeles, CA (I-Newswire) November 15, 2012 - AltaMed will feature street performances from its English & Spanish telenovela Sin Vergüenza (Without Shame) as part of an awareness campaign for World AIDS Day on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 from 10am – 12pm at its HIV clinic on 5427 Whittier Blvd. in Commerce, California. The four part telenovela mini-series will premiere on AltaMed’s Youtube channel in an effort to bring awareness to the community about HIV/AIDS prevention.

The event will offer free HIV testing, a screening of the first episode of the mini-series, along with live music and a theater performance by local theater company Casa 0101. The series features character stories to highlight the impact HIV has on Latino families. The telenovela addresses stigma, shame, infidelity, and family secrets as contributors to risk and the ongoing spread of HIV. The series encourages people to seek HIV testing.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection and 1 in 5 is unaware of their infection. The telenovela “Sin Vergüenza” is tied to AltaMed’s Universal HIV Testing Initiative which promotes routine HIV screening among all adults, adolescents, and pregnant women ages 13 years of age and older.

Release dates for the four part telenovela, “Sin Vergüenza” are Nov. 30, Dec. 17, Jan. 7 & Jan. 22. You can view all four episodes on AltaMed’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/healthsvcs. AltaMed participates in World AIDS Day each year to support the fight against HIV and to remember those who have lost their lives to the disease. To learn more about AltaMed, visit www.AltaMed.org.

About AltaMed Health Services
AltaMed is Southern California's leading nonprofit health care system delivering integrated primary care services, senior care programs, and health and human services for the entire family. AltaMed's team of multicultural and bilingual physicians and health care professionals deliver superior quality care through an integrated delivery system of 43 sites and an affiliated Independent Practice Association (IPA) of contracted physicians in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.