End HIV PBC

10/15/2026

❤️ **OCTOBER 15 | NATIONAL LATINX AIDS AWARENESS DAY**

**Nuestra salud. Nuestra comunidad. Nuestro futuro.**
*Our health. Our community. Our future.*

Today, we recognize National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD), observed annually since 2003 to bring attention to the disproportionate impact of HIV on Hispanic/Latino communities and the importance of equitable access to prevention, testing, treatment and care.

**The numbers tell a powerful story.**

According to AIDSVu's 2026 NLAAD Toolkit:

❤️ Hispanic/Latino individuals accounted for **34% of new HIV diagnoses in 2024**, despite representing approximately **19% of the U.S. population**.

❤️ Yet Hispanic/Latino individuals represented only **18% of PrEP users**, compared with 62% among White PrEP users.

These figures highlight a critical gap between the communities experiencing new HIV diagnoses and those accessing HIV prevention.

**Awareness matters. ACCESS changes lives.**

Language barriers, stigma, misinformation and difficulties accessing health care can stand between people and the services they need. Closing those gaps requires education, culturally responsive outreach and meaningful community partnerships.

Here in Palm Beach County, HIV Elimination Services (HIVES) is helping advance that conversation through our CTRL • HALT • DEL educational initiative.

💙 CTRL | CONTROL RISKS
Learn about HIV prevention. Explore PrEP, PEP, condoms and routine HIV testing. Knowledge helps you make informed decisions about your health.

❤️ HALT | HALT THE SPREAD
Know your HIV status and connect to care. People with HIV who take treatment and maintain an undetectable viral load do not transmit HIV through s*x. **U=U: Undetectable = Untransmittable.**

💚 DEL | DELETE STIGMA
Speak openly. Challenge misinformation. Support conversations in Spanish, English and the languages spoken throughout our communities. Everyone deserves respect, dignity and access to care.

Your health. Your voice. Your future.

❤️ **NEED AN HIV TEST?**

Request a **FREE in-home HIV test kit**, delivered discreetly to your mailbox:

https://redcap.pbcgov.org/redcap/surveys/?s=M4TXKH8YHDN3TAYD

For HIV prevention, care and support resources in Palm Beach County:

**1-833-PBC-HIV1 (1-833-722-4481)**

**La prevención es poder. La información salva vidas.**
*Prevention is power. Information saves lives.*

This National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day, let's turn awareness into action and work toward a future where everyone has the information, support and opportunities they need to thrive.

**CTRL risks. HALT the spread. DEL stigma.**

10/15/2026

A follow-up call. A resource found. A listening ear when life feels overwhelming. Our case managers know that every step toward care matters. 💙

During Case Manager Appreciation Week, we’re celebrating the people who help turn barriers into next steps and make navigating care feel less overwhelming.

Their work brings CTRL • HALT • DEL to life:
CTRL risks through knowledge and resources.
HALT the spread by helping people connect to and stay engaged in HIV care.
DEL stigma by treating every person with dignity and respect.

To our HIVES case managers and case managers across Palm Beach County: thank you for the persistence, compassion and heart you bring to this work. We see you and we appreciate you!

Happy Case Manager Appreciation Week!

To all of our dedicated case managers here at the PBC Community Services Department and in Palm Beach County: thank you for your compassion, commitment, and unwavering service to the residents of Palm Beach County.

This coming week, we celebrate YOU and the difference you make every day!

Today's team highlight showcases our case managers within in the HIV Elimination Services program. To learn more or get involved, please follow:
End HIV PBC

10/02/2026

STOP SCROLLING!!!

Are you positive that you’re negative?
Think about that for a second...

With rising diagnoses in the county, if you haven’t been tested, you don’t know.

And knowing your status is where prevention begins.

Here in Palm Beach County, we are taking action with our CTRL - HALT - DEL campaign ...

CTRL :: Control Risks - Empowering individuals to take charge of their health by reducing risks of HIV.

HALT :: Halt the Spread - Stopping the spread of HIV through care and treatment for persons with HIV.

DEL :: Delete Stigma - Erasing HIV stigma and disparities in health outcomes.

Testing connects you to answers.
Answers connect you to care.
Care connects you to control.

We are here to serve you and these resources are free ... please REACH OUT today - and share with friends and family ... we can even send a free test kit in the mail ... no excuses. Use this link: https://redcap.pbcgov.org/redcap/surveys/?s=M4TXKH8YHDN3TAYD

And Call 1-833-PBC-HIV1 (722-4481) or make an appointment with your doctor and find services near you today.

10/02/2026

This Friday, October 2, we recognize National Disease Intervention Specialists Recognition Day and celebrate the dedicated professionals who help protect the health of our communities.

The 2026 theme, “The Rhythm of Public Health,” honors the connections among collaboration, partnerships and communities that make disease intervention possible.

Disease Intervention Specialists build trust, support people who may have been exposed to infectious diseases, connect individuals with testing and treatment and respond when public-health threats emerge.

We also honor the HIVES team members whose fieldwork strengthens this same public-health rhythm every day. Through outreach, education, linkage, re-engagement and trusted community conversations, they help people find answers, overcome barriers and connect with essential HIV services.

Their work reflects CTRL • HALT • DEL:

CTRL :: Control Risks by helping people access information, prevention and testing.

HALT :: Halt the Spread by connecting people to treatment, care and continued support.

DEL :: Delete Stigma by meeting every person with dignity, compassion and respect.

To every Disease Intervention Specialist and every HIVES team member serving people in the field, thank you for being a steady and trusted force in public health.

Learn more about the 2026 observance:
https://www.cdc.gov/sti/php/from-the-director/2026-09-28-seth-dis-day.html

For HIV services in Palm Beach County, call 1-833-PBC-HIV1 (1-833-722-4481).

Request a free in-home delivered HIV test kit:
https://redcap.pbcgov.org/redcap/surveys/?s=M4TXKH8YHDN3TAYD



ALT TEXT:
Square recognition graphic for National Disease Intervention Specialists Recognition Day on October 2, 2026. Three diverse public-health professionals collaborate with a clipboard and tablet in a bright South Florida community setting. Text highlights the 2026 theme, “The Rhythm of Public Health,” and reads, “Connect. Protect. Respond. Celebrating Disease Intervention Specialists and honoring HIVES in the field.” CTRL • HALT • DEL, Palm Beach County Community Services and Palm Beach County logos appear along the bottom.

09/29/2026

HIV diagnoses in Palm Beach County rose 26.8%* in one year!
Read that again, please.

In 2024, 341 residents received a new HIV diagnosis and 9,175 people in our county were living with HIV.

Behind every number is a person who deserves information, care and a community they can turn to.
No one should have to wonder whether their place of worship will still welcome them after an HIV diagnosis.
That is why Grace & Truth began.

Recently, faith leaders, healthcare and public health professionals, community partners, advocates and people with lived experience gathered for Palm Beach County’s inaugural Grace & Truth: Ask. Listen. Affirm. – A Faith-Based Movement to End HIV Stigma Symposium.

They came together to confront the silence and assumptions surrounding HIV and to ask what faith communities can do differently:

Ask instead of assume.
Listen instead of judge.
Affirm each person’s dignity.

Mrs. Stephne Ellis, Community Health Coordinator with Palm Beach County HIV Elimination Services, brought these voices together because faith communities can help people feel safe asking questions, talking about HIV and reaching for support.. In this opening video, she calls on participants to carry that charge beyond the symposium and into their congregations, ministries and communities.

This is the first in our Grace & Truth Spotlight series. In the videos ahead, you’ll hear from the people who helped shape the gathering.

Watch. Share. Take the conversation home. Be a safe space to your community.

Our work is guided by CTRL • HALT • DEL: control risks through prevention and education, halt the spread by connecting people to care and delete the stigma that keeps people from seeking support. We are here to help. Now. Free.

For HIV testing, prevention services or care in Palm Beach County, call 1-833-PBC-HIV1 (1-833-722-4481). Request a free mailed in-home HIV test kit here: https://redcap.pbcgov.org/redcap/surveys/?s=M4TXKH8YHDN3TAYD



*Source: Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, 2025 Annual Health Profile (2024 data).