Y.F.F. opens new H.I.V. counselling centre

This evening, Youth For the Future officially opened a drop in centre where young persons can be counselled for HIV and AIDS. The service, situated in the lower flat of the Y.F.F. offices at the Bel-China Bridge, is housed along with the Violence Reduction Unit. According to the chairperson of the National Aids Commission, Ambassador Dolores Balderamos Garcia, while there are similar services being offered in the city, she sees the new centre as very necessary for the prevention of the disease.

Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Chairperson National Aids Commission

?The more the merrier when it comes to education on HIV and AIDS because one must remember that in Belize we have what is called a multi-sectoral response and I don?t think that any one agency could claim to have the answer to either the prevention efforts that we are making or the care, support and treatment efforts on the other hand. I think that we have to continue putting out our money where our mouth is.?

Nuri Muhammed, Executive Director, Y.F.F.

?There are two services being offered in this unit. One is a service that we have always been offering which is the Violence Reduction, but we have added this new unit which is the HIV/AIDS unit. That unit has been added specifically because of the urgency of us getting information about HIV/AIDS prevention to our young people. Many of those young people that we direct this unit to are the same ones that we are dealing with in the Violence Reduction Unit. Those most marginalize young people who often times lock any interest in hearing the mainstream dialogue about HIV/AIDS.?

The unit will be funded primarily by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. The Y.F.F. Drop In Centre opens from Mondays to Fridays during normal working hours.