The first case of HIV infection in the United States was diagnosed in 1981. The following year, AID Atlanta was formed as a grassroots response to combat the devastating effects of this new disease on the people of Atlanta. Since then, AID Atlanta has provided medication assistance, housing and transportation, testing and counseling, education, and other programs for tens of thousands of people affected by HIV/AIDS. In conjunction with the development of newer and more effective antiviral medications, organizations such as AID Atlanta helped decrease the incidence of HIV infections in the 1990s.

Since the late 1990s, however, the rate of new HIV infections has remained stable in the United States. Many people in my generation and younger generations, who missed the first wave of the pandemic, have become complacent. They are unaware of the seriousness of HIV/AIDS or think that it is just another treatable disease. AID Atlanta's outreach programs have the greatest potential to curb the pandemic by reaching these young people. With no cure or vaccine on the horizon, education is our most effective weapon against HIV/AIDS, and this education can be best delivered through AID Atlanta's outreach programs.

And that's why I am proud to participate in the Atlanta Cotillion.