Free Salt Lake Valley screenings of documentary for World AIDS Day

Three free screenings of the documentary "We Were Here" are being offered next week in West Jordan and Salt Lake City to commemorate World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

The showings are offered by the Salt Lake County Health Department, Salt Lake County Library Services and the University of Utah Center for Student Wellness.

The screenings will be held:

• Tuesday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., Viridian Event Center, 8030 South 1825 West, West Jordan.

• Thursday, Dec. 5, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Olpin Student Union, University of Utah, 200 South Central Campus Drive, Salt Lake City.

Directors David Weissman and Bill Weber interviewed survivors who lived through the onset of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco's gay community in the early 1980s. The film "provides insight into what society could, and should, offer its citizens in the way of medical care, social services, and community support," Salt Lake County officials said in a statement.

The Viridian Event Center will display local panels from the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, courtesy of the Utah AIDS Foundation and the Northern Utah AIDS Coalition.

County library branches will feature World AIDS Day commemoration displays until Dec. 7.

The rate of HIV infection has been increasing nationally and in Utah. Nearly 2,000 Salt Lake County residents are living with HIV, according to a county statement. Find more information about HIV and AIDS in the U.S. here.

Walk-in HIV testing is available at these locations:

• Salt Lake County Health Department Clinic, 610 South 200 East, Salt Lake City, 385-468-4242, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., $25. Other STD testing is also available.

• Utah AIDS Foundation, 1408 South 1100 East, 801-487-2323, Mondays and Thursdays, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., free. Other STD testing is also available.

• Utah Pride Center, 255 East 400 South, 801-539-8800, first and third Wednesdays of the month, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., free. —

World AIDS Day

In 1988, health advocates created World AIDS Day — the first global health day — to unite the world to fight against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to support those affected by the disease, and to commemorate those lost to it.

Source: Salt Lake County