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The State Of The Nebraska Aids Project

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On busy street in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska there is a small, light brown building that says “Law Offices” in large letters on the front. This building houses NAP, or the Nebraska Aids Project; the only aids service program in the entire state. The Nebraska Aids project is vital to Nebraska’s population in general, more specifically however it is crucial to young men of color who have sex with men (MSM), a broad term just to describe people of varying sexualities; the term young in this instance refers to those twenty-five years of age or younger.
Statistically, black and Latino men are at the highest risk for contracting HIV in the United States. While black people represent only 12% of the U.S population, they make up 44% of people living with HIV. Similarly, Latinos are only 16% of the population and yet 21% of people with HIV are Latino. Because of this staggering disparity the Nebraska Aids Project specifically aims to help these groups; though some of their services are available to the general public and some are more explicitly for those living with HIV. One of the most important services NAP provides is the free HIV testing program. This program provides completely free testing for HIV that can be done either confidentially or anonymously. Nebraska is one of the only states left that allows anonymous testing and while there are some downsides to it, such as the inability to ensure proper health care for those who test positive, it encourages more people to get

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