AIDS Project
Rhode Island launches online campaign

AIDS Project Rhode Island is planning to launch an online HIV and sexually transmitted disease prevention campaign through which trained volunteers will talk with chat room visitors about lowering their risky behaviors, the Providence Journal reports. The program, called Sexperts, will initially focus on gay men but will eventually expand to include other high-risk groups, organizers say. Volunteers will enter online chat rooms popular with gay men for meeting sex partners, introduce themselves as HIV educators, and offer to talk with other chat room visitors or provide HIV- and STD-related information and referrals. Similar programs are already under way in Boston, San Francisco, New York City, and New Orleans. The AIDS Project Rhode Island online program is being funded by a grant from the KR Hofmann Foundation. (Advocate.com)