“I Care, Do You?” is the topic on the minds of many AIDS activists, agencies and mourners as they commemorate the lives lost by the disease tomorrow at a 6 p.m. candlelight vigil. The vigil is being held in Goodale Park gazebo for the 14th Annual World AIDS Day.

The event is coordinated by the Columbus AIDS Task Force and sponsored by a slew of other AIDS prevention and service groups. The vigil, “United By Our Light,” will feature keynote speaker City Attorney Janet Jackson, special music and a names reading ceremony.

“Since 2001 is also the 20th anniversary of AIDS, it is even more important that the all of the communities affected by the epidemic come together to honor the memory of those we have lost and to recommit ourselves to the ongoing fight against AIDS,” said Sue Crumpton, executive director CATF.

The focus of this year’s World AIDS Day is to encourage all young people to become more aware of the risks of HIV/AIDS.

According to the American Association for World Health, “Young people under age 25 represent half of all new HIV infection cases. Ten million people 15-24 are currently living with HIV/AIDS, and every minute, five young people are infected with HIV.”

Project Open Hand, a group that provides nutritional and meal service to people living with HIV/AIDS, attributes the rise of HIV cases among young adults to their complacency about AIDS.

“It’s called safe-sex fatigue,” she said. “People may be taking fewer precautions to protect themselves from infection because of the drugs-the belief that AIDS drugs are making the disease more manageable and chronic, which isn’t,” said Tracey Fortkamp, executive director of Project Open Hand.

David Andrist, director of education for the CATF, agrees.

“They hear about people living healthier and they think there is a cure, but there isn’t. This thought concerns us greatly because we have not seen a decrease in infection,” Andrist said.

He added there have been 40,000 new infections every year since 1995 and that number has not decreased.

“There are a lot of great meds out and people are living healthier lives, but what we don’t hear is about the horrible side affects, what people living on the meds have to deal with,” Andrist said.

Fortkamp thinks increased education is the key to bringing the seriousness of HIV/AIDS back to the forefront.

“AIDS prevention agencies and AIDS service organizations – we just need to continue to get the word out there,” Fortkamp said.

She added, “There are still so many misconceptions about the disease, I think people still think that it is a ‘gay’ disease.”

Getting the word out is exactly what the groups like Project Open Hand and the CATF are hoping to do tomorrow.

“We plan on canvassing the crowd and passing out red ribbons and information about HIV and AIDS and information about the vigil,” Andrist said.

A team of AIDS prevention agencies will gather in the Short North area, during the monthly Gallery Hop, to hand out flyers and other informative information about HIV/AIDS.