ABOUT
The Red Scarf Project began in 2012, and was organized by the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection, an AIDS Service organization based out of London, Ontario. The Project began as an awareness campaign, aimed at generating community dialogue around HIV during AIDS Awareness Week which takes place during the last week of November annually . In the first year, 350 scarves twere made and donated by members of the community and hung on the streets of downtown London and Stratford by the staff and volunteers of the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection. People who found the scarves were encouraged to wear them, take them home, read the attached information tag and spread the important message of awareness.
The campaign was brought to Oshawa by the AIDS Committee of Durham Region in 2014.In its first year in Durham Region, the Red Scarf Project received 150 scarves. Since then, the campaign has grown steadily, expanding into the cities and towns surrounding Oshawa and generating upwards of 800 scarves annually.
Now in its fifth year in Durham, the goal of the project remains the same - to increase awareness about the impact HIV has on our community. The project is simple, throughout October and November, ACDR collects red scarves made by members of the community and on World AIDS Day, the scarves are tied around the city.
When tied, each scarf looks like the red ribbon, the international symbol of HIV awareness. The hope is that this powerful visual display, scarf after scarf lining the streets, will bring the topic of HIV/AIDS to the forefront of people’s minds, and encourage meaningful conversations about HIV care, and prevention.
