30,000 TO FILL STREETS OCTOBER 19 FOR AIDS WALK LOS ANGELES 2008

MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS
IN CITY WHERE AIDS WALK MOVEMENT BEGAN

Los Angeles, Calif., August 26, 2008 -- On October 19, in the city that held the world's first AIDS Walk, thousands will take to the streets for AIDS Walk Los Angeles, benefiting AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and more than a dozen other AIDS service organizations throughout Los Angeles County. 

Now in its 24th year, the highly anticipated annual event coincides this year with the release of troubling new information on an expanding epidemic.

A recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announcement revealed that new annual HIV infections across the U.S. are 40 percent higher than previously reported. New reports also document rising infection rates among gay and bisexual men and a surging epidemic among people of color.

"The disease is outpacing our efforts to control it," explains Craig E. Thompson, APLA executive director. "Still, only one in 20 gay and bisexual men globally have access to HIV prevention, treatment and care. And over 60,000 people -- more than ever before -- are living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County."

APLA is responding to the trends with a range of initiatives supported by AIDS Walk fundraising: "AIDS Walk is a vital source of support for programs that confront these disparities," Thompson adds.

APLA's prevention programs, including its African American Gay Men's Health Initiative and its Mpowerment youth prevention program, are working to reduce infection rates among the hardest hit.

In the face of a flagging economy, APLA is working with policy leaders to safeguard the needs of people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. 

"AIDS Walk participants also allow us to give more bags of groceries through our food pantry network, perform more dental procedures at our dental clinics, and secure more safe and stable housing for people living with HIV/AIDS," Thompson says.

"Complacency and apathy are simply not an option in the fight against AIDS," says Craig R. Miller, who founded AIDS Walk Los Angeles in 1985.

Miller's organization of activists, MZA Events, has produced the event each year for the past 24 years. "The epidemic is expanding. So we are very reliant on the community of people who participate in the AIDS Walk and, fortunately, that is an expanding community. We have to marshal the resources and muster the commitment to truly end HIV in our lifetimes," Miller adds.   

AIDS Walk Los Angeles will begin and end in the heart of West Hollywood at San Vicente Boulevard, between Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. The 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) route traverses the streets of both West Hollywood and Los Angeles.

About AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA): AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Marking 25 years of service in 2008, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit www.apla.org.

About AIDS Walk Los Angeles:  Since 1985, AIDS Walk Los Angeles has raised nearly $60 million for HIV programs and services throughout Los Angeles County, and has grown into one of the largest AIDS fundraising events in the country. In 2007 alone, 30,000 participants, many of whom were members of 1,300 corporate and community teams, raised a record sum of nearly $3.9 million for AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and over a dozen other AIDS service organizations. For more information, visit www.aidswalk.net.

About MZA Events: AIDS Walk Los Angeles was founded in 1985 by Craig R. Miller and his organization of activists, MZA Events. Miller is the originator of the AIDS Walk fundraising model and has raised more than $300 million for leading AIDS charities nationwide. For more information, visit www.mzaevents.com.