The Division of Public Health and Community Services is offering Human Immunodeficiency Virus testing in Nashua and Milford on June 27.

Testing is confidential and available at no cost to anyone, including individuals who are uninsured. Gift cards are available for anyone receiving HIV testing while supplies last.

Testing will be held at the following times and locations:

-7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Nashua Soup Kitchen, 2 Quincy St. in Nashua.

-9 a.m. to noon at Keyes Field, 45 Elm St. in Milford

-10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services, 18 Mulberry St. in Nashua. Please use the handicapped accessible entrance on Elm Street.

-4 to 6 p.m. next to Holman Stadium, 71 Amherst St. in Nashua

Knowing your HIV status helps you choose options to stay healthy. “Level up your self-love: check your status” emphasizes valuing yourself, showing yourself compassion and respect and honoring your health needs with self-love. People who receive a negative test result can take advantage of HIV prevention tools such as pre-exposure prophylaxis, condoms and other sexual health services such as vaccinations and testing for sexually transmitted infections. People who receive a positive test result can rapidly start HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy or ART) to stay healthy. Getting tested for HIV can also reduce stigma by normalizing HIV testing and discussions about HIV status.

Nashua DPHCS is now prescribing HIV PrEP (Human Immunodeficiency Virus Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) medications to qualifying individuals 18 and older. DoxyPEP is also available, which can help prevent other STIs, such as syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea, after you have unprotected sex. The services are provided at a very low or no cost to clients, regardless of insurance status. No one will be turned away for the inability to pay. Clinics are held on Wednesdays and Thursdays by appointment only.

HIV can affect anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender, age or where they live.

Approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. have HIV. An estimated 13 percent of them do not know it and need testing. In 2022, an estimated 31,800 people acquired HIV in the US. We can help protect more people from HIV through education, talking, testing, and treatment. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone aged 13 to 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine health care.

HIV is most commonly spread through unprotected sex, especially with multiple partners or anonymous partners, or through the sharing of contaminated needles, syringes, or other equipment used for the injection of drugs. It is possible for the virus to survive in a used needle for up to 42 days. People living with HIV/AIDS are at a higher risk of homelessness than the general population, with some studies indicating that as many as half of individuals with HIV/AIDS are at risk of homelessness due to unaffordable housing costs and the high cost of medical care. Help is available to prevent homelessness; please reach out to your local Health Department for resources. To view Nashua DPHCS resources for homelessness, visit nashuanh.gov/1641/Homeless-Resources or call 603-589-4500.

Nashua DPHCS offers regular sexual wellness clinics and outreach services. For more information about this program, please visit the Nashua DPHCS Sexual Wellness Program website at https://www.nashuanh.gov/1270/Sexual-Wellness-Program or call Sascha Stroms, Public Health Nurse, at 603-589-4519. Residents can also stop by to pick up free condoms and educational materials on the clinic/lower level at 18 Mulberry St.