Youth Conference On HIV April 28

DANBURY — Interfaith AIDS Ministry announced that the Ninth Annual Youth Reacting to AIDS (YRTA): Youth Empowerment Conference will take place at the Ethan Allen Inn on Monday, April 28, from 9 am to 4 pm.

Registration is $5 for those 24 or younger and $10 for others. Preregistration deadline is April 21. Since the conference has a limited numbers of seating, people are encouraged to register as soon as possible.

This year’s program will feature nationally recognized speakers Shawn Decker and Gwenn Barringer. Their presentation is entitled, “A Boy, A Girl, A Virus and The Relationship That Happened Anyway.”

Shawn Decker acquired the HIV virus as a child and spent most of his life thinking that it would take him out before he could drive. But it did not. He grew up, and he fell in love with Gwenn. How can an HIV-positive man make a life with an HIV-negative woman?

This funny, challenging, real-life AIDS awareness program asks questions such as: “What would you do if you fell in love with someone with HIV?” “How much do you really know?”

YRTA conference is a statewide youth-to-youth conference. Presenters at the workshops are primarily between 13 and 18 years of age. For eight years, this conference has provided a place for ideas, networking, and information exchange among all youth in Connecticut.

This year there will also be sessions on street outreach, a game show, interactive theater, and other activities. For more information and registration, contact Mio Galarza at 748-4077 or email at iammiozotis@aol.com.