Indiana AIDS Memorial Upgraded Before World AIDS Day Event

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — With World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, the Indiana AIDS Memorial at Crown Hill Cemetery has been upgraded ahead of a rededication ceremony set for Friday, The Associated Press reports via IndyStar. According to AP, IndyStar reports $75,000 of upgrades includes a new circular base of stamped concrete around the monument's sculpture, and a sidewalk from the Indianapolis cemetery road. AP adds the cemetery's president Keith Norwalk hopes the upgrade project will encourage more friends and relatives of AIDS victims to add their names to the memorial's stone tablets.

The rededication ceremony is set for 9 a.m. Friday at the memorial, where the centerpiece is Indianapolis artist Guy R. Grey's 10-foot bronze of two crossed arms in the shape of an AIDS lapel ribbon, AP reports via IndyStar.

More: apnews.com

Patch took a look at the Indiana State Department of Health's report "Indiana Persons Living with HIV/AIDS as of December 31, 2016," and found there were 208 new reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Marion County, and 4,896 total people living in Indiana with HIV/AIDS. Those numbers are seven and 218 for Hamilton County.

There are several additional places to learn more about HIV/AIDS or to receive free testing, including The Damien Center.

More: in.gov

Photo credit: Michael Conroy/Associated Press