June 27th, 2008 is no ordinary Friday. In addition to the usual festivities that normally happen on this day, like payday (hallelujah!), another highly important event will occur as well: National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) 2008.

Like most social workers around the world, I am always amenable to joining an honorable cause. Helping the National Association of People Living with AIDS and numerous other governmental and nonprofit agencies to promote this annual campaign seemed like a cause I could easily participate in.

Besides assisting the Administration of Children and Families’ Office of Community Services to advertise NHTD to employees and grantees, I decided to actually get tested and blog about it.

Let’s beam ourselves back in time to last Friday, June 20th, 2008. The sun blazed hot and humid in the sky and there was hardly any breeze to cool the sweat collecting under my dress shirt. It was almost the perfect summer day to walk half of a mile to the clinic on Delaware Avenue. Proceeding with urgency (I had to be back within an hour.), I felt calm and bright and part of a larger movement and purpose. Although not quite reaching the moon, this decision and moment, these small steps still had a great impact on mankind, on public health. I hurried, fanning myself with the printed-out Map Quest directions along the way.

The clinic was once an elementary school. You could still hear and see the spirit of little kids running on the linoleum tiles in penny loafers and sneakers, standing in line for the water fountain and teasing each other in between sips.

The free walk-in testing service was conducted in a small room located on the second floor. A woman seated at her desk smiled and instructed me to sit down. She pulled out some forms and began with the standard questions: Have I had unprotected sex in the past year? Have I had sex with an injection drug user? I answered all of her questions and I signed in several places. She informed me that my confidentiality was protected throughout the entire process. I should not worry. Then she reached for the test instrument and asked me to open my mouth so she could swab behind my upper and lower lip. Of course, the minute the test stick hit my mouth I cried like a baby! Not really, it was painless. I received my results in 15 minutes. The entire process, from completing the paperwork to taking the test, took about 20 minutes. I was back at the office within an hour, trying to cool down and wishing I had made a detour to the beach.

You can visit this website to obtain the address of a testing site near you http://www.hivtest.org/ as well as to download NHTD materials and view public service announcements developed by students. Know your status; it is a simple, painless and, for the most part, free testing process.

Spread the word and join the fight against HIV.