Although many assume the elderly lead largely abstinent lives, AIDS is on the rise among seniors as HIV-positive Americans are living longer than ever. With one study suggesting the majority of HIV patients in New York will be over 50 within a decade, AIDS workers are beginning to pay more attention to the senior set.


AP:

NEW YORK (AP) — While volunteers passed out cups of Jell-O to the white-haired lunch crowd at a senior center, another group was distributing something that didn’t quite fit amid the card games and daily gossip: condoms. “You’re giving out condoms,” 82-year-old Rose Crescenzo said with a wistful smile, “but who’s going to give us a guy?”

But this was no joke.

The condom giveaway is part of an effort by New York City’s Department of Aging to educate older people about the risks of contracting the virus that causes AIDS. After the condom giveaway, free HIV testing was offered.

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