(credit: DALLAS>AIDS Deciding Moments)

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – More than 14,000 people living in Dallas County are living with HIV, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, and many of them don’t know it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 20 percent of people living with the disease are unaware of their status.

Next month, Dallas County Health and Human Services and Greater than AIDS rolls out a new campaign to educate residents about HIV/AIDS and encourage them to get tested. The DALLAS>AIDS Deciding Moments Campaign will feature billboards, transit, print and radio ads throughout October.

“Knowing your HIV status is a great benefit to individuals and to our community as a whole,” DCHHS Director Zachary Thompson said. “Having this knowledge allows people to make better decisions about their health in the future.”

Over the past eight years, the number of people living with HIV in Dallas County has increased 39 percent. Three Dallas residents living with HIV are among the faces of the deciding moments campaign. By sharing their personal experiences, they hope to inspire others to get tested.

(credit: DALLAS>AIDS Deciding Moments)

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