#bestd

June 27 is National HIV Testing Day

First observed in 1995, National HIV Testing Day is meant to encourage people to get tested for HIV, know their status, and learn about resources for care and treatment.  These postcards from 1995 come from the Brady East STD Clinic Records at the UWM Archives.  The Brady East STD Clinic (BESTD) first opened in Milwaukee in 1974 as a program of the Gay Peoples Union and became a prominent statewide leader in the battle against HIV/AIDS in Wisconsin during the 1990s.

The first documented case of HIV in Wisconsin was in 1983. The BESTD Clinic volunteers began their preliminary responses to AIDS in 1984 with the formation of the Milwaukee AIDS Project. The Milwaukee AIDS Project was a BESTD clinic committee and conducted the state’s first HIV outreach testing at local gay bars and clubs in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee AIDS Project became its own independent entity in 1986 as the complexity and demands of the HIV/AIDS crisis increased, later reorganizing as the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin.  Brady East STD Clinic continues to provide HIV/AIDS testing and prevention counseling.

These postcards can be found in Box 4, Folder 2 of the Brady East STD Clinic Records, UWM MSS 238.

-Lizzie, Archives Graduate Intern