As the HIV/AIDS pandemic heads into its third decade, so does the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, with a renewed determination to fight the virus that infects 3,600 people in Southwestern Pennslyvania, according to the Allegheny County Health Department.

		More info The PATF offers free, anonymous HIV at 905 West St., Wilkinsburg, using OraSure. Hours are Monday, 9 a.m. to noon; Tuesdays and Fridays, 1 to 4 p.m. and Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Testing is also available at Central Outreach Center in the Hill District on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m. Rapid tests are available at the Wilkinsburg office, Mondays from 1 to 4 p.m.; at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center, 5808 Forward Ave., Squirrel Hill, Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. and at Miryam's (women only), 1410 Fifth Ave., Uptown, Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 412-242-2500 ext. 117 for information.

Now marking its 20th anniversary, the task force is one of the oldest providers of HIV education, support and prevention information in the state. It wants to remain relevant, said Kathi Boyle, the first female executive director of the group. She took the helm a year ago, when health statistics revealed that increasingly more women are being infected. Across the United States, a million people live with HIV/AIDS, and like many of those who use the task force, they are increasingly people of color and challenged by poverty.

Boyle has brought more diversity to services -- the task force was once criticized for its lack of outreach to minorities -- and the task force tomorrow rolls out rapid HIV testing, which provides results in an hour from just a finger prick for blood.

Clients will continue to have the choice of using OraSure, a test that uses a sample swabbed from the mouth. Results take five to 10 days. All testing and counseling remain private and confidential.

The task force is also strengthening the voice of its Consumer Advisory Council, which recently finished a confidential survey of clients.

"We wanted to listen to clients," said task force spokeswoman, Gina Focareta, "and make the changes [to programs] they're actually requesting."

One national study last year showed that HIV rates were increasing in some high-risk populations because among young people and black men who have sex with men many have tuned out HIV/AIDS prevention messages.

Unfortunately the task force must continue its public awareness after two decades of education and what activists say is rising "fatigue" about the disease. A new task force logo, pictured above, is designed to address the urgency and send a message that those living with HIV can be empowered.

"We must sound the alarm again about this disease," said Boyle, "whether as a result of complacency or the need for educating a broader range of people. Our purpose for fighting is to prevent the increasing rate of infection and to help ease the challenges of those living with HIV/AIDS."