You may have noticed red scarves scattered across downtown St.Catharines.
Glen Walker, Executive Director of Positive Living Niagara tells CKTB the 500 hand knitted scarves are to mark AIDS awareness week.
Volunteers knitted the scarves all year long with wool provided by a grant from the casino.
Walker says we still have people living with HIV in Niagara, and there is still a stigma attached to the virus.
He says last year there were 12 new HIV infections diagnosed.
Walker says treatment is so effective that infected people can't actually spread it, so testing and being diagnosed is key.
The scarves will appear again in Niagara Falls on Thursday down Queen Street.
Across the country, the week of November 21 to December 1 marks Canadian HIV/AIDS Awareness Week.
It’s an occasion to raise awareness surrounding issues nationally and ends with World AIDS Day on December 1st.