Awareness is the first step to action in preventing HIV and AIDS.

Iowa City Red Week teamed up with many organizations such as ONE at University of Iowa and the UI Hospitals & Clinics HIV/AIDS Clinic to raise awareness in conjunction with HIV/AIDS Awareness Week and World AIDS Day throughout the week.

“IC Red Week is a weeklong initiative to spread HIV/AIDS awareness,” said Chelsea Higgins, a member of IC Red Week.

She noted that HIV/AIDS is a serious issue closer to many people than they might think.

“I think a lot of people in the area don’t realize it applies to them and their friends,” Higgins said. “It affects a large amount of the community.”

RELATED: Activist fights against HIV/AIDS

There have been many successful events that have taken place so far this week to raise awareness, she said, including a safe-sex information table in the IMU on Tuesday, and the Red Affair benefit dinner on Wednesday put on in conjunction with the HIV/AIDS Clinic at the UIHC.

There was also a film screening of Fire in Our Blood, which focuses on the pharmaceutical industry and student advocates.

Upcoming events include an amateur drag show put on by Mirage tonight at the IMU, and Battle of the Bands at Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St., on Saturday (not sponsored by the university).

One of the most important events of the week, The Reading of the Names, will take place all day today on the Pentacrest.

Higgins said the reading is a way to stand in solidarity with and show support for those affected by the disease.

“They read names from a giant binder of people who have passed away or been affected by HIV/AIDS,” Higgins said. “It serves as a memorial for those who have passed on.”

Meghan Lindell, another member of IC Red Week, noted that Johnson County Public Health was involved in the week.

Free HIV testing was offered all last week.

RELATED: Panel focuses on stigma regarding HIV/AIDS

Kathryn Edel, a health educator at Public Health and the head of the free HIV testing going on through the week, said the department has offered free HIV testing in conjunction with World AIDS Day for a number of years.

“Johnson County Public Health hosts testing events every year on World AIDS Day,” she said.

She said the services are free and confidential and definitely affect the community in a positive way.

“We try to insert ourselves into spaces that will attract the most people and increase the number we are able to reach,” Edel said. “It’s hard to access any free health-care services in any setting, so the fact Johnson County can offer this is huge.”

UI student Kristina O’Shea, who used the free testing services, said it’s important to her to know the status of her health.

O’Shea said she has been tested twice before, and she thinks it’s something everyone should get done routinely.