Enter the DeKalb County Board of Health’s Halloween maze if you dare.
The “STD/HIV Haunted Maze,” planned from 2 to 6 p.m. Oct. 29, is full of unusual detours: pictures of infections, instructions on how to put on condoms, information on syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV.
There’s also a wheel visitors can spin. It’s lined with the names of sexually transmitted diseases.
Say it lands on chlamydia.
“We’re going to tell you you’re infected with chlamydia now,” said Janneth Nidez, a program assistant with the health department. “It’s just like a game.”
A game which concludes with education about STDs.
Nidez understands why the event, which will be held at the Exchange Park Recreation Center, seems a bit odd. But she said the idea came from an employee who worked on a similar one in Tennessee.
The purpose is to find a unique way to engage teens and young adults – a population badly in need of STD information. The 30034 zip code, where Exchange Park is located at 2771 Columbia Drive, is an area of concern for HIV and syphilis, Nidez said.
But the free event also has attractions for children: trick-or-treating, face-painting, a photo booth. Those freebies can keep the kids busy while others are in the maze or taking advantage of the free HIV testing and health screens offered, Nidez said.
“I think it will be fun,” she added.
For more information, call 404-270-2453.
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