We recognize December 1st as World AIDS Day and the month of December as AIDS Awareness Month.

CEDPA, The Centre for Development and Population Activities, wrote about Shannon Behning and WLP in their 12/1/09 news article, World AIDS Day 2009.

Today, more than 33 million women, men and children live with HIV and AIDS. The one bright spot in the statistics, according to the UNAIDS 2009 AIDS epidemic update, is that new HIV infections have been reduced by 17 percent over the past eight years.

This achievement could not have been possible without the tireless work of women like Shannon Behning and Lilly Arach. They are leading efforts against AIDS in Colorado and Uganda, in communities almost across the world from one another. Yet, they share many similarities.

Read more of this article on the CEDPA website.

And in recognition of AIDS Awareness Month, MidChix.com, a 40+ women’s social networking site, published two articles about WLP.

In this article, Shannon Behning–A Beam of Light, MidChix interviews Shannon to discuss the events in her life that led to the creation of The Women’s Lighthouse Project:

In 1992, Colorado resident, Shannon Behning, heard the heart-stopping news that she was HIV-positive. Despite the fear, frustration and loneliness, she jumped in head first and has become one of the country’s leading personalities in HIV advocacy, education and support for women. Here, she answers some questions for MidChix.com. Read more of the interview here…

And in the next article, MidChix highlights the programs offered by WLP and some of the statistics that represent WLP’s successful efforts so far in assisting women to remain healthy and vital in their community:

In June of 1997, Shannon Behning founded The Women’s Lighthouse Project. The WLP is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a safe space for HIV-positive women to get the information and education they need in order to survive the virus, where they have someone on their side immediately to hold their hand and walk them through the trenches, to help them to understand the virus itself and the medications, and to let them know that there is life after diagnosis. Read more here…

– The WLP Webmaster