VARK Clinic

11/05/2025

Please join us again this year as we celebrate and remember the fight and survival of all that have been afflicted with this disease, on this World Aids Day Dec 1st 2025. Please find tickets for this free event on Eventbrite.

11/01/2025

11/01/2025

Due to the Federal Government shutdown and resulting delays in SNAP benefits Feeding Tampa Bay is coordinating several emergency food distributions next week to ensure families have access to healthy food and pantry staples.

You can view and share the full schedule of distribution sites attached. There are sites in Hillsborough, Polk, Pasco & Pinellas Counties.

These are drive-through events open to anyone in need, no registration or documentation required. Each site will offer fresh produce, protein, and nonperishable items at no cost.

10/31/2025

VARK's Annual World Aids Day Event

10/30/2025

Dear Community Partners,
Every year on the 1st of December, the world commemorates World AIDS Day. People around the world unite with those living with or affected by HIV. For the past 16 years, we have been organizing this event to let the world know that we must not forget that the fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic still lives on today. On behalf of our organization, we would like to cordially invite you for a complimentary dinner at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church on December 1, 2025. Please join us as we celebrate this year’s World AIDS Day along with business partners, sponsors, stakeholders, and potential partners.
This year’s theme is entitled:
“Collective Action: Sustain and Accelerate HIV Progress.”
V.A.R.K. INDUSTRIES Inc. provides free medical services for infectious diseases, and STIs, and supportive services to marginalized communities. In addition, we are truly committed to empowering all communities at risk of HIV by offering them the opportunity to engage in promoting policy reform and capacity building as well as providing them with preventative education and training to improve their quality of life and to help reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and people practicing risky behaviors

World AIDS Day 2025 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/world-aids-day-2025-tickets-1689518829299?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=wsa&aff=ebdsshwebmobile

10/19/2025

📢 Scholarship applications for 2026 are OPEN! 🌍✊

From March 16–18, 2026, advocates from across the country will come together in Washington, D.C. to defend progress, demand justice, and bring our voices 🗣️directly to Congress. 🏛️

Scholarships cover registration, travel, and lodging so that everyone has the chance to show up and make an impact.

📅 Deadline to apply: October 31, 2025 at 11:59PM ET

👉 Apply now: bit.ly/AW26Scholar

10/15/2025

October 15, the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, marks National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day. The Latinx community is disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, and we center their experiences and care today and every day.

10/13/2025

HopeRX Treatment Associates is an opioid treatment facility in Fort Smith, AR. Contact us to learn more.

09/30/2025

On National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we uplift the life and love of gay men nationwide- and we renew our efforts to keep them feeling safe, healthy, and free to experience companionship and pleasure.

NMAC's Gay Men of Color Fellowship focuses on making sure the HIV movement is led by the people most affected by the epidemic. We are building a group of leaderw who are committed to making the movement more equitable and focused on ending HIV for good. To learn more about our fellowship, visit https://www.nmac.org/programs/treatment/gmoc/ today.

09/30/2025

Find out more about testing and how we can educate you about PreP

🚨 HIV BREAKTHROUGH 🚨

Scientists have used CRISPR gene editing to remove HIV DNA from infected human cells — completely cutting out the virus at its genetic source. Unlike lifelong antiretroviral drugs, this therapy could offer a one-time functional cure.

Early lab results show the virus was eliminated and prevented from returning, giving new hope to millions worldwide. Human trials are the next step toward what could be the most transformative HIV treatment in history. 🌍✨

09/28/2025

We can help treat/ cure your Hep C. Doesn’t mean you are dual diagnosis but we can help ease your peace of mind.
Please call us for further information.

Scientists have made a startling discovery that could reshape how we understand certain mental health conditions. Researchers have found genetic traces of the hepatitis C virus in the brain lining of people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. This finding raises new questions about whether viral infections might play a role in triggering or worsening some psychiatric disorders.

The study focused on samples of brain tissue from people diagnosed with these conditions and compared them to those from people without psychiatric disorders. The results showed that the hepatitis C virus was far more common in the brain tissue of those with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. This does not mean that everyone with these conditions has the virus, nor does it prove that the virus causes the disorders, but it opens up an entirely new area of research into how infections might influence brain function.

Scientists have long suspected that infections could be linked to psychiatric illnesses in some cases. Viruses can cause inflammation, and inflammation in the brain can disrupt chemical signalling and neural circuits that control mood, perception, and cognition. The discovery of hepatitis C genetic material in the brain’s protective lining strengthens the idea that viral infections might leave behind subtle but lasting effects.

If future research confirms this connection, it could lead to completely new approaches to diagnosis and treatment. Antiviral therapies or anti-inflammatory strategies might one day be used alongside existing psychiatric treatments to improve outcomes for patients.

For now, researchers caution that much more work is needed to understand whether the virus is an active driver of symptoms or simply a bystander. Either way, this finding challenges the way we think about mental illness and could help uncover why some people develop these conditions while others do not.

09/24/2025

What does ending the Epidemic mean?
Read this article to learn more.

The Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative aims to substantially reduce HIV infections in the U.S. by focusing resources in the 57 jurisdic...