A new office in Suffolk is offering free HIV testing, thanks to a grant funded by the Virginia Department of Health.

The office, at 205 Market St., also offers free educational materials and counseling, as well as help receiving medications for those who test positive.

Dr. Gloria Anderson, who holds a clinical psychology degree, said she wrote the grant as part of the International Black Women’s Congress. Founded in 1983, the group added HIV prevention, education and testing to its many varied services in 1989, Anderson said.

“We’re basically promoting testing, prevention, education and advocacy,” she said.

The grant program started with a Portsmouth office, and the Suffolk one was added this summer. In addition to office hours, staff members are available to take the office’s services on the road to events or target communities.

Testing is especially important in this region. Virginia’s Eastern District, which includes Suffolk, had about a third of the state’s HIV and AIDS cases in 2006. About 72 percent of the region’s cases were black.

Coordinator Terence Wilson said people shouldn’t be afraid of learning their status, because HIV no longer means an automatic death sentence, especially not if it is detected early.

“It does not mean you’re going to die,” he said. “Because medications have come so far, people are living a lot longer with the virus.”

The office provides two types of tests — an oral swab or a blood test from a finger stick. Both tests give results in 15 to 20 minutes.

“You can come in on your lunch break and get tested,” Wilson said.

Follow-up testing with a doctor, however, is needed if the result is positive. People who test negative should have another test if the first test was within three months of possible exposure to the virus, because the test looks for antibodies to the virus, and these take time to develop.

While the purpose of the grant is mainly to reach black and Hispanic women, Anderson said nobody who wants to be tested would be turned away.

The office also offers free condoms and education on how to use them correctly.

“Having a condom and not knowing how to use it is just as bad as not having a condom,” she said.

The office will be open in Suffolk for at least two years, as that’s the amount of time left on the grant.

Anderson said it’s important for the health of the community that as many people are tested as possible.

“I think this is something new for Suffolk,” she said. “This fight has been going on for 30-odd years now, and it’s still here.”

The Suffolk office will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., as well as Friday or Saturday, depending on the week. Appointments and event hours are always available. For more information, call the office at 925-0000. Folks can also visit the Portsmouth office at 715 London St.