To help mark World AIDS Day, which annually takes place on Dec. 1, Windy City Times asked various people to reflect on what that particular day means to them. This is what some of them had to say:
There will be various events taking place across Chicagoland to mark World AIDS Day. See calendar, page 33.
Jeremy Hilborn, Chicago House: I'm 29 years old. I can't even remember a world without AIDS, and although we've made great strides, the trends I'm seeing are showing me that the end isn't near. Over 21,000 cases of HIV are in Chicago alone, with 2,000 new cases documented each year.
I want to know a World that's free of HIV. I want to know a World where men and women take control of their lives and their health, and our rates of infection finally drop instead of continuing to skyrocket.
I'm proud to live and work in a city with so much support available to those who need it. We honor our friends at Chicago House, TPAN, Bonaventure House, The AIDS Foundation, AIDSCare, Howard Brown, BeHIV, The Center on Halsted and so many others who do so much with so little.
I dream of the day when World AIDS Day no longer reminds us of what needs to be done, but instead commemorates a 25-year battle that has finally been laid to rest.
Keith R. Green, Test Positive Aware Network ( TPAN ) : World AIDS Day, for me, means remembrance. On the other 364 days that exist in the year, people just seem to forget. We forget that every year at least 40,000 Americans become infected with the virus that causes AIDS. We forget that in certain regions throughout the continent of Africa, that number is disturbingly magnified. We forget that Black women in America now make up the majority of new infections of an illness that was originally considered to be a gay white male disease. We forget that possibly one out of every two Black men who has sex with men may already be infected—with a great percentage of them unaware of their HIV status. We forget that this disease affects the people who we, as a society, most often want to forget—the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed and the 'others.'
World AIDS Day, for me, means remembrance. Remembrance of the true values of our nation—values that should never let us forget. Remembrance of the many legends who we have lost as a result of hatred, bigotry and capitalism—which have too often superseded those values. Remembrance of the love of God that lives within us all, who is pleading for us to wake up and do the right thing. Remembrance in the universal connectedness that binds us all together and makes the world go 'round.
World AIDS Day, for me, means remembrance that there is hope.
Robbin Burr, Center on Halsted: Every day as I walk to my office at Center on Halsted, I pass by a bank of telephones in our building that comprise the State of Illinois AIDS/HIV and STD Hotline. I'm unable to walk past this space without feeling a pang of sadness, because I know when I look over and see our Hotline Counselors on the phone, on the other end is a person likely frightened and unsure of where to find help. And in the same moment, I am so thankful they found our number and had the courage to call.
Because of my daily walk past our hotline, I'm reminded every day is World AIDS Day. I'm thankful to be part of an organization that provides, in every aspect of our programming ( Horizons Youth Program, Mental Health Services and Community/Cultural Programs ) elements of education, prevention, care and support for those who are struggling with AIDS/HIV.
Greg Harris, Illinois State Representative-Elect: In the past, the coming of each World AIDS Day marked a small triumph for me surviving yet another year, and a great sadness remembering the dozens and dozens of my good friends who did not. For whatever reason, some of us have been blessed to be long-term survivors and doubly blessed that we could contribute and volunteer in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and to provide care and dignity to those whose need was greater than ours.
As I begin my term as a newly elected State Representative, the faces and voices of those who have gone before remind me that it is time to redouble the fight against AIDS and to remember their names and their sacrifices. As HIV/AIDS in America has fallen out of the media spotlight, the epidemic has not diminished and the need only continues to grow.
While those of us fortunate enough to have private insurance and access to healthcare can treat HIV as more of a chronic illness, we can never lose sight of the fact that so many are underinsured and uninsured; that so many do not have access to quality healthcare; and that so many of our brothers and sisters not only have to struggle against HIV, but also against poverty, homelessness, discrimination, substance abuse and even struggle to find a decent meal.
I hope that by being an elected official who is openly living with HIV/AIDS that I can help be a voice for those who still struggle. And I hope I can bring attention, resources and dedication to filling the great needs that still face us in Illinois.
Brad McLaughlin, Better Existence with HIV ( BEHIV ) : 'World AIDS Day should be a call to action for everyone reading this paper. HIV is alive and thriving in the gay community. Our young people see themselves as bulletproof, as we did when we were their age. And although Better Existence with HIV ( BEHIV ) reaches over 12,000 students each year in our educational outreach efforts, we know that one in two new infections will occur during adolescence! Sixty percent of those will be gay men.
Though AIDS is an equal opportunity infector, it is still a gay disease. AIDS was cause for unity and urgency at one time, largely replaced now with apathy. Yet, an HIV diagnosis will change your life. For those who look at the healthy mountain climbers in the drug ads and think, hey, what the hell, HIV is 'simply' a manageable disease—think again.
Gay men need our local AIDS service organizations, to help with issues of getting tested; or self-esteem, depression and isolation; or disclosure to a loved one, workmate or neighbor. If not BEHIV, please help an HIV organization this holiday season, particularly as government funds are drying up faster than they can be replaced with private funds.
Rev. Doris Green, AIDS Foundation of Chicago: In the five years I've worked at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago ( AFC ) , I've seen something remarkable happen. People of faith are starting to talk honestly and without judgment about HIV/AIDS. Through AFC's programs Faith in Prevention and Faith Responds to AIDS, I've been blessed to help churches around Chicago break down myths about HIV and tackle homophobia and stigma—two of the biggest obstacles to getting people tested and into care.
For World AIDS Day 2006, faith leaders have increased their efforts to bring messages of compassion, hope, and awareness to their congregations and communities. From the city-sponsored Gospel Shout-Out at Malcolm X College, to the numerous events being held at churches around the city, people of faith are joining together to commemorate World AIDS Day.
But our work will not end after Dec. 1. We must do more to address ignorance and fear around the epidemic, and continue to fight for increased funding for prevention programs. The very existence of HIV/AIDS anywhere, is a direct threat to humanity everywhere. We have a moral obligation to stand boldly on the throne of Grace and take the necessary steps to educate all people in this hour of need.
Rev. Juan Y. Reed, St. Martin's Episcopal Church: Recently, an old friend with whom I lost touch was visiting the city. When we met for a long dinner, the friendship was renewed as we remembered good and not-so-good times. Throughout the evening, he would ask about one mutual friend or another. He would ask, 'How is Nathan doing?'—to which I responded 'Oh, Nathan has been dead for over ten years.' Later, someone else would be remembered in a funny story and my friend would ask, 'What's Ben up to now?,' and my response would be 'Ben died eight years ago.' This was repeated more than a few times, so that after a while I think he was afraid to ask about anyone. The conversation brought home to me just how many of my closest friends have been lost to AIDS in the past 20 years. World AIDS Day, while having a global impact ( 39.5 million impacted ) , has a very local meaning for me as well.
Many years ago, while watching a TV show about survivors of tragedies in which others died, a woman spoke not of survivors' guilt—the feeling of guilt from surviving when others died—but of survivors' responsibility. These words immediately came alive for me.
Having survived when so many I love have died, I feel a sense of responsibility to speak and act in memory of these and so many more but also out of a sense of responsibility for communities very much at risk—communities which for the most part are looking the other way. Our cultural ways—including spirituality and religion, which should be a source of truth and bold life-affirming action in the face of this virus—are too often fuel for a dangerous denial of its spread.
World AIDS Day is a time of remembrance and re-commitment. Accountable to whom and for whom? Ultimately, we are accountable to God and accountable for one another.
Mike Cook, Howard Brown Health Center: Twenty five years ago, we could only dream of the medical advances that are normal routines in HIV/AIDS care today. But, at the same time, we never imagined the new challenges that we now face. Who will care for those living with HIV/AIDS as they are the first generation to grow old with this disease? Who will reach out to those pushed to the fringe of our society ( those who are homeless, at risk, transgender, questioning their sexuality ) —that is, those who are most vulnerable?
Howard Brown is proud to partner with other organizations and governmental bodies, both locally and nationally, to find answers to these new challenges and to confront this disease where it is most needed: in communities of color, in at-risk populations, and with those who cannot afford much needed medical, behavioral and social services.
On Dec. 1, all of us at Howard Brown will remember those taken from us by HIV/AIDS and, at the same time, we will honor those who continue to live with dignity and strength. And, on that day, we will again make this promise: We will always be there for you.
