On Saturday night, San Franciscans gathered at San Francisco’s National AIDS Memorial Grove to commemorate World Aids Day.
“People still care, and they want to honor the people who have been lost and cherish the people that are still here,” National AIDS Memorial Grove volunteer Troy Brunet told CBS News Bay Area.
Since 1994, Brunet has been HIV positive.
“I was able to adapt to a different medication and have been undetectable now for 24 years,” Brunet stated.
He went on to say that he is thankful for the opportunity to live, particularly after undergoing 18 surgeries in the previous 24 years.
“I never imagined that I would be here in 2000. According to my family and friends, I was in a coma for two months and they didn’t think I would wake up. And I’m incredibly thankful that I’m still here, persevering. Brunet added, “And if I can, I’m going to do everything in my power to help someone else get through their predicament.”
After years of feeling neglected and unheard, attendees of the “Light in the Grove” event reported that it has given them a sense of security and community ever since it started.
“Our community values this area greatly. People didn’t really care that HIV/AIDS was killing our community, therefore we were battling for our lives at the time. We therefore needed to embrace one another, shield one another, and confront the situation head-on,” Sister Roma of the San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence told CBS News Bay Area.
More than 40 years ago, more than half of San Franciscans had an HIV diagnosis, according to John Cunningham, CEO of National AIDS Memorial Grove.
“They didn’t really need to be passing at that moment. The stigma associated with this illness was severe, and it claimed lives, yet our government decided not to act,” Cunningham stated.
Additionally, according to Cunningham, the number has decreased to little over 200 illnesses last year, bringing them closer to their target of zero infections.
“The main question we’re examining right now is how to go to those populations that are difficult to reach. Women, Latinx communities, communities of color, and transgender people? As we work toward reaching zero, they are the areas that require our attention,” he stated.
On Sunday morning, he will join local leaders at the Memorial Grove to participate in the nationwide observance of World AIDS Day. It is also anticipated that Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi would attend.
At the same time, 150 quilt blocks will be on exhibit on the White House’s south lawn in Washington, D.C. The president will be speaking over the quilt for the first time. Cunningham described it as a potent system of justice, memory, love, sorrow, and hope.
With a variety of speakers and cultural acts, the National AIDS Memorial Grove will commemorate World AIDS Day on Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The public can attend the event for free.
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