A local health-services organization will once again host a month-long series throughout the city to increase HIV/AIDS awareness. Philadelphia FIGHT’s AIDS Education Month kicks off with an opening reception and awards ceremony June 1.
Chip Alfred, director of development and communications at FIGHT, noted the 23rd-annual event’s theme is “One Community, Recommitting to the FIGHT.”
“We decided to address the fact that we live in uncertain times in the health-care field,” Alfred said. “There’s some backlash in human and civil rights. We’re paying tribute and we’re drawing our strength from those activists and advocates who laid their careers, lives and freedoms on the line to fight for effective HIV treatments and medications in the early years of the epidemic.”
FIGHT will honor two individuals — Cleve Jones and Roy Hayes — with the Kiyoshi Kuromiya Award for Prevention, Treatment and Justice at the opening reception.
Jones, who was not immediately available for comment, founded the The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. He has led work in the gay-liberation movement since the 1970s and contributed to LGBT civil-rights causes such as challenging California’s Proposition 8. Jones highlighted his work in the memoir “When We Rise,” which ABC adapted into a miniseries earlier this year. Jones will be on hand to sign complimentary copies of his memoir after the ceremony.
Hayes has been a leader in the HIV/AIDS community for more than 30 years. He assisted in the development of HIV/AIDS services, support groups and outreach services and provided input in 2010 for the first U.S. National AIDS Strategy. Hayes initially started accessing services at FIGHT when he was diagnosed with HIV and is now employed by the organization.
“I hope people can see that after 30-some years, we still need to do what we need to do. We still have to fight and we still have to keep doing [the work],” Hayes said. “I’m 68 years old. I can’t do what I used to do but I can encourage other people, especially the other younger people, to do the things we did in the earlier days.
“[Receiving] the awards are all well and good but we still have to fight,” Hayes added.
Reggie Shuford, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, and Dr. David E. Thomas, associate vice president of Strategic Initiatives at Community College of Philadelphia, serve as first-time co-chairs for this year’s programming.
Shuford said he was honored to serve as co-chair.
“[HIV/AIDS is] still a very serious matter,” he said. “With the advent of effective treatment protocols and the ability for some people to have AIDS be treated as a chronic illness rather than a death sentence, HIV/AIDS has gotten less attention. But it remains a public-health crisis. We need to continue to educate the public about it.”
Shuford will also be a keynote speaker at “Beyond the Walls: Prison Healthcare and Reentry Summit” June 28. He said he will address the country’s epidemic of mass incarceration, noting the disproportionate impact on people of color and the poor.
“It’s a shame that America leads the world in terms of the number of people it incarcerates. It’s not something to be proud of,” Shuford said. “We need to do a better job of finding alternative ways to help people with personal and other problems. Incarceration should be the last resort, not the first.”
Thomas is coordinating an event June 21 through CCP. He said the format will be similar to the Jonathan Lax Memorial Lecture and will provide the school’s students and faculty with information on breakthroughs in HIV, such as PrEP and the possibilities of finding a cure. Drs. Luis Montaner and Helen Koenig are confirmed as speakers.
“I’m seeing this as an opportunity to lead the work with others but to also learn so that we can bolster the work as we move forward,” Thomas said.
He added progress has been made for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment but noted the need for continued involvement.
“Just because it’s not at the forefront of every news stations anymore, it doesn’t mean the challenges have gone away,” Thomas said. “We still have a lot of work to do to get the information out.”
AIDS Education Month
Visit www.aidseducationmonth.org/events/ for details.
- Opening Reception: 5:30-7:30 p.m. June 1 at Independence Visitors Center, 599 Market St.
- The Reunion Project: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. June 3 at Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany, 330 S. 13th St.
- End AIDS: The HIV Prevention and Outreach Summit: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. June 7 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch St.
- Jonathan Lax Memorial Lecture: 6-9 p.m. June 14; RSVP online for location.
- Faith Leaders and Community Summit and Gospel Concert: 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. June 17 at Yesha Ministries Worship Center, 2301 Snyder Ave.
- Breakthroughs in HIV — Preventing HIV through PrEP and Finding a Cure: 5:30-7:30 p.m. June 21 at the Klein Cube at Community College of Philadelphia, 1700 Spring Garden St.
- Community Cookout: Noon-3 p.m. June 24 at Fairmount Park, Area 2, 33rd Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue
- The Fifth-Anniversary Hip Hop for Philly Concert: 7 p.m.-midnight June 25; location TBD
- Beyond the Walls: Prison Healthcare and Reentry Summit: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. June 28 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch St.
- Divas Live: The Second-Annual Philadelphia Kiki Youth People’s Choice Awards: 6-9 p.m. June 29; location TBD