Every year on the first of December, communities worldwide unite to recognize World AIDS Day, raising awareness for the AIDS pandemic and mourning the lives lost to it. It’s also an opportunity to support folks living with HIV/Aids today. According to the WHO, over 84.2 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 40.1 million people have died as a result. Thanks to fundraising, research, education, and medical innovation, those with access to community support and necessary prescriptions can live full, healthy lives.
What can you do on World AIDS Day?Fundraise for HIV/AIDS research and care for those living with HIV/AIDS.
Get tested.
Continue to educate yourself. Read on below for stories to increase your understanding and learn about members of the YTTP community who are supporting and making life better for those with HIV/AIDS.
Meet members of the YTTP community who are actively working to make life for those living with HIV/AIDS better, increase awareness, and encourage testing and prevention:Sister Bearoncé Knows is the drag-nun moniker of the unifier otherwise known as Albert Ontiveros. Ontiveros has taken everyday activism to another level. He’s made the concept of being all in for a community into a lifestyle, and his heart work is providing resources for those who were, are, and have been affected by HIV/AIDS. Read Albert’s Meet The People feature
By connecting people with gender-affirming healthcare providers, social connections, and individual mentorship, Narcisse helps to meet the needs of trans individuals experiencing housing insecurity, HIV/AIDS, and mental health issues. Read more about s community Unifier named Atlantis Narcisse
Imagine being eighteen years old, gay, and Puerto Rican. Now imagine testing positive for HIV. If that’s not scary enough, imagine that it’s 1991, that the AIDS crisis is arguably at its most dire, and that doctors and scientists know very little about treating the life-threatening disease. Every day, Jose Duarte, a referral specialist at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), funnels that experience into the work he does as an advocate and case manager who cares directly for patients with HIV. Read more about Jose’s work here.
“In the first few years after diagnosis, I focused so much on fixing myself, and that was okay,” writes Drew Hazelhurst, Visual Production Manager at Youth To The People. “Now, though, it is time for me to help other people, and that’s why I decided to participate in the AIDS Lifecycle Ride, a seven-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. The funds that we raise support services such as HIV testing, prevention, care, and so much more.” Read more about Drew’s journey and fundraising for AIDS Life/Cycle here
