In honor of World AIDS Day, San Franciscans gathered Saturday evening at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco.
“People still care, and they want to honor the people who are lost and cherish the people who are still here,” Troy Brunet, a volunteer at National AIDS Memorial Grove, told CBS News Bay Area.
Brunet has been HIV positive since 1994.
“I was able to adapt to a different drug and have been undetectable for 24 years now,” Brunet said.
He added that he is grateful for the opportunity to live, especially after undergoing 18 surgeries over the past 24 years.
“In 2000, I didn’t think I would be here. I was in a coma for two months and they didn’t think I was going to come out, which my family and friends told me. And I’m still here pushing through, so I I’m very grateful. And if I can, I’m going to do everything I can to help someone else through their situation,” Brunet said.
Event participants said the “Light in the Grove” event has given them a sense of comfort and connection since its inception, after years of feeling overlooked and ignored.
“This space means so much to our community. You know, at a time when we were fighting for our lives because no one really cared about the fact that HIV-AIDS was killing our community. So we had to hold each other in our arms and protect each other and confront it,” Sister Roma of San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence told CBS News Bay Area.
John Cunningham, CEO of National AIDS Memorial Grove, said there was a time more than 40 years ago when more than 50% of San Franciscans were diagnosed with HIV.
“They died at a time when they didn’t necessarily need to. We had a government that chose not to respond, the stigma around this disease was deep and it took lives,” Cunningham said.
And last year, Cunningham said the number dropped to just over 200 infections, bringing them closer to their goal of zero infections.
“What we’re looking at now is: how do you reach those hard-to-reach communities? The transgender community, communities of color, women, LatinX communities? Those are the areas that need focus as we move towards reaching net zero,” he said.
He will join community leaders in the national celebration of World AIDS Day on Sunday morning at the Memorial Grove. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi is also expected to attend.
“At the same time, 150 quilt blocks will be on display in Washington DC on the South Lawn of the White House. It will be the first time a president has ever spoken about the quilt. It is a powerful justice system, of memory, love, loss and hope,” Cunningham said.
On Sunday, the World AIDS Day celebration will take place at the National AIDS Memorial Grove from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm with various speakers and cultural performances. The event is free to the public.
