Sunday Dec. 1 is #WorldAIDSDay. In 2017, a record 36.9 million people worldwide were living with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, according to UNAIDS, the joint United Nations program in HIV/AIDS.
A number of events will be held across LA county to commemorate the patients, friends and loved ones who have lost their lives to this disease.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) commemorates Worlds AIDS day every year to remind the global community that the fight to end HIV is far from over. An AHF commemoration event will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Hollywood nightclub, Boulevard 3.
A fundraiser with cocktails, dancing and a freestyle dance battle will be hosted by the Foundation for AIDS Research, beginning at 8:30 p.m. at Bardot at Avalon in Hollywood.
A three-hour loop screening of “Alternate Endings, Activist Risings: a Day with(out) Art” commemorating the work of artists who lived or are living with HIV/AIDS and the artistic contributions of the AIDS activist movement will begin at 11 a.m. at the Hammer Museum in Westwood.
The 25th annual “Noche de Las Memorias” will begin at 5 p.m. at the Las Memorias AIDS Monument in Lincoln Park in Lincoln Heights.
In October 1982, the founders of AIDS Project Los Angeles attended an emergency meeting at the Los Angles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center. Because fears about the new disease were rampant, four friends set up a telephone hotline to answer questions from the community. They gathered the limited information available and began hotline trainings, with 12 volunteers.
Recognizing that AIDS was not just a gay disease, the founders named the organization AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and the group elected its first board of directors on January 14, 1983.
On July 28, 1985, APLA held the world’s first AIDS Walk, which brought in $673,000. This year, the 35th AIDS Walk Los Angeles was held in October, engaging 10 thousand supporters and raising nearly $1.6 Million toward ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“Between our first AIDS Walk in 1985 and today, we have seen a lot of progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS,” said Craig E. Thompson, CEO of APLA Health. “Right now, we have the very real possibility to bring down the number of new infections because of resources like PrEP and educational tools like U=U.”
“AIDS Walk LA continues to bring HIV and AIDS to the forefront and raise awareness of its effects on communities in Los Angeles County — the second largest epidemic in the United States,” Thompson added. “AIDS Walk also helps to raise vital funds that keep people living with HIV in support programs, and increase outreach for our HIV prevention programs. We know that medical care and education will help stop this disease.”
