Central New Yorkers are marking World AIDS Day by remembering the immense struggles of the past while also continuing to support those living with HIV. People are invited to concurrent events Monday in Syracuse and Utica.
We’ve come a long way since the first World AIDS Day on December 1,1988. Director of community engagement at ACR Health Katherine Lowe remembers those so-called “battle days,” but was astonished to learn that some don’t realize HIV/AIDS is still with us.
“I encountered a 20-something year-old person, I explained where I work, and that HIV was one of the big issues that we tackle," Lowe said. "They actually said to me 'HIV? That's still a thing?' Yes it is still a thing.”
But we’re decades beyond when a diagnosis was an automatic death sentence, thanks to testing, prevention, and treatment regimens. Lowe says it’s a bittersweet time of year.
“Yes, we have to honor the ones that we lost. But we have got to celebrate the people who are living with it," Lowe said. "We have to celebrate the fact that there are so many treatments for it that can prevent you from having it and give you a life. It's no longer an automatic death sentence. You can have a life now.”
Now, Lowe says, it’s a matter of education, testing, and suppression. She says ACR Health provides free and confidential testing to anyone, including those who are insured and might not be a "typical" client.
“They're people who don't want their insurance company to know that they're getting an HIV test. They don't want their family doctor to know that they're having an HIV test because of the questions that may come along with it," Lowe said. "Those are folks who could be at risk because they're not getting tested.”
ACR Health is hosting an event Monday with storytelling, education, speakers and testing at the ArtRage Gallery on Hawley Ave. in Syracuse from 6 to 8 pm. At the same time, a World AIDS Day community dinner will be held at Grace Church in Utica, with music, stories, and poetry.
