By Joanie Juster–
My favorite political satire is the 1997 movie Wag the Dog, in which political operatives attempt to deflect attention from their candidate’s potential sex scandal by teaming up with a Hollywood producer, distracting the press by creating a fictional war in Albania.
Sounds absurd, right? Yet look at how the controversies-du-jour eat up the media cycles, distracting voters from more substantial issues. While the resulting memes and online snark can be fun, let us not lose track of the real issues at hand. We have elections looming, with candidates to vet, propositions to study, and votes to cast. Let’s keep our eyes on the prize, folks, and not let the tail wag the dog.
The End of an Era: AIDS LifeCycle
Back in the 1980s, when AIDS was first raging through our communities, the government response was too slow, and too little. So, people rose up and took matters into their own hands. People organized, finding ways to take care of their loved ones and neighbors. They fed them, raised money to pay their rent, walked their pets, helped them with their legal matters, cleaned their homes, held their hands, and comforted them in their time of need. Many of these grassroots efforts grew into nonprofit organizations. Some of those organizations are still with us today.
When those grassroots efforts began, and when those nonprofit organizations were started, none of us could have envisioned that we would still need to be doing this forty years later. Over the years, some of those nonprofits have consolidated with organizations with similar missions to streamline services and save on costs. Some have adapted and changed to meet the changing needs of their clientele. And others have simply closed their doors.
As the world of HIV/AIDS has changed, so has the ecosystem of fundraising for this cause. Raising funds from both corporate sponsors and from individuals gets harder each year, while the costs of producing big fundraising events has skyrocketed. Hard decisions have had to be made.
The news that the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) and the Los Angeles LGBT Center will end their popular co-sponsored fundraising event, AIDS LifeCycle, with a final ride in June 2025 hit hard last week. The 2025 ride will celebrate the Ride’s more than 30 years, and the more than $300 million its participants have raised for the HIV services of the two organizations. New ways to raise the needed funds must and will be found.
But the AIDS LifeCycle has always been about so much more than just raising money. The event has created a passionate community of participants—riders, trainers, volunteers, and roadies—whose lives have been forever changed by the experience. People in towns along the route have been changed, becoming part of the AIDS LifeCycle family. Cherished traditions and customs have developed throughout the decades, and lifelong bonds have been established.
Over the next few months, we will all lean more about the future plans for the SFAF and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. But in the meantime, save room on your calendar for next June. You will not want to miss this final AIDS LifeCycle.
LeatherWalk, and a Dedication
The Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District is holding its annual LeatherWalk 2024 on Sunday, September 22. Billed as a fundraiser, celebration, and march for visibility, this year’s event will begin on the Polk Street steps of San Francisco’s City Hall at 11 am, will stop at a variety of locations and watering holes meaningful to the Leather community, and will conclude at Eagle Plaza by 3 pm for the raising of the Leather flag, and the Eagle’s Leather Pride Fest. LeatherWalk is raising money for the District’s Leather Legacy Landmarks sidewalk plaques initiative, with plans to install commemorative plaques at 77 locations honoring SoMa businesses that started serving the community as far back as the 1960s. To register:
https://tinyurl.com/LLCDW24
LeatherWalk is also the kickoff to Leather Week, which culminates in the Folsom Street Fair. The District will be holding a special ceremony on Tuesday, September 24, at 6 pm, to unveil an official plaque honoring Rachele Sullivan, a longtime straight ally and leatherwoman who died in 2022. She helped found the Cultural District, sat on the board of Folsom Street, and was also prominent in SoMa’s Filipino community. Her plaque will be unveiled in Eagle Plaza at 398 12th Street.
Who Is a Long-Term Survivor? New Government Definitions
Words matter, and in the world of public health and government programs, precise definitions can make all the difference in funding and care.
An excellent new article by Hank Trout in the SF AIDS Foundation’s Beta Blog tells of new wording created by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration’s HIV/AIDS Bureau. The new definitions clarify the differences between populations with different needs, and should have a positive impact. The new definitions include:
• older adults with HIV: people with HIV aged 50 and older, who acquired HIV after 1996, when life-saving anti-retroviral treatments became available;
• long-term survaivors: adults who acquired HIV prior to the availability of antiretroviral treatments in 1996;
• and life-term survivors: adults who acquired HIV at birth or as young children.
These new definitions mark a turning point, as the government has become aware that it is dealing with the first population in the history of the world that is aging with HIV—and they must create the tools and funding to provide appropriate services. This is a new field, and things are changing rapidly. For more details, and for more insights into what this means both for local programs and in the bigger picture, please read Hank Trout’s article at: https://tinyurl.com/TroutBeta
In Memoriam: Kevin Fisher-Paulson
San Francisco has lost a great writer, and even greater human being. For the past eight years, Kevin Fisher-Paulson’s column appeared every Wednesday in The San Francisco Chronicle. He was a sheriff’s deputy by day, and his column invited us into his home and his family, where he and his husband raised two adopted boys and a series of adopted dogs in what he always referred to as their Bedlam Blue Bungalow in the Outer, Outer, Outer, Outer Excelsior.
Kevin tackled the big questions in life, but always through the lens of the deeply personal. His profound love of humanity, and his willingness to share his family’s own struggles and foibles endeared him to countless readers. Kevin died September 5, but his work lives on in his books and columns. You can read his columns here: https://tinyurl.com/KFParticles
Joanie Juster is a long-time community volunteer, activist, and ally.
In Case You Missed It
Published on September 19, 2024
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