AIDS Help Seeks Memorabilia for 30th Anniversary Book

It started with a handful of very worried people on a back porch, convening with their own money and precious few other resources. They just wanted to help some gravely ill people in their community live to see another day.
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Now, almost three decades later, AIDS Help, the only community-based HIV/AIDS service organization in Monroe County, is compiling a 30th anniversary publication about how that little Agency on a little island took on the darkness of HIV and AIDS.
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And, like then, they're looking for a few locals to help shed some light.
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From those early days, the goal was always the same; to help people survive, which turned into enabling people to thrive. Now,�a full-length compilation of written, oral and pictorial history of the Agency and its role in the community is the personal goal of Dr. Michael Hayes, Behavioral Health Therapist with AIDS Help, to guide the narrative toward Spring 2016 publication.
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"Over the past 29 years the Agency has served nearly 3,000 individuals," Hayes notes, "and this warrants recognition and preservation. From the early fundraisers, the neighbor who brought the casserole, the complicated navigation through the healthcare system, the infected and the affected; their names are the names of heroism."
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"We're in need of photographs and archival materials. Clippings, diaries, notes, anything from 1985 forward that may be yellowing in a box could be very important to us in fleshing out our story," Hayes said. "Anything contributed will be returned."
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In assembling the book's contents, Hayes also sees� a need for anecdotal perspective -- testimonials from those who persisted and prevailed.
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"It's the voices I'd most like to hear. The caregivers, the families, the battles won and lost in those early days. There is no better way to express the humanity than directly quoting the people at the front of the battle line."
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Personal interviews may or may not be necessary.� The completion and return of a simple questionnaire is the first step, Hayes says. If requested, privacy and confidentiality is assured in any direct quotes.
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Scott Pridgen, Executive Director of AIDS Help, hopes the book shakes up "complacency a little bit."
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"Yes, HIV/AIDS is manageable. But there is no vaccine. There is no cure," he said.�" We served the largest client base ever last year -- 385 individuals.�Our founders and those who came afterward helped turn ignorance and neglect into empowerment, and an emphasis of managing wellness, not illness.� But some things haven't changed. Young people coming into sexual activity still require education about prevention initiatives like PrEP."

"Same-sex marriage is swiftly becoming the new normal, yet disclosing that you are infected with HIV is still a huge stigma," said Pridgen. "So, beyond the scope of recapturing an era when it was still called GRID (gay-related immune deficiency), I frankly also see this book as a cautionary tale. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."
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Anyone with any material or willing to share a recollection is urged to contact Dr. Hayes at 305-296-6196, or e-mail him at [email protected].