[link removed] [[link removed]]
Dear John,
40 years ago this month we saw the first deaths from a mysterious virus that would go on to kill some 35 million people after transmission to more than 75 million people. It was a plague that swept through the gay community and left it in tatters. Ultimately, no one was immune. Regardless of your identity, AIDS didn’t care. Nearly an entire generation was wiped out in this global epidemic.
While we now live in a world where the COVID-19 virus was identified within weeks of its discovery and effective vaccines were developed within months, we should never forget the agonizing decades between the emergence of HIV and effective treatment of it. We still struggle with access to both treatment of the virus and prophylactic treatment options.
40 years ago, the White House under President Reagan wouldn’t speak about it and it was left to a few scientists and activists to make the greatest strides in care, treatment, and survival rates. It was left to entire communities to educate themselves on the disease, treatments, and how to handle the devastating mental and physical side effects that often came with those treatments.
While we have all come a long way in breaking down the walls around HIV including access to treatment and eliminating shame as a reaction to diagnosis, we are nowhere near where we need to be.
Give OUT Day is just under two weeks away. Please make a donation [[link removed]] to Equality Federation and support the HIV work we are doing every day. Then consider making a donation to one of these organizations that specifically focus on HIV work and are making a difference across the nation in the communities they call home.
Lavender Light Gospel Choir [[link removed]] - (BIPOC led)
Maui AIDS Foundation [[link removed]] - (BIPOC led)
Diversity Collective Ventura County [[link removed]] - (BIPOC led)
Oakland LGBTQ Community Center [[link removed]] - (BIPOC led)
Black & Pink National [[link removed]] - (BIPOC led)
Nonbinary & intersex Recognition Project [[link removed]]
North County LGBTQ Resource Center [[link removed]]
Gay City: Seattle's LGBTQ Center [[link removed]]
In solidarity,
Mike headshot [[link removed]]
Mike Webb
Policy Engagement Strategist
Equality Federation
P.S. Let your friends know they can make a Give OUT Day donation anytime between now and June 30! [[link removed]]
Equality Federation
818 SW 3rd Ave.
141
Portland, OR 97204-2405
United States
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