Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation to host 36th annual AIDS walk

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — AIDS isn't a disease from the 1980s. In 2022, 326 people died of HIV/AIDS-related causes.

"Absolutely HIV and AIDS is absolutely still a thing," said Monique Vallery, the Chief Development Officer for Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation or SAAF.

SAAF advocates for the health of LGBTQ+ Arizonans and those living with HIV, which Vallery says could affect anyone.

“HIV does not discriminate. It doesn’t care race, it doesn’t care religion, it doesn’t care politics, it doesn’t care sexuality, it does not care who you sleep with,” she said.

For 36 years, SAAF has hosted AIDSWalk to educate people about HIV/AIDS and destigmatize the disease.

Community organizer John Lopez said he's seen people be stigmatized through the years.

“Just seeing what my friends have gone through, and it’s hard," he said. "It’s difficult. I remember being with someone who said they had HIV- this was back in the 90s- and people just started washing their hands and kind of moved away.”

To remember those our community has lost, AIDSWalk ends with a memorial quilt ceremony. Memorial quilts are made by many communities to celebrate the lives of those who die due to AIDS. Panels are usually six by three feet, the same as the standard grave size.

Lopez said the quilts are a reminder of the life that was lost and the future that would never happen.

“This is one person’s life and you’ve lost the creativity, the life of this person,” he said.

SAAF cares for about 25 of the panels. The oldest one, called Starburst, is from 1988 and holds the first names of the first few Tucsonans to die from AIDS.

To see the quilts, participate in AIDSWalk or get a free HIV test, head down to Armory Park Friday Sept. 26 at 4 p.m.