EL CENTRO – The Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center held its first annual World AIDS Day event at its El Centro offices on Thursday, Dec. 1. 

The purpose of the event, which is recognized yearly throughout the world on Dec. 1, was to commemorate those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses and to show support for people living with HIV.

With the setting sun as a backdrop, dozens of community members gathered for the walk in the hopes of creating awareness about HIV and AIDS beyond this day of commemoration.  

“I don’t want this education to happen today and then be forgotten about it tomorrow,” said Lalita Hermosillo, HIV program and medical case manager for Innercare. “This is an ongoing thing. And somehow people have forgotten about HIV but it’s still around.”

Hermosillo’s remarks were made following the gathering’s 1.8-mile walk from the Resource Center’s parking lot, around Bucklin Park on Eighth Street and Aurora Drive and onto Imperial Avenue and then Ross Avenue to make the return to the parking lot festivities.

Hermosillo further explained that HIV transmission is not as commonly talked about as it used to be, and that more awareness and education is needed about prevention, testing and diagnosis. Especially for people who have little to no information about HIV and AIDS.

A lot of people think HIV and AIDS are the same thing but there is a difference between the two, Hermosillo said.

“An HIV diagnosis is no longer a death sentence as it used to be in the early 1980s when medication like we have now was so limited. There are now medications available to help live a long productive life with HIV. We hope to be a resource for those who want to know just how to access that life affirming care,” Hermosillo said.

Participants in the walk took to the sidewalk in an organized fashion, holding red glowsticks and bracelets to represent the red ribbon associated with World AIDS Day.

Rosa Diaz, IV LGBT Resource Center chief executive officer, said she was happy to partner with local agencies to bring awareness to an important issue in the Imperial Valley.

“Several years back, Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo celebrated World AIDS Day, but this is the first time the IV LGBT Resource Center is hosting and it’s the first time that we are actually going to have a walk,” Diaz said.

Attendees were asked to preregister for the walk so they could be given a free T- shirt and a ticket for food and a raffle. About 40 people had preregistered, and with people registering last minute, organizers were expecting about 75 people to walk, Diaz said.

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The center’s small parking lot on Ross Avenue was filled with agencies providing information and resources for the attendees.

Innercare, the medical service provider formerly called Clinicas De Salud del Pueblo, provided information regarding its Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, the only one of its kind available in the Imperial Valley.

In August 1990, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act was passed by Congress to help low-income people with HIV.

The Ryan White Program was named after the 13-year-old hemophiliac who was diagnosed with AIDS after a blood transfusion in 1984. White, of Kokomo, Ind., was discriminated against at school and became an outspoken advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS until his death in April 1990.

“We have the state-funded Ryan White Part B program for people with HIV and AIDS,” said Hermosillo. “The program helps with medication, housing, insurance premiums, and we also provide a medical and non-medical case manager as well as a PreP (pre-exposure prophylactic) case manager to avoid contracting HIV by using medical therapeutics.”