On October 27th 2012 thousands and thousands of people all gathered together in Memorial Plaza, Washington DC for the annual AIDS Walk DC which benefits Whitman-Walker Clinic, one of the best HIV treatment centers on the east coast. This blogger was there with four of my closest friends as well as my Dab the AIDS Bear Darby as “Team Special” (don’t ask, we had already had way too much coffee when we came up with the team name).

It was a beautiful fall day, perfect weather for so many amazing people to come together from all over the state and world, (there was one woman who came all the way from London to walk, and she was especially excited to meet Darby and have her photo taken). At 9:15 am we stepped off and walked 5k to support all those living with HIV/AIDS in the Greater Washington DC Metro area!! We were greeted along the way by many supporters cheering us on and supplying bottled water to keep us hydrated. We met many fun and fabulous people along the way and made some new friendships that just add to the long list of amazing people living with and fighting this disease, and allies that are fighting right alongside us.  It’s really hard to put into words just how uniting and uplifting this event was so I’ll shut up now and let some of the pictures I took along the way tell the story.

As always be well and thank you for reading/looking at pictures! LOL  XXOO Danny

A few weeks ago I decided that I was going to participate in my first ever AIDS WALK LA. Not only that, I was going to form a team of friends and supporters to join me. Once again I set out to raise awareness and get people involved in HIV and AIDS and once again I was completely successful.

Pops always told me that I never needed to be the brightest light and that I never needed to be the biggest or most important person involved. In fact he told me I didn't need to be important at all. “Always do your best, son, and that is all that matters.”

It is estimated there are 62,000 people living with HIV here in Los Angeles. According to the Homeless Service Authority there are 793 homeless people living with AIDS in the City of Los Angeles. Since I was diagnosed with HIV while I was homeless, I know this number is a great deal higher than what is reported. For 27 years AIDS WALK LA has raised vital funds to serve people living with HIV or AIDS right here in Los Angeles.

I set a goal to have 10 team members and together we would raise $500. I also set a personal goal for myself to raise $1,000. I was able to recruit 7 people for the team and as of this morning, we've raised $1,015 and I raised $605 of this total. Even though I fell short of my team goal and my personal fundraising goal, I am proud of myself and the efforts of all my team members. In fact all but one of my team members are HIV positive and all of us are formerly homeless, so I think we did a pretty damn good job.

Not only was this my first year walking, but I was also one of the AIDS WALK LA photographers, which was such a huge honor for me. I say this because I've asked to be part of other events such as Gay Pride and AIDS Life Cycle and even asked to be put on the list as an available photographer, but to no avail. So when I actually received a return phone call and email from Shaun, I must say that I was rather shocked and then Leif reached out and things were set.

The energy of the day was awesome, I had such a great time. From start to finish I was so happy I volunteered to walk and raise funds, but also happy that I asked to be a photographer. My friends were equally happy with being part of this truly special day.

As a gay man with HIV, this besides being a writer on Positive Life is the first time I've ever felt not just welcomed, but an important part of the gay community, the first time I did not walk away with a very sour taste in my mouth and the first time I did not receive any stigma from the very place it should be absent. My heart and soul were happy all day long.

As a published photographer (I always giggle when I say or type this) this was such a cool event to be part of. For those of you who love photography as much as I do, but have never been part of the official team, let me just tell you of the energy of being able to jump into the crowds, move around freely and have people excited to have you take their picture. To be able to simply walk up to people and say “can you hold this sign and strike a pose for me”. To have people shuttle you around and get people to pose for your camera is priceless and to have people high five you all day long is the best feeling ever.

On a personal level to have someone treat you with respect, treat you like an equal and professional was mind blowing for me because from the “community” this has never happened for me before. Leif and his team were awesome. From the very start, to the very end, for me that says a great deal as to why AIDS WALK LA is as successful as it is.

Leif thanked us (photographers) every step of the way, he made sure we had what we needed and was willing to help us if we needed it. The sign of a true leader is the one who can lead by example, but is aso a team player. He made me feel welcome and I heard the same things from the other photographs as well.

My day came to an end with someone I've never met running up to me screaming my name, then hugging me so tight while crying. He pulled away and said “I'm so honored to meet you Kengi. I know this sounds crazy, but you saved my life. I read your blog and watch your youtube channel and because of this I've decided to live. I'm no longer a prisoner nor am I ashamed of HIV or being gay. I owe all of this to you. Thank you for doing what you do and please don't stop. You saved my life.....you really saved my life.”

Listening to him speak I could feel the tears forming in the corners of my eyes and then they began to fall down my face. Before I knew it I was crying right along with him because in that moment I could hear the voice of my father telling me that all I really needed to do was what I could when I could, but more importantly once again God had provided yet another confirmation to continue doing what I am doing because it reached far more people than I'm aware of and it serves them well.

AIDS WALK LA was simply awesome. I spent the day with my friends, doing two things I truly love... photography and being of service. I can't wait to be part of this next year.

The annual Scotiabank AIDS Walk For Life is around the corner. I wanted to speak to Jason RIchard Cole about his participation in the walk. This stemmed from a Facebook post he wrote about ACT that caught my eye. 

The get details on "The Walk" in your area, you can find details here as it takes place across Canada.

Before getting to the walk itself, what does the AIDS Committee of Toronto mean to you? 

ACT for me symbolizes a safe harbour, or shelter from the storm (if I can borrow that analogy). It's an organization that does not pass judgement, is safe and welcoming. ACT provides care and prevention services in a time where we are highly focussed on finding a cure.

I was impressed to see how open you are about your HIV status. Still all these years later, it's something that can be quite hidden. You also fall into the youth category (18 - 29). How do you think HIV is perceived these days, particularly in this age group?

I've always lived my life as though it were an open book. We still live in a society that chooses to stigmatize HIVers out of fear. This is very true of folks within my age group. I personally have faced unfair stigma and discrimination based upon my HIV status. However, I have also felt a lot of compassion from my peers, as well.

Education is key here and part of that is talking openly and honestly of the reality of living with HIV.

What were, or are, the services that helped you the most when you were first diagnosed? 

The counselling sessions I had were incredibly helpful to me. When I was diagnosed, I felt very alone and isolated. It was great to have a place to come to that provided me with acceptance and kindness. Having access to the services at ACT has allowed me to strengthen my HIV primary care holistically.

How has the response been to your being in the walk? Have you been able to meet your goals? 

The response has been good. I've already had to raise my fundraising goal once, which was very humbling and uplifting. I'm encouraged by people's generosity and feel that I can raise more funds to meet my new goal of $1750.

To help Jason reach his goal, please help out and donate here.

...may have all contributed to this year’s Ottawa AIDS Walk For Life failing to reach its fundraising goal of $100,000.00 by almost 50%! I suppose it could have been worse. Windsor, where high profile criminalization charges have also been levied, did only 21% of their goal!

E-mails such as this were not uncommon for Walkers in Ottawa trying to solicit donations: “I wish I could sponsor you again this year” wrote one person, “However; I read that [the organization you support] is objecting to prosecuting those who knowingly spread AIDS and warning the public of folk [that] do. I strongly believe in people being responsible for their actions. Therefore, despite their compassionate work, I cannot support [you] until they either align their policy more towards mine or at least cease lobbying and be apolitical.”

One of my sponsors, who I want to stress, still went ahead and gave me a donation, wrote “I still must admit that I am a little confused about the whole decriminalization of HIV thing.  Don't you think you should be disclosing your status before you have sex?  Shouldn't people be informed?  You seem very passionate about it and have some statistics to support what you are saying, but from a moral standpoint I don't get your argument.”

Surprisingly, other cities where criminalization has been a hot button issue faired just fine. Vancouver reached 75% of their goal, and Toronto 84%. Despite rain and dark skies, those who did show up to Walk this year in Ottawa, including representatives from C.A.S., and local Universities and Frats, were in high spirits despite the sombre mood. Once again, my team; Team Move Your Feet were thrilled to have placed in the top ten for fundraising teams. Congratulations to the Bruce House Jay Walkers who took first place!

My thanks to all those who supported me in walking this year, and an extra special thanks to family who donated, and to Dan Y, a positivelite.com reader, and Laurier Optical in the Rideau Centre, who gave extra generously to my team. Thank you everyone!