About

To commemorate World AIDS Day 2020, AIDS Project Rhode Island, a program of Family Service of RI, invited individuals living with and affected by HIV in Rhode Island to share their feelings and stories with the community at large through creative endeavors. Rather than focus on a theme or symbols—such as the use of the red ribbon for AIDS awareness—we encouraged participants to create what they wanted at this particular moment in time. Some explored scenes they had in mind that bring them feelings of peace and happiness; others found abstraction a comfort; and then there were those for whom affirmation was what they needed right now.

Our goal was not only to provide individuals an outlet during a difficult year (one that calls to mind the early days of the AIDS epidemic for many), but also to prompt conversations and share visual stories about individuals living with or the prevention of HIV.

World AIDS Day was created as the first global health day on Dec. 1, 1988, at the height of the AIDS epidemic. The day is an opportunity for people to honor those who have passed, show support for those living with HIV, and to unite in the fight against the disease and its stigma. Globally, HIV-related illness has claimed more than 30 million lives. In the United States, more than 1 million people are living with HIV, and 30,000 new infections occur in the U.S. every year. Today in Rhode Island, approximately 2,700 people are living with HIV. Our goal is to get to zero new infections, to stop HIV stigma with the help of the Undetectable = Untransmittable campaign, and to ensure all people living with HIV have access to equitable, quality healthcare and medicines.

This year also marks APRI’s 35^th anniversary. As the first HIV/AIDS service organization in the Ocean State, APRI has been at the forefront of providing critically needed services to people living with, affected by, and at risk for HIV. World AIDS Day remains for us a way to engage our supporters and the public at large about issues related to healthcare access, stigma, and finding a way to end the epidemic once and for all. We’re glad you are joining us in making that happen.