Until There's a Cure

Hey everyone!

This year I am walking in the 2012 Seattle AIDS Walk. From a very young age, I remember watching the Real World San Francisco and seeing a glimpse of the life, of the now deceased, Pedro Zamora. In retrospect, I applaud MTV for showing a gay commitment ceremony on national cable in 1995. I watched Pedro work tirelessly to educate youth about HIV/AIDS and I watched him fall in love, get married and eventually die. He continues to have a profound and inspirational impact of my life to this day. It was through this man, that I became passionately invested in HIV/AIDS awareness at the young age of 13.

Shortly after, I began wearing my "Until There's a Cure" bracelet. The idea of this bracelet was to wear it until a cure for AIDS was found. I'm still wearing it today, over a decade later. It's looking a little beat up and I optimistically look forward to the day when I can take it off and free up my arm for some new accessories. Until then, I will continue to wear it, as a reminder of Pedro and all the others who have influenced who I am today and I feel naked without it. I take it off very rarely, only in instances where it might get destroyed.

It is amazing how your life can take a turn and lead you down a path, mine coming from a reality TV show and leading me to a lifelong passion to helping those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. I remember meeting a co-worker from Zimbabwe who talked about how HIV/AIDS had ravaged her home country and how stigmatized those who had it felt. I remember learning about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa in college and my heart aching for all the HIV+ orphans, who have no mother to take care of them when they are sick. I remember getting a job a Rosehedge before it was Rosehedge/MultiFaithWorks and seeing how residents there were marginalized by society. Without Rosehedge, these people would have been roaming the streets, most likely doing drugs.

I think the what really brought me to this cause is that HIV/AIDS often affects the most marginalized people who are then further stigmatized by their disease.  It was the marginalization, stigma, and social aspect of the disease that drew me to the cause. There are a lot of sick people out there but for some reason the ones with AIDS are controversial. That's why I choose to support this cause.

And now I am currently fulfilling my dream of working at the Gates Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic organizations who work on HIV/AIDS. I am not on the HIV/AIDS team but I see the work that they do. I see the hope they have about eradicating this disease. Hope I am experiencing for the first time in my life.


Jennifer Williams
Volunteer - Rosehedge/Multifaith Works

Why Do I Walk?

The AIDS Walk is right around the corner!  On Saturday, September 22nd, thousands will gather at Volunteer Park to become a single community on the same mission – to raise awareness and funds for support services for those living with HIV/AIDS in Seattle.

Although many people living with HIV/AIDS have benefited from new medical treatments, folks who are diagnosed continue to live with debilitating side effects from potent medications, as well as with isolation, fear, and the stigma still associated with HIV/AIDS.

Why do I walk? 

I “walk” either literally or figuratively (by donating to someone who is walking) because over the past 23 years, I have watched far too many dear friends deal with the myriad of daily issues associated with HIV/AIDS or leave this Earth much too soon because of the ravages of this disease.  

Why do I walk? 

I walk always in memory of David.  In my home, I have a picture of our AIDS Buddy Support Group that he led in Rhode Island, and I have a picture of him from the 1989 Providence AIDS Walk on my office wall.  David was a man of faith, and while he knew his days were numbered, he felt that perhaps he could help make advancements for future men who, like himself, were infected in the days before we really knew how the illness was contracted. 

Soon after that beautiful day in 1989, he began to participate in several drug trials for new AIDS medications, such as D4T (Zerit), DDI (Videx) and ddC. The drug ddC was the third medication actually licensed for treating HIV, and was approved in June of 1992.  It was then that scientists noticed that “combination therapy” may be the way to go, as ddC used in combination with AZT worked.  AZT was a harsh, horrible drug in those days – with debilitating side effects. 

David died of complications of AIDS.  David died of bone cancer the day after Thanksgiving in 1992.  Following the circle of life, because David and others participated in those trials, my loved ones and friends, CarePartners, Housing residents, Shanti Partners, and the millions today who are infected are living and thriving.  Oh, would that have made him happy, so happy!

Why do I walk?

This year, 75% of all of the proceeds that Team Rosehedge/Multifaith Works raises at the Seattle AIDS Walk will come back to our agency.  We serve a population that is typically under-served and unnoticed.  We serve a vulnerable population who have been discriminated against and have suffered great stigma due to HIV/AIDS, mental-health and/or substance-use issues, a history of homelessness, a history of time in our penal system, and those who are isolated and feel alone.  I walk for each of them!

Why do I walk? 

If David was strong enough to literally sacrifice his life to better a stranger’s (millions of strangers), I surely can give a few hours of my time, and perhaps ‘sacrifice’ a few weeks’ worth of Quad Americanos…

I know he is looking down and smiling that beautiful boyish smile.


Stephanie Pietras
CareTeam Program Director
Rosehedge/Multifaith Works