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Colorado Health Network Motivates Queers to Move for its 30th Anniversary of Aids Walk

Colorado Health Network Motivates Queers to Move for its 30th Anniversary of Aids Walk

By Lacy Bursick 

On Saturday morning, you will most likely catch Robyn Dibble standing behind a table handing out food to someone who may not have eaten in a few days. It’s where he has spent a lot of his Saturday mornings for more than a decade, when he started volunteering at the Colorado Health Network food bank.

When he got started, volunteering gave him an opportunity to give back to the community while giving one of his weekend mornings purpose.

“The food bank is one of those places where you can see the difference that is being made, Dibble said. “You are handing that food across the table and somebody is going to be able to eat because of that.”

The Colorado Health Network (CHN) is a statewide organization in Colorado, serving nearly 4,000 individuals living with HIV/AIDS, and those at risk. CHN also offers a food bank, dental services, STD/STI testing, and mental health and counseling services.

For Dibble, it was an organization that hit home. The Colorado resident was diagnosed with HIV in the late 80s at age 20.

“I lived the 90s not knowing what the future would bring other than the fact that it probably wouldn’t be good,” Dibble said.

After losing a couple of friends, he asked himself the same question that many living with the disease ask, why am I still here?

“What am I doing to help those who are in the same circumstance as me, but maybe not in the same financial situation or having a family support system,” Dibble questioned.

That is when he reached out to the Colorado Health Network to see how he could get involved.

To this day, HIV/AIDS is the largest pandemic in human history, and it is still the most prevalent in today, because there is still no known cure.

Every 9.5 seconds, someone in the U.S. is infected with HIV/AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That is why the AIDS Walk Colorado, hosted by CHN, is one of the most important fundraisers for queer people in the state — even as it approaches its 30th anniversary this August 19th.

The AIDS Walk will take place at Cheesman Park in Denver in effort to raise awareness, remember those lost, and fundraise for nearly a dozen important Colorado health organizations.

“This walk in its peak raised 1.6 million dollars in the mid 90s, but declined as the crisis declined and HIV and AIDS transformed into a chronic disease that can be managed with medication, if you have access to those medications,” said Darrell Vigil, Chief Executive Officer for Colorado Health Network.

He explained that 85 percent of the patients CHN serve fall into the 138 percent federal poverty level making them eligible for medicaid.

“The clients we are serving today are really lacking resources, and the services that we provide help eliminate barriers to treatment and care when our clients are facing issues with unstable housing or homelessness or lack of access to food,” he said. “We are able to provide those so that they are able to once again focus on their treatment and care which makes them healthier and makes our communities healthier.”

In Colorado, there are 11,000 people known to be living with HIV/AIDS. This does not the 1 in 5 people living with HIV/AIDS who are not aware of their status.

Vigil said there are two parts to stopping transmission. The first is testing people so that they can be aware of their status and getting them into treatment. The second is getting those considered high-risk on the prevention method called PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). PrEP is the use of anti-HIV medication that keeps HIV negative people from becoming infected. PrEP is approved by the FDA and has been shown to be safe and effective when taken daily.

“As we can help them get their viral loads to undetectable levels, then they are far less likely to transmit HIV. Helping folks get healthier and helping keep them from transmitting HIV to others are our major goals,” Vigil said.

Transmission is most commonly from male to male sexual contact, and then injected drug use. More than 60 percent of the people with HIV/AIDS in Colorado fall under the MSM transmission category.

“About 64 percent of our clients identify as LGBTQ,” said Richard Blair, Director of Development for Colorado Health Network. “So this cause has always been something that’s really important to the LGBTQ community and remains so today.”

The epidemic began in 1981 when the CDC reported that five gay men, who were all reported as previously healthy, died from a rare lung infection in Los Angeles. Soon after, hundreds of doctors across the U.S. came forward with the same case. The disease became known as GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency).

Queer people were scared and scientists were still unsure how it was being passed. It wasn’t until 1983 that the CDC reported the disease could be passed through heteorosexual sex and from mother to child.

Today the CDC estimates that there are 1.1 million people in the U.S. living with HIV/AIDS, and there are 56,300 new infections reported every year.

CHN services are open for anyone in the Denver area going through hard times. Clients utilize the food bank, get the services they need, and may not be back again for months.

“It is interesting to see the different faces. There is still a need. That is why I do it,” Dibble said.

The AIDS Walk is a great way to remember those lost and also celebrate the lives of those who are living today.

This year will feature a live performance at noon featuring Blake Lewis, a former American Idol. There will also be food trucks, vendors, a kiddie corner, and the 9th annual AIDS Walk Colorado volleyball tournament.

To get involved, visit AIDS Walk Colorado’s website or Colorado Health Network’s website. Anyone can participate by registering for the 5k walk and joining in the AIDS Walk activities.

Stay up to date with other Colorado Health Networks event on their website. This November they have a scotch tasting event, as well as a Red Ball for World AIDS Day in December.

Blair said, “We at Colorado Health Network welcome to anyone to get involved. It is a community effort.”

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