MILWAUKEE — On World AIDS Day, community advocates and LGBTQ+ leaders remembered the lives lost to the AIDS epidemic as the fight to end HIV continues.
"In those early days, there was a lot of uncertainty and it was kind of a nightmarish situation where no one really knew what was happening," said BJ Daniels.
Daniels is a well-known Milwaukee drag performer and LGBTQ+ advocate who lost several friends to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Daniels says they can remember a time when they lost 3 best friends in a single year to AIDS.
"People who were diagnosed in the late 80's, the real help didn't come until the mid 90s," said Daniels."The hard part was, you knew it was a death sentence at that time."
Now thankful to live in a time when advancements have been made, and an HIV diagnosis is no longer an automatic death sentence. However, the virus is still spreading.
According to Wisconsin DHS, there were 289 newly diagnosed HIV cases in Wisconsin in 2022.
7,310 people are known to be living with HIV in Wisconsin. The state believes another 1,063 could be living with HIV and are unaware.
It's part of the reason why work at Diverse and Resilient continues. The staff there works to connect people with resources and treatment options. This year, the team is doing this important work in memory of Ronnie Grace, a passionate advocate for HIV Awareness who died in November during a battle with cancer.
"We need a full community to really stand up and address the fear that we have about the HIV virus," said Justin Roby, co-chair of a statewide action group on HIV. He also works at Diverse & Resilient.
Roby said the community must work together to beat medical mistrust and lingering stigmas to overcome the realities of HIV.
"People, especially people who identify as Black and LGBTQ and cis-gendered men, they're tired of being the sampled in HIV research and there's no results on the other end," said Roby.
In 2022, Wisconsin DHS said people of color accounted for nearly 70% of newly diagnosed HIV cases, despite representing only 20% of the state's population. Male-on-male sexual contact is the most common transmission risk.
"We are moving into what feels like the next generation of treatment and prevention options," said Roby.
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV can cause Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). That's a medical condition that, thanks to advances in treatment, isn't commonly diagnosed anymore.
Those treatments include pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP), a regimen of medication prescribed to some HIV-negative gay men and other high-risk people to help prevent HIV infection if they are exposed to the virus, and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), a regimen of medication prescribed to HIV-negative people immediately after their exposure to HIV to stop infection.
Those medications can help people achieve undetectable status, allowing people to lead full, healthy lives.
"It's always interesting the dissonance I have with loving to celebrate World Aids Day but we don't say Aids anymore often," said Roby.
A day of remembrance and commitment as the fight to end HIV rages on.
Click HERE for a list of HIV/STI testing locations near Milwaukee.
For more perspective on people impacted by the AIDS crisis in Milwaukee and the ongoing community response, visit the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project website.
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