MILWAUKEE — Ten Milwaukee area businesses joined thousands of restaurants nationwide in an effort to help put an end to HIV through Dining Out For Life.
A portion of sales Thursday from participating local will be donated to Vivent Health, a non-profit that’s been working to fight against HIV for the past 40 years.
Vivent Health Chief Development Officer Margaret Lidstone said this will be the first year Milwaukee joins the more than 50 cities participating in the Fundraiser.
"We brought Dining Out For Life to Milwaukee because we wanted to find a vehicle for making sure the Milwaukee community had an opportunity to learn about the continued need to take care of our friends and neighbors who are HIV positive,” Lidstone said.
According to data from Wisconsin’s Department of Health, the number of people in Milwaukee diagnosed with HIV has declined over the past 10 years.
However, state data also noted in 2021 more the 2800 people in Milwaukee were living with HIV and an estimated additional 439 people were maybe living with the disease without knowing.
Chef and owner of Amilinda, a Spanish and Portuguese-inspired restaurant on E. Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Gregory Leon said for him the choice to participate was a no-brainer.
“It’s not the disease that it was 20, 30 years ago, and thank God for that,” Leon said. “I know people who have had it for 20,30 years and they live a complete healthy life but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Lidstone said many living with the disease still experience a lot of barriers to accessing healthcare and other social services which is why fundraisers like “Dining Out For Life” are so important.
“We never turn anyone away for an inability to pay,” she said.
According to Lidstone the services they provide cost the non-profit about $5 Million a year to manage.
Leon said it's an effort he and his customers are happy to get behind.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for restaurants and bars to give back to the community in a meaningful way,” He said. “We’re actually sold out for the evening.”
For a full list of local restaurants participating in the fundraiser visit Dining Out For Life Milwaukee’s website.
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