Vigil honours Edmontonians who died of HIV and AIDS

A Sunday gathering at the Red Ribbon building honoured people who are living with HIV and have died from AIDS.

Dozens gathered at the Red Ribbon Building Sunday to remember Edmontonians who have died from HIV.

HIV Edmonton hosted International AIDS Candlelight Memorial in Honour of Lives Lost, and displayed several AIDS quilts in the space for the event.

“The quilts in our space have been living and developing over time,” said Catherine Broomfield, executive director of HIV Edmonton. “They reflect the names of Edmontonians who were diagnosed with HIV, they may have (died) from AIDS, or it may have been another cause.

Those who have their names on the quilt opted to do so in an effort to end the stigma around HIV.

“Stigma often prevents people from putting their name on a quilt, so while there are hundreds of stars on our quilt, it doesn’t represent the roughly 10,000 Albertans since the 80s who have (died).”

The memorial also served as an opportunity to educate people on HIV.

“Once a patient is on treatment, HIV is non-transmittable, and it is a chronic disease that we can now, with science, live a full life,” said Broomfield.

This year, five stars were added to the quilt.

HIV Edmonton was founded in 1984 by Michael Phair, and now serves as a harm reduction agency. But lately, the organization has been faced with funding issues.

“We are from the perspective of there’s a lot of cuts going on, and HIV Edmonton, we are the ones that get cut in the process,” said director of operations and administration Prudence Musinguzi. “We are not the only ones, but we are part of the first few organizations that would get reduced funding.

“We will still continue trying to get that funding … and we do our best and show the impact that HIV Edmonton has had on our community.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Sean McClune