News: Ribbon Fades to Pink

Mark Bowen Victoria Brooks, executive director of AVOC

Twenty years after its founding, AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati (AVOC) is again experiencing some of the difficulty that hampered early efforts to help victims of the disease and prevent its spread.

"When did we become the enemy?" asks Victoria Brooks, executive director of AVOC. "AIDS has become controversial again — there's no buffer."

A nonprofit organization founded in 1983, AVOC is looking to city council to help.

"The culture in our community is not embracing this issue," Brooks says.

When AVOC was founded, acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was considered an illness mostly experienced by young, white, gay men; and if you had it, you more than likely would die.

In the 1980s through the early '90s, there was a sense of urgency about trying to find a cure. The news media gave the disease a lot of attention, and AIDS agencies throughout the country received strong community support. The illness was considered a major threat.

Moving ahead 20 years, that sense of urgency is now largely gone, according to Brooks.

"The world's getting more conservative," Brooks says. "There's been a shift."

Perhaps the shift is that AIDS is no longer considered an illness for mostly young, white, gay men. Most of AVOC's clients are now impoverished people of color. Another shift is that many people now consider AIDS a manageable disease. While a cure has never been found, improved medicines and therapies are enabling people to live longer.

Brooks acknowledges this improvement but says the disease is nonetheless catastrophic.

"It's not a pleasant illness to live with," she says. "Some patients die from the side effects of the medications."

Perhaps most important, AIDS is still an epidemic, affecting 36 million people worldwide and up to 6,000 men, women and children in Cincinnati. Many people infected with the human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) — which leads to AIDS — are unaware of it.

Despite all this, the sense of urgency and the resolve to end the epidemic seems to have passed, Brooks says.

"The red ribbon has faded to pink, and it's getting harder and harder to raise money," she says.

AVOC serves 13 counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The agency offers free client services and educational programs — including case management, financial aid, support groups and home health care coordination — to people infected with HIV, their families and friends. AVOC also provides HIV/AIDS public education and prevention services.

In April, AVOC launched a capital campaign designed to bring the Greater Cincinnati business community together in the fight against HIV and AIDS (see "Alive and Killing," issue of Feb 26-Mar 4). The goal was to raise $1 million. Seven months into the campaign, only about half of that amount has been raised.

"The corporate, long giving history is now difficult to get," Brooks says. "In some cases, we have been told this is an issue that they cannot align with."

Individual support remains somewhat stagnant.

"The September AIDS walk did better than last year, but nothing like it did back in its heyday some years ago," Brooks says.

Cincinnati City Council is "silently supportive" of AVOC's work, according to Brooks. But she is insisting on something more.

"What I want is for you to stand with me and bring it out of the closet," she says. "Let's talk about it in the open."

Some council members say they're ready.

"I am a strong supporter of AVOC, who provides compassion to our brothers and sisters affected by HIV/AIDS," says Councilman John Cranley.

"I fully support the work being done by AVOC and am interested in finding ways to enhance and promote these and other awareness efforts," Councilman David Crowley says.

Councilwoman Laketa Cole has met with AVOC officials to strategize and offer support on addressing HIV.

"As a city, we must care for our citizens," Brooks says. "That includes the thousands of people who are living with HIV/AIDS and the others who are at risk — and that is every citizen. AVOC cannot take this fight on alone."

Brooks and the 26 social workers on staff at AVOC are committed to keep trying, because they know the disease isn't going away.

"We're staying here," she says. "We'll find new ways to do business. We're committed more than ever."