Minnesota community raising awareness of World AIDS Day, despite no U.S. observance

NINA MOINI: Well, today, December 1, is World AIDS Day. The United States government is sitting out the commemoration this year. The World Health Organization created the day in the 1980s to remember those lost to the disease and rally support for prevention and treatment.

This is the first year since 1993 that the President of the United States has not signed a proclamation to recognize the day. The Trump administration also told federal employees not to use government funds or social media for World AIDS Day. That's according to The New York Times.

Matt Toburen leads the Aliveness Project, which supports people living with HIV in the Twin Cities. He joins me now. Thanks so much for your time this afternoon, Matt.

MATT TOBUREN: Good afternoon, Nina, and happy World AIDS Day. It's an honor to talk with you today.

NINA MOINI: Thank you. Happy World AIDS Day. This type of a commemoration, this type of a day, I think sometimes people don't see the value in it. What is the value in having awareness around a day like this?

MATT TOBUREN: Nina, there's incredible value to World AIDS Day. Today is the day where we come together as a global community. This is not just United States. This is not just Minnesota. This is across the world. People are coming together today to recognize World AIDS Day.

And what that means is we honor and remember those we've lost to AIDS and HIV over the decades. We come together to celebrate those who are living with HIV. And we come together to recommit ourselves to getting to an end of this epidemic, because we know we can get to an end to HIV. And we need to lean into that and move forward. And we can't stop now.

NINA MOINI: And AIDS programs have had bipartisan support for some time. But I was reading about just history, and people not even really saying the words "AIDS" or "HIV" in the better part of the 1980s. And if you think about 30, 40 years ago, how far people have come, how did that make you feel to hear that the US government decided not to participate this year?

MATT TOBUREN: Oh, it's heartbreaking. It's terrifying. It's a slap in the face. The fight against HIV is non-partisan. And presidents of both parties have done a lot, a lot of leadership in the United States, in the world to prevent and end HIV.

And it just doesn't make sense. And we're sort of reeling as to what that means. And we're not going to let that stop the great work that we do here and that we need to do across our communities.

NINA MOINI: Can awareness or having a day or just talking about issues-- does that also have a correlation or a relationship to research and other funding?

MATT TOBUREN: Absolutely. Because thankfully, there are a lot of great treatments and support for people living with HIV, so we don't see those tragic deaths that we used to see in the early days of the epidemic. But that doesn't mean it's over. There's still no cure.

And sadly, nearly every day in Minnesota, someone is newly diagnosed with HIV. And it's unacceptable. It doesn't need to be that way. Many other states, many other jurisdictions have made a lot more progress than we've made here in Minnesota. And unfortunately, the burden is largely carried by young queer folks of color and folks who have fallen through the cracks of our medical system through stigma and racism and other reasons.

And so this is an important day where we can make sure that HIV is on the headlines, in people's awareness so that folks that they can get tested, know their status, get into care, that there's support and services so that someone living with HIV today can live a long and healthy life if we can get them into care, get them into treatment, get them on life-saving medications.

And also to support and to remember and to celebrate all those folks that we've lost to this tragic disease and to know that their loss won't be in vain and isn't in vain, and that we remember them, we cherish them, and we carry this fight forward.

NINA MOINI: And these are just numbers that I have here from the State Department of Health, that there are about 10,000 people with HIV in Minnesota, and that 74% of new cases affect people of color, to your point about the disproportionate effects there.

And this summer here at MPR News, we reported on the financial strain that your organization and other groups were dealing with due to state and federal funding cuts. What's your funding situation like right now?

MATT TOBUREN: It's been a really tough year, both with state and federal cuts have seriously impacted our ability to provide life-saving services to people living with and at risk for HIV.

And that includes helping folks out in the community get tested-- out in homeless shelters and encampments, out in bars-- providing medication, life-saving treatment, and supportive services like housing, case management, food that ensure that anyone living with HIV can live a long and healthy life and manage the illness and manage all the things that come with health.

And so these cuts have been really difficult. It won't stop us. We continue to keep our doors open. But it certainly makes it really challenging, certainly gives us a lot of fear as we look forward to the next year, as Congress is still fighting over the budget for next year.

So much of our funding in Minnesota for HIV care and support services comes from the federal government. And there's a really, really deep divide. The president and the House have a budget that severely cuts and eliminates a lot of prevention and care services for people living with HIV.

The Senate, on the other hand, has a pretty-- a flat-funded proposal. And we don't where this is going to go. And really reaching out to our congressional representatives to let them how important these dollars are to Minnesotans, both to keep people healthy and to prevent new infections. Because what's going to happen if we cut back on funding, if we cut back on the work to end HIV, we're going to see new infections.

There's going to be more people living with HIV in Minnesota, more people not getting the care that they need, and more deaths. And that's completely unacceptable.

NINA MOINI: And earlier, when you were describing what sometimes people call "wraparound services" for individuals, that was striking to me, because it's not just testing or helping with medicine. It's a full approach to different facets of life in the work that you're doing, it sounds like. Can you just tell me a little bit more about what the Aliveness Project does to support people living with HIV and AIDS?

MATT TOBUREN: Well, living a healthy life is more than just taking a pill. And so we need to take a holistic approach-- the social determinants of health, the things that get in the way for people being healthy. And if you're hungry, and you don't where your next meal is going to come from, you're not going to prioritize your health care, your taking your HIV medications.

And at Aliveness Project, we serve hot meals Monday through Friday. We're open to anyone in the state living with HIV. Can come get a hot meal, join us, be part of community. We have a large food shelf where folks all across the state are able to access our food.

And then in addition to that, we have housing programs where we can take folks who are homeless, help get them into housing, and help get them stabilized. We have social workers who help folks navigate all the complicated government systems and benefit systems and help navigate all the various pieces they need-- transportation, basic needs, and financial assistance, dietitian, dietetic services.

And then we also have a clinic where we provide HIV-prevention medications, HIV-care medications, STD services so that folks can get care in a community that's by and for them. And that is a stigma-free and welcoming environment.

NINA MOINI: Matt, I'm also curious, on World AIDS Day, obviously, encompassing the entire world-- the needs can be different, we all know, depending on where you are in different parts of the world. How do you see your work and your organization's work as it relates to just some other parts of the world?

MATT TOBUREN: That's a wonderful question. We know that the United States is more connected to the rest of the world now than ever before. In Minnesota, we welcome a lot of folks from around the world. And we can't shut ourselves off to what is happening around the world. And the global pandemic showed us that for sure.

And so we can't forget about our brothers and sisters across the world, and particularly in Africa, that are hardest hit by HIV, and that we need to be supporting and making sure that the services that the United States has really been a leader in supporting the global fight against HIV, thanks to President George W. Bush and the PEPFAR program-- and that has just been one of the heartbreaking things to see this year is that this administration has tried to eliminate PEPFAR.

And that means that clinics serving men, women, and children living with HIV across Africa haven't been able to get access to the medications that they deliver and to be able to provide those services to folks who don't have other options. And so we can't forget about that work.

And we have to make sure that the administration, that our congressional representatives how important it is for America to continue to be a leader on the global fight against AIDS, because that will come back to America if we're not helping our brothers and sisters out around the world.

NINA MOINI: And just lastly, Matt, the federal government not participating in World AIDS Day, but what are you and your organization doing? What's going on around the state to commemorate this day?

MATT TOBUREN: Well, the president might not be celebrating World AIDS Day, but we at Aliveness and in our community are certainly celebrating. We are hosting the Red Undie Run this Saturday to raise awareness for World AIDS Day. We'd love to have you. We'd love to have all your listeners come and join us.

There'll be about 500 people running through downtown Minneapolis in their red undies. It's at 11:30 at Tom's Watch Bar on Sixth and Hennepin. It's a great time, a lot of fun, and just a great way to raise awareness, raise some funds to help support all this great work to prevent and end HIV in Minnesota.

NINA MOINI: Well, I would love to come as a spectator, but that sounds wonderful. Thank you so much, Matt.

MATT TOBUREN: Wonderful. Thank you.

NINA MOINI: Thank you. Matt Toburen is the executive director of the Aliveness Project.