Karen Dennis says she is lucky not to have HIV.
As an intravenous drug user for 19 years, Dennis came into contact with her share of needles, which can transmit the disease.
“By the grace of God, I guess, I never contracted HIV,” she said.
Now that she’s the executive director of the Victoria AIDS Resource and Community Service Society, also known as VARCS, Dennis feels “so lucky to work with the underdogs” of the community – people who have HIV and are stigmatized because of their lifestyle.
“We’ve come a long way – it’s certainly not like it was 30 years ago. But now so much of the funding is put towards the substance abuse population that people now are associating the disease with that population,” she said.
“Gay men are still at a huge risk, particularly young gay men who were not around for the big epidemic (in the 1980s).”
Youth are also at a high risk of contracting the disease, Dennis added, in part because they didn’t experience the fear in the 1980s. Some may even be of the belief that the disease has been eradicated.
“People 25 and younger account for half of all new infections worldwide. A lot of people don’t get tested and that’s the other unfortunate part.”
She added people who have engaged in even just one high-risk activity – having sex without a condom or sharing a needle – should get tested for the disease.
In Greater Victoria, 1,500 people are known to have HIV.
To raise awareness of the disease and to raise money for AIDS research, VARCS is helping to host the Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life on Wednesday (Sept. 21).
People are encouraged to walk, donate or volunteer for the event by going to www.aidswalkforlife.ca/victoria.htm.
“I was around (the scene) 30 years ago and know a lot of people who passed away (from HIV-AIDS),” Dennis said. “Anybody touched by HIV or wants to see this disease stop being spread, join the walk, because it honours those who paved the way and went through those horrible, brutal times of that pain and being disenfranchised. Many of them paid with their lives.”
ecardone@vicnews.com
Mark your calendar
• What: Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life
• Where: Centennial Square
• When: Wednesday (Sept. 21) at 6 p.m. Walk starts at 7 p.m.