Faith plays a major role in the lives of many Americans. Many find faith to be a connection to a spiritual being, deity or creator. Unfortunately for many Americans living with HIV, faith communities can turn from a place of refuge to a source of stigma and turmoil. In August 2017, RAHMA (www.haverahma.org) and its partners spearhead the first Faith HIV & AIDS Awareness Day. The goal is to rally all US communities representative of the Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu and Baha’i faiths to take a stand against stigma in their congregations and raise awareness on HIV/AIDS. This year marks the 6th annual observance of NFHAAD, and we wanted to share an uplifting story from another corner of the US that shows how HIV organizations and faith leaders can be on the forefront of destigmatizing, outreach, and community building to address the disproportionate impact of HIV & AIDS has on BIPOC communities.

Faith leaders in the United States aren’t strangers to the disproportionate impact HIV has on Black communities. This is especially true in the Southern United States, where faith plays a bigger part in folks lives than almost any other part of the country. After all, it is called the Bible Belt for a reason. They’ve seen the shame and stigma that people living with HIV in their communities can face, and they recognize how these things can drive secrecy, isolation and lack of treatment. And now, they’re using the pulpit in a call for change.

Gilead has partnered with Caribbean-American filmmaker Sadé Clacken Joseph to create a short film featuring the powerful words of Rev. Deneen Robinson, Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart and Sr. Pastor Earle J. Fisher. The three spiritual leaders explore how faith-based communities can support people living with and impacted by HIV through caring, acceptance and inclusion.

Working with faith-based communities to help change the conversation about HIV is central to the Gilead COMPASS Initiative®, a program intended to help eradicate the serious and systemic challenges that contribute to the HIV epidemic in the U.S. South. Earlier this year, Gilead introduced Wake Forest University School of Divinity as its newest partner in the program.

“Preaching plays a central role in worship. A meaningful message from a trusted spiritual leader can not only increase awareness about HIV, but foster healing for the entire faith community,” says Rev. Jonathan Lee Walton, Dean of the School of Divinity. “Faith leaders draw from a deep well of spiritual resources that can inspire hope and transformation.”

The film, like the COMPASS Initiative itself, aims to help increase support for and erase stigma facing people living with and at risk for HIV in the Southern United States. As the faith leaders share in their sermon, we all have a role to play in enacting positive change.

About Cascade AIDS Project

CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017.  More information can be found at www.capnw.org.