Every year on World AIDS Day, our Prisma community comes together to remember, to reflect, and to renew our commitment to one another. We remember the loved ones we have lost, honor long-term survivors, and stand with everyone navigating HIV today.
This year, our focus is straightforward and centered on community needs: understanding the data, identifying the barriers, and highlighting what works. Today, Prisma and Aunt Rita’s Foundation have provided programs for community members, care teams, and partners to explore who is most affected by HIV in Arizona, how housing, income, transportation, and safety influence risk, and where support still falls short. This was made possible through ongoing support from Gilead, including education and sponsorship.
At Prisma, we see that the hardest parts of staying in care are often not medical at all: stigma and fear, unstable housing or transportation, and confusing costs or insurance. These are not individual shortcomings; they are the result of unequal systems. World AIDS Day calls us to name these realities honestly so we can change them together.
We also know what works: stigma-free testing, whole-person care that integrates HIV, STI, and mental health, accessible PrEP and PEP, and wraparound services that help people navigate insurance and support programs. With partners like Aunt Rita’s Foundation and Gilead, this work remains community-guided and community-informed.
Recent national coverage, including stories about how federal administrations handle HIV policy, is a reminder that progress is never guaranteed. For people who have lost loved ones, from the earliest days of the AIDS crisis through 2025, World AIDS Day is a promise that their lives, and this history, will not be erased. Prisma and our community partners remain steadfast in the fight to end the HIV epidemic and to stay loud and visible in raising awareness about prevention and access to care.
After today’s program, we invite you to spend time with the AIDS Memorial Quilt panels on display at Prisma through December 5, and to connect with ongoing support here at Prisma and with partner organizations.
Support Groups for People Living with HIV
- Prisma Community Care
- Contact Christopher Carrillo at [email protected]
- Positive Living Group – judgment-free space for people living with HIV to connect, share, and grow. – December 30 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
- Valleywise
- Contact Justin Stewart at [email protected]
Voices of Hope (VoH) (co-ed)
Women Living with HIV Group
- Contact Justin Stewart at [email protected]
- Strength for the Journey (co-ed)
- Contact Bill Butler [email protected]
- Aunt Rita’s
- Contact Gaby Martinez at [email protected]
Experienced Escapades co-ed)
Youth Retreat
- Contact Gaby Martinez at [email protected]
- Chicanos por La Causa
- Contact Salvador Garcia at [email protected]
Co-ed PLWHIV 18+
Gay Bisexual Men’s Group PLWHIV 18+
Substance Use PLWHIV 18+
Mental Health PLWHIV 18+
Positiva Fuerzo University – PLWHIV
- Contact Salvador Garcia at [email protected]
Tools and Resources
- AIDSVu Interactive Map – Rates of persons living with HIV per 100k, 2023.
- SHH | Stigma and HIV-Related Health Lab
- HIVAZ.org
- HIV Surveillance Incidence Data Dashboard – ADHS
- HIV Surveillance Arizona Care Continuum Data Dashboard – ADHS
HIV has always been a story of community care, resilience, and mutual support. Whether you are living with HIV, loving someone who is, or working in prevention and advocacy, you belong in this movement. On World AIDS Day and every day, Prisma stands with you for your health, your dignity, and your future.