By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
For a ninth year in Grafton, Dec. 1 has been observed as World AIDS Day with knitted and crocheted red scarves fluttering from utility poles, fences, trees and railings throughout the downtown, thanks to the members of St. Andrew’s United Church Social Justice Committee.
This is the larger and more visible version of the iconic red ribbon that has long stood for solidarity with those who live with AIDS. At a time when new infections in Canada are increasing 35.2% over 2021, committee member Cathy White said, the red scarf is also a call for activism and education.
And each year, volunteers can be counted on to make 75 to 100 of them.
“We have been recognizing that one of the big problems of living with HIV is the stigma in having that,” White said.
“So many people are afraid to be tested. They maybe are concerned about how they will be treated, maybe they’ve had bad experiences. Often it’s a population that are marginalized.
“There are excellent treatments for HIV that bring the viral load right down to zero, so they are not infectious at all sexually. They can lead almost normal lives.”
The Peterborough AIDS Resource Network, which has a local liaison committee, is traditionally represented at these events, with Harm Reduction Worker Achint doing the honours this year. Achint echoed White’s comments, referring to their new U=U initiative – Undetectable means Untransmissible with the treatments available today.
Add to that PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) measures and wider access to education, and the road ahead should be as rosy as the scarves.
However, funding cuts made by the US administration have had their effects on the global AIDS response, an historic funding crisis that threatens to unravel decades of progress. It is a time to come together globally to rise to this challenge.
This is being felt at PARN, Executive Director Dane Record said.
“But with a shrunken staff and commitments to only do what we’re funded to do, we’ll be OK,” Record insisted.
“No, PARN will not be closing shop and ceasing to exist.”
“These red scarves are one of the warmest ways to combat the stigma and, at the same time bring solidarity,” Achint said.
“We have been very thankful and grateful for the Grafton community to provide their support.”
The Alnwick-Haldimand Township council has observed Dec. 1 as World AIDS Day for several years now, and Mayor John Logel and Deputy Mayor Joan Stover usually turn out for the scarf project.
“It’s nice to see so many people out there on such an important day,” Logel said.
“We forget about AIDS and HIV because we had it growing up and faced those challenges years ago, and we kind of forgot about it. Now we are faced with it again.
“It’s so great to see you ladies putting your time together and making these scarves to recognize some of the challenge we have – thank you very much.”
“I thank the Social Justice Committee from the United Church for getting together and knitting your hearts out,” Stover said.
“With every scarf you knit, you took the time to think about why you are knitting it.”
For Stover, this day always recalls the movie Philadelphia for her and the lives it touched.
“Thank you again for coming out and knitting, and I think maybe sometimes when we are knitting things like that, because they do take some time, maybe that’s what you are supposed to be doing – knitting scarves and remembering why we are knitting,” she said.
“And we have some ferocious knitters,” White declared.
