Lynn holds AIDS vigil

LYNN – Nearly 60 teens and a handful of adults marched from City Hall to the Lynn Museum in order to remind people that the AIDS epidemic is still real and still relevant.”It’s not that everybody has forgotten,” said Lynn Street Outreach Advocate Antonio Gutierrez. “It’s not something you can just forget but it’s not like it used to be.”Thursday’s vigil was to commemorate World AIDS Day, which will be celebrated nationally on Saturday. Wanntha Sims, director of Kaya, a Khmer youth group, said they decided to move their march to rush hour on a weeknight in the hopes of playing to a bigger crowd.Sims handed out red and white glow sticks to teens who held signs covered with statistics such as approximately 12 million people are living with AIDS, 44 percent of newly diagnosed cases of HIV are African American although they only make up 14 percent of the population.Gutierrez said it was heartening to see so many kids come out for the vigil that included participants from groups like Girls Inc., Project Cope, Lynn Community Health Center, St. Stephens Memorial Church and Go Out Loud.”It’s no longer just adults, these kids are doing a great job,” he said.Tosha Duester runs a health program with Girls Inc. With all the walks and events surrounding any number of diseases and conditions Duester said it’s important the AIDS awareness not get lost in the shuffle.”It’s really important for people who have been infected or lost someone that they get to mourn that loss or be accepted for who they are,” she said.The teens in her group were also eager to take part in a movement as large as World AIDS Day, she said. When they hear others talk about losing a cousin or a friend, that’s when it clicks for them that it’s a disease that affects everyone, Duester said.The teens chatted animatedly as they marched down Washington Street but quieted during the reading of the names of those who have died and the reading of AIDS-related statistics that took place at the museum.The vigil ended with a rendition of Ben E. King’s Stand by Me led by Lynn resident Johnny Dep.”For me personally I try and take part of events like this because when you’re in outreach, you never know who you will come across and this keeps my awareness up,” Gutierrez said. “And it’s young adults and I try and support everything they do.”Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].