ABOVE: Community members unravel one of the Central Florida AIDS quilts that will be displayed during Quilt Tour 2020. (Screenshot from CFHPC’s Facebook)
ORLANDO | The City of Orlando is working with local health organizations to better understand the needs of those living with HIV in Central Florida.
The HIV Community Assessment Survey was launched online Dec. 1 — World AIDS Day — and looks to help create programs and educational materials that will reflect the needs of Central Florida’s HIV community.
Questions on the anonymous survey range from inquiring about the participant’s knowledge on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and non-occupational Post Exposure Prophylaxis (nPEP) to trust of health care professionals and knowing your own HIV status.
In an effort to promote the assessment survey, as well as a way to remember and honor those who have passed away due to HIV/AIDS, a dozen organizations across Central Florida, led by the Central Florida HIV Planning Council (CFHPC) and the Orlando United Assistance Center (OUAC), have come together to create the Quilt Tour 2020.
Central Florida’s Quilt Tour 2020 will take locally created quilts which represent individuals who have passed from HIV/AIDS and display them in a safe and socially distanced manner at each of the participating organizations.
“We know the importance of the quilt as a symbol of love and respect,” Gabriella Rodriguez, executive director of QLatinX and junior co-chair of CFHPC, said in a statement. “It was crucial for us to find a way to share them with the community, we couldn’t let 2020 take this away from us.”
Rodriguez, who is also a case manager for OUAC and works with the communities affected by the Pulse tragedy, organized the Quilt Tour 2020 as a way to bring the community together from a distance.
The quilts will be on display in a manner so that they are visible from the street and may be observed safely from a distance Dec. 4-31 at 12 agencies — both HIV health care related and non-HIV health care related. The inclusion of non-HIV specific organizations was done purposely, CFHPC stated in a press release, as it shows HIV does not happen in a vacuum specially in Orlando which consistently ranks in the top five cities in the U.S. for new HIV cases.
“It is important to involve all of our community in this effort, not just those working in HIV care,” Rodriguez said.
Participating organizations displaying the quilts are Hope & Help (4122 Metric Dr.) and Harmony Healthcare (1400 Orlando Ave., #205) in Winter Park; the Orange County Department of Health (6101 Lake Ellenor Dr.), the LGBT+ Center Orlando (946 N. Mills Ave.), OIC/AHF (1707 N. Mills Ave.), Miracle of Love (741 W. Colonial Dr.), Stafford House (711 Seminole Ave.), Aspire Health (100 Columbia St.), the OUAC (507 E. Michigan St. in Orlando) and Alianza (11602 Lake Underhill Rd., Ste 106) in Orlando; and Peer Support Space (880 M.L.K. Jr. Blvd.) and the LGBT+ Center Kissimmee (17 W. Monument Ave.) in Kissimmee.
To kick off the assessment and to honor World AIDS Day, city officials lit up landmarks around Orlando in red Dec. 1.
The OUAC — originally a collaboration with the City of Orlando, Orange County Government, Osceola County Government and Heart of Florida United Way which serves and supports the immediate family members of the 49 individuals taken in the Pulse tragedy and the survivors — recently had its services incorporated into the existing services of the LGBT+ Center Orlando.
The CFHPC is a community planning body that advises on the allocation of federal funds for Ryan White Parts A & B and provides HIV prevention planning. CFHPC serves Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake and Brevard Counties.
To participate in the City of Orlando’s HIV Community Assessment Survey, go to Orlando.gov/HIV-Survey.
If you are unable to visit one of the Quilt Tour 2020 locations, you can take a virtual tour of the quilts as well as keep up to date on other community collaborations by visiting the Central Florida HIV Planning Council’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
