When people spoke about HIV 40 years ago, the conversations were generally focused on survival. But thanks to incredible advances in treatment and research, many people living with HIV today are asking a very different question: How do I live well?
That question is at the heart of the upcoming 11th annual Positively Aging Project Conference. This year's theme, "Live! Laugh! Lust!", celebrates the idea that while medicine helps people live longer, it's joy, connection and a sense of purpose that enable people to live better.
Founded in 2015, the Positively Aging Project is a collaborative community initiative dedicated to improving the lives of people aging with HIV through education, research, health care partnerships and community engagement.
Produced through the ongoing collaboration of HARP-PS (HIV + Aging Research Project Palm Springs), Planning Ahead for LGBTQ+ Seniors (PALS), Trangender Heath & Wellness Center, The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, Brothers of the Desert, Jewish Family Service of the Desert, the Alzheimer's Association, Triangle Care Management, Eisenhower Health and DAP Health, the conference has become one of Southern California's premier educational programs on HIV and healthy aging.
The conference, which is free and open to the public, will take place Sept. 19 at the Mizell Center in Palm Springs and will begin at 9 a.m. with registration and a complimentary continental breakfast. The program will go from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will include a complimentary lunch.
Throughout the day, attendees will have the opportunity to visit community resource tables featuring health care providers, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups and support services from across the Coachella Valley.
This year's three keynote speakers are nationally recognized individuals whose personal and professional journeys embody the spirit of Live! Laugh! Lust!
Award-winning HIV activist, journalist and author Mark S. King will explore life beyond diagnosis and the opportunities that come with growing older with HIV.
Comedian, storyteller and local radio personality Shann Carr will remind attendees that laughter has long been one of the LGBTQ+ community's greatest sources of resilience while honoring the extraordinary role lesbians played during the AIDS epidemic as caregivers, advocates and chosen family.
And Nina Grace Ruedas, MPH, MS, LMFT, director of the UCR Women's Resource Center and clinical instructor at the UCR School of Medicine, will explore intimacy, relationships, self-acceptance and living authentically without apology. Her presentation will encourage participants to define happiness and connection on their own terms, whether through partnership, casual relationships, deep friendships or independent living, free from stigma, expectations or judgment.
A key mission of the Positively Aging Project Conference is to demonstrate what is possible when health care providers, nonprofit organizations, advocates, researchers and people with lived experience come together with a shared purpose.
"Healthy aging isn't just about adding years to life," said Steven Drew Auerbach, co-executive director and chief operating officer of HARP, via press release. "It's about filling those years with purpose, connection, laughter and hope. Medicine helps us live longer. Joy helps us live better. That's what this conference is all about."
To learn more or to reserve your spot, visit harp-ps.org.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Positively Aging Project Conference to explore aging better with HIV
