Archives for May 2016

In celebration of Caring Together’s 15 years and Family First Health’s even-longer commitment treating and preventing HIV/AIDS, we are proud to bring 12 panels from The AIDS Memorial Quilt to be on display from June 23 to 25. We want to pause and remember those we’ve lost and reflect on what more can be done to support healthy and long lives for those diagnosed and prevent transmission whenever possible. We acknowledge that there’s still work to be done and ensure that history will not repeat itself.

Twenty-five years ago, Family First Health saw a national crisis impacting our local community – HIV/AIDS was devastating communities and a local response was necessary. Those initial efforts to do something when so many were doing nothing evolved into what we know today as Caring Together – a partnership between Family First Health and WellSpan Health.

Today, nearly 600 people receive medical care and supportive services through Caring Together’s dedicated team of professionals. Caring Together’s work shows Family First Health’s commitment to getting people access to care when they need it.

HIV/AIDS impacts our community today. In the last year, Family First Health identified 21 new diagnoses. In the last five years, we’ve had 138 diagnoses. Locally, the age group with the highest infection rate is ages 25-29. That falls in line with the fact that in 2013, AIDS was the leading cause of death nationally for those aged 25-34. Awareness and early diagnosis is key. Community health centers like Family First Health play a vital role in helping identify the 1 in 5 Americans living with HIV who are unaware of their infection and get them into high-quality, continuing care.

AIDS Memorial Quilt Events

• The AIDS Memorial Quilt will be displayed at Marketview Arts Dale Brougher Exhibition Hall, 37 W. Philadelphia St., York. It will be open to the public Thursday, June 23 from 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday, June 24 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, June 25 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Thursday, June 23: Opening reception York’s Central Market from 5 to 9 p.m. Groups will be led to view The AIDS Memorial Quilt on the half-hour. Opening remarks will be at 6 p.m. Light food and beverages will be provided.
• Friday, June 24: Free screening of the movie “Philadelphia” at 7 p.m. at the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center.
• Saturday, June 25: Full “Bloom” AIDS – Sponsor and plant your own perennials at the Serenity Garden of Hope at Albermarle Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Free, confidential HIV testing will be available at Marketview Arts.

Family First Health has partnered with York College of Pennsylvania and the IMPACT Arts and Culture Conference to bring this weekend of awareness to York. WellSpan Health and the York County Community Foundation provided funding to make it possible.

For more information, contact Family First Health’s Director of Development Courtney Lewis at 717-801-4808 or email clewis@familyfirsthealth.org.

Arlene Bubb remembers the conversation vividly. She was sitting at the kitchen table talking on the phone to her son, Brian. “Do you have AIDS,” she asked, holding her breath while inside her body was screaming “please say no.” “What would you say if I told you, yes,” he asked quietly. Bubb was trying to think of the right thing to say. What came out was the words of a mother. “We certainly would love you and take care of you and have you home here with us and do whatever we needed. I mean, you’re our son.”

Nothing else was said. Brian also never told her he was gay. But she said she always knew. The day she first heard about AIDS, she was cleaning the bathtub and something came on the news. She listened prayed that Brian would never get it. “I thought, you don’t have a son who hangs out in gay bars. … But it was always in the back of your head.”

Bubb sits in her favorite chair most days with a prime view of who’s walking by outside. Over her shoulder are two portraits. One, her daughter Diane. The other, Brian – the photo they used to use of the tie designer when he was in magazines. He was one of the top 10 in the country, she said. Proud of the boy who worked for Perry Ellis and then started out on his own. A clip featuring him in Esquire has the handwritten note from Brian “It’s tough being famous and good looking.”

That was him, she said with a laugh. “There were a lot of things I do to do that I wouldn’t have gotten to do without Brian,” his mother said. Trips to Paris, Milan.

Brian died on July 8, 1993. It was his sister’s 40th birthday. Since his death, Bubb got involved with The Open Group – a group of mainly mothers who put on monthly dinners for those living with AIDS. And then one day, she heard Brian was on the AIDS Memorial Quilt. One of his industry friends did it, she said. It’s Brian’s own self-portrait – a caricature, his favorite. Simple. Funny. Brian. “That’s Brian,” she said. “He had such an amazing sense of humor. I think it also helped to cover up a lot of hurt in his life.” They say funny people are hiding pain, she said, sadly. “I wasn’t there to help or understand. There are so many things I wish I had known then that I know now.”

Bubb has seen the quilt a few times over the years. She road the bus down to Washington D.C. when it was on the National Mall. “Those quilts, they’re just incredible. To see what people put together and about their lives and how they were loved.” Standing there, Bubb was amazed at the vast display of quilts. “There were so many there … and they all had families. It just broke my heart. We sent a man to the moon. We have medicine now. It just came too late.”

Sitting in her chair, Bubb sorts through things that remind her of her son. An Absolute Vodka ad he did – “Absolute Bubb.” A box is full of ties he made. Once he died, she ended up bringing home a suitcase of them. She couldn’t bear the thought of them just being given away or thrown out. Several ties are sown into a throw that sits on the chair opposite hers – like it’s holding his space.

When Brian’s quilt comes home, his mother knows she’ll be bawling her eyes out. But she wants people to think as they remember. “I want them to know that it’s still here. AIDS is still here. It hasn’t gone away. I’m thankful that people now have been able to get on medication. Know that you can live with this. But be careful. Don’t be stupid.”

Join Family First Health for a three-day viewing of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and see Brian’s quilt. Click here for more information.

(Photo and video by Randy Flaum, York Storyman. Story by Kate Harmon.)