By KYLE HUMPHREYS
Staff Writer
The Albany Damien Center is calling upon the greater Capital Region to come out on Saturday April 13 at 11 a.m. and walk to raise awareness for AIDS and celebrate those who are surviving today thanks to medical progress. People are encouraged to raise funds in the days leading up to the event to support the Albany Damien Center and allow it to continue serving the community. There will be free food, entertainment, and community resources provided by the center.
The Albany Damien Center was the first facility of its kind to provide support to people who were diagnosed with AIDS. It started in 1988 in the hallowed halls of the Grace & Holy Innocents Church at the corner of Robin Street and Clinton Avenue. The Damien Center’s own Executive Director Perry Junjulas, a graduate from The College of Saint Rose with a Masters in Business Administration, had gone to the Albany Damien Center during these early days in 1995 when he was first diagnosed with AIDS and was told he had three months left to live.
“Getting diagnosed in the 80’s or even the 90’s was a much scarier proposition because it really meant you were going to start planning for the end of your life and not think about living it,” says Junjulas. Junjulas is now 50 and has been living a successful life with AIDS. He reports his viral load is undetectable thanks to medical treatment but is aware that this treatment is still not accessible to many individuals. If individuals with AIDS are struggling with substance abuse, mental illness, hunger, homelessness, or are deficient of other basic human needs, they will not be able to access the care that they need to lead a better life. Medicine alone is also never enough to ensure that people diagnosed with AIDS will thrive. Because of this, the center connects these individuals in need to services that aid them in living their best life.
To combat stigma and educate the public on AIDS, the center tries to advocate for people with AIDS. One of their largest movements is U Equals U, which teaches that adherence to medical treatment will allow people living with HIV or AIDS to manage their condition to the point where their viral load is undetectable.
“Undetectable equals Untransmittable,” said Adrian C. Hill, 55, organizer and facilitator of the U Equals U movement at the center. Hill teaches that not only should people with HIV and AIDS stick to treatment, but that prevention is treatment. Hill tested HIV positive in 1993 and makes U Equals U something incentive based so that people are more inclined to attend the meetings, which has been successful in getting people connected to resources they may need.
When asked what he loves most about his job, Hill replied, “I just like people.” Watching people open up after receiving support like the kind he provides fills him with joy.
Besides STI/AIDS testing, counseling services, and income-based housing with numerous amenities for its 22 on-site residents, the center also provides food through their food pantry and serves three meals a day Monday through Friday. Along with its 20 apartments, the center leases out 17 off-site apartments, believing that housing must come first before any needs can be met. They also started a program in 2003 called PAWS (Pets are Wonderful Support) that ensures people living with HIV or AIDS to still live with their animal companions. PAWS supports pet owners living with HIV or AIDS receive assistance with veterinarian visit costs and transportation, feeding and grooming their pets, walking their animals or changing their litter, and other pet related services. On their website, the center reports serving over 171 pets between 135 clients in the year 2018. Their residence also has a pet washing station so that residents with pets can keep them clean. Not many other apartments in Albany can boast being this pet friendly! Despite all the services provided at The Albany Damien Center, they need support from the community to continue doing what they do.
“The need for our services is increasing,” said Junjulas, and the financial resources to continue providing these services are not meeting demand. Many foundations that provided aid to places like the Albany Damien Center disappeared overtime, and there are more hurdles to obtain federal and state grants. These hurdles are meant to guard against abuses of these grants but make it harder for a place like the Albany Damien Center to keep its doors open.
There are few places like the center that provide the kind of services and support needed in our community. Whether or not you are living with HIV or AIDS, all are encouraged to attend the AIDS walk on Saturday April 13 at 11 a.m. in the Washington Park Lakehouse. Food and entertainment will be available, and the walk will be around Washington Park’s lake at 12:30 p.m.
