Candlelight Vigil on June 5 Will Spotlight Healthcare Funding Cuts & HIV/AIDS Awareness
PALM SPRINGS — As part of the national Seven Days in June: Health Is Primary campaign, communities across the country will gather to affirm that health must remain a governing priority and to raise awareness about the impact of healthcare funding cuts on our neighbors, families and loved ones.
In solidarity with this nationwide effort, Desert Healthcare District and Foundation is helping to organize a community candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 5 in Desert Healthcare Wellness Park. It is located at the corner of Via Miraleste and Tachevah Road.
June 5 also marks HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day and the 45th anniversary of the first published reports of what would later become known as AIDS. Together, DHCD leaders said they will honor those we’ve lost, celebrate those who have survived and remember that the AIDS epidemic is not over.
Remarks will begin at 7:30 p.m. and the vigil will conclude after sunset.
For more information about the Seven Days in June: Health Is Primary campaign, visit sevendaysinjune.org.
This grassroots community event was made possible with support from: HIV+ Aging Research Project–PS, Let’s Kick ASS–Palm Springs, The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, Palm Springs AIDS Memorial Sculpture Taskforce, Triangle Care Management, Brothers of The Desert, PALS, Mizell Senior Center, DAP Health, Desert Oasis Healthcare, and Stonewall Gardens.
About The Wellness Park
The five-acre park is an integral part of the Desert Healthcare District & Foundation’s commitment to health promotion, community collaboration, and partnerships designed to improve the health and quality of life for all District residents. Located adjacent to the Desert Regional Medical Center campus at the corner of Via Miraleste and Tachevah Road in Palm Springs, the property consists of interactive gardens, a quarter-mile walking/jogging loop, drinking fountains, benches, and exercise/fitness stations.
Opportunities to dedicate a park bench or tree in loving memory of a Palm Springs resident are available through a donation program. On May 7, 2021, the park hosted a memorial bench and plaque dedication for Timothy Ray Brown, aka “The Berlin Patient.” A resident of Palm Springs, Brown was considered to be the first person cured of HIV/AIDS.
