AIDS Walk volunteers at Waryas Park

POUGHKEEPSIE – Some 300 people turned out in the City of Poughkeepsie Saturday to join in the 17th annual AIDS Walk sponsored by the AIDS-Related Community Services organization.

People came for first for the information booths set up at Waryas Park and then later joined in the walk. Participants from across the Hudson Valley came for various reasons. One young woman’s childhood friend died of AIDS last year and she felt it was important for her to be there to honor his memory. Others were former drug abusers, AIDS/HIV educators and supporters.

The effort to eradicate the disease has become even more difficult this year, according to ARCS Executive Director Jeffrey Kraus.

“Right now we are having a really difficult time because of the current fiscal crisis on Wall Street and for this whole year, the Legislature has impacted us greatly, and for the first time in 25 years, has cut the core funding for HIV/AIDS services,” he said. That amounts to $1 million.

Paul Callagy, ARCS Board President, had a message for AIDS/HIV sufferers. “They know what crisis is and we are here to try to fight, not only that crisis, but the hurdle we have to get over to get continued support, to support people living with the challenges the disease represents.”

The grand marshal of the event was Andrea Williams, whose life story inspired the 2007 HBO movie “Life Support” starring Queen Latifah. The Brooklyn native is committed to stopping the spread of AIDS. A former drug abuser and mother of three daughters, she was diagnosed with HIV in 1993 and since then has volunteers as a peer educator.