The 2023 AIDS Walk Arizona & 5K Run took place this Saturday, March 25 and Team NOAH made sure to show up and show out!
The AIDS Walk Arizona Festival is the largest gathering in Arizona to support people living with HIV and to raise community awareness. All proceeds benefit community partner agencies in Arizona that provide critical HIV services, including testing, treatment, behavioral health, housing, prevention and more.
Andrea Leuser, ACRN along with several other volunteers, represented Team NOAH to provide HIV education and resources to participants:
“During this event, a participant came up to our booth seeking information about NOAH and shared that her brother was recently diagnosed with HIV. During this interaction, the participant mentioned how angry she was at her brother for “knowingly engaging in behaviors that were dangerous”. The participant began to get emotional, which is when Andrea began comforting her in an empathetic and caring way. Andrea rationalized with her that we all knew the risks of COVID, a virus as well, and people still got sick and died. Andrea continued by saying that she should not fault her brother for being human. This was greatly appreciated by the participant and led to an engaging educational discussion about HIV / AIDS. The participant left the NOAHs Partners in Prevention booth with a smile, a hug, and a newfound appreciation of NOAH, her brother, and the support she has from people that care. These inspiring human connections we get to make with people along the way is why I love working and volunteering for NOAH”.
Joe Slama, Workplace and Public Safety Manager
Way to go, Andrea! Thank you to each volunteer for taking time out of their weekend to show the community the compassionate and quality care NOAH offers.
Don’t forget to check out The Beat calendar for future volunteer opportunities with Team NOAH.
