Founded in 1974 by Dr. Charles Garfield, The Shanti Project's mission is to enhance the quality of life, health and well-being of people living with life-threatening illnesses, including Breast Cancer and HIV/AIDS through peer support, guidance, and other services. This year, The Shanti Project is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
We spoke with writer and HIV/AIDS educator, Ed Wolf, a Shanti Project volunteer from 1983 to 1991. During the early days of the AIDS crisis in San Francisco, Shanti Project volunteers provided courageous love during the darkest of times; they exemplified the heart-felt response San Francisco is known for providing.
How did you get involved with Shanti Project?
I responded to an ad in the local gay paper, The Bay Area Reporter, in the fall of 1982. I took the 2nd Shanti Volunteer training in July of 1983.
You’ve been working in the HIV/AIDS epidemic since 1983. Have your understandings and attitudes about HIV changed over that time and if so, how?
Of course everything about the epidemic has changed many times since it first appeared. As many people know, the first 15 years of the epidemic were marked by the lack of successful treatment options for many people with AIDS. The arrival of those medications eventually lead to people with HIV knowing they would not die of AIDS. AIDS stopped being the automatic death sentence that it had been for so long.
What do you feel is the most important things for people to understand about HIV/AIDS today?
The HIV epidemic today creates a new set of problems and challenges for communities. In the beginning, the focus of the community’s response was on supporting people who were sick and dying, and also finding ways to help those who were left behind. The challenges now are about helping people who are living with HIV, not dying of AIDS.
What memories will you be reflecting on or sharing at Shanti Project’s 40th anniversary?
My primary memories, both the good and the painful, involve the people I’ve come to know and love and in some cases lose, since this terrible tragedy first began. Co-workers, patients, volunteers, clients and friends, some of whom lived to tell their story, many who died and are no longer here. It is so important to remember our story, or history, and to continue to find ways to pass it on to future generations. People with HIV, people who don’t have it, providers, volunteers, those who have lost loved ones, those who have never known a person to die of AIDS; we all need to continue to find ways to let our story be known. It’s a story about resilience and courage and dedication and compassion, a story that underscores some of the very best of who we are as human beings.
Where do you find your inspiration?
These days I find my inspiration in the simple but profound understanding that what we do actually makes a difference in the lives of the people around us. The simplest act of kindness, of forgiveness, of generosity, of laughter; we have the power to impact the world we are living in. I am inspired by how many people choose to do things that make the world a better place to live in.
To commemorate 40 years of service, on World AIDS Day—December 1--Shanti Project is hosting Gratitude in the Grove. This free event will be an evening of reflection, connection, gratitude, and dancing for former volunteers and HIV/AIDS volunteer caregivers at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park. There will be celebratory dancing with legendary DJ Page Hodel following a brief program. Find more information here.