Housing Works: Housing Prevents AIDS. Housing Improves Health.

Housing Works is preparing for our 14th annual World AIDS Day Commemoration in New York City from 12:01 am to midnight on Monday, December 1, 2008 at the tip of City Hall Park. As in previous years, we will be gathering at City Hall Park for a 24-hour “Reading of the Names” Vigil, where five people at a time will read the names of those who have died of the AIDS epidemic.

Rain, sleet or snow, hundreds of participants will call out the names of thousands of people. Anyone can come by and read names to alert the powers that be that no one else need die of AIDS or get HIV.

We invite you to join us for a World AIDS Day Commemoration that New Yorkers cannot ignore and will not easily forget. For clips of last year’s commemoration, check out the video that streamed every hour on NY1 last year.

There are several ways you or your organization can get involved:

• Sponsor: We ask that organizations wishing to co-sponsor the event donate $100 to help defray the costs, commit people to read names for a block of time, and collect names to be read.

• Endorser: We are asking endorsers to cover a block of reading time and to gather names to be read.

The vigil is an opportunity to unite many organizations and individuals who are fighting the twin epidemics of AIDS and apathy, but we encourage every participating organization to do an independent action as well.

If you or members of your organization would like to participate by reading names, or you have names you would like read during the vigil please contact:

Dennis Weakley
d.weakley@housingworks.org/dennis.weakley@gmail.com
518/449-4207 (phone)
518/449-4219 (fax)

Download the form to submit names for World AIDS Day Vigil.

The event takes place at the southern tip of City Hall Park at Broadway and Park Place. Take the N or R train to City Hall or the 4, 5, or 6 train to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall.