The Reunion Project at USCHA in New Orleans
The Reunion Project’s presence was felt everywhere at this year’s United States Conference on AIDS in New Orleans. From our busy booth in the exhibit hall to our workshop on end-of-life led by Mark S. King, and a presentation on our recently issued report on health equity to the NMAC 50+ Scholars 2024 cohort, it was a whirlwind of activities over the course of three days. We are grateful to NMAC, the local New Orleans community and the host planning committee for stepping up after Hurricane Francine threatened to shut it all down, and that people’s safety and concern came first. While some people had to cancel, for those of us who were able to travel it was great to reconnect with old friends, meet some new ones, and to learn new tools and resources to take back to our communities to improve care and services.
During The Reunion Project’s workshop, “Helping Long-Term Survivors Face Life’s Final Chapter,” we heard from community and professional experts like Dr. David Fawcett talk about survivor’s guilt, post-traumatic growth, and the hypervigilant part of PTSD. Ronda Goldfein of AIDS Law Project explained the importance of drawing up advanced medical directives, medical powers of attorney, and the difference between them. End of Life Doula Mazdak Mazarei suggested there are things we can do to have a better death while recognizing people’s trauma around the topic, and reframing the question to, “what legacy do we want to leave behind?” “Who’s the most important person in your life and have you told them?” “Who do you want to forgive, to thank, to tell you that you love them?”
Ultimately when planning for end of life it’s important to seek connection and talk to people, get your affairs in order, and to think about what legacy you want to leave, while recognizing there are some people who will never want to talk about it. As TRP’s director of community engagement Waheedah Shabazz-El pointed out, we are all unique, there will never be another person like you, and “my pain has become my purpose.”
