DAP UPDATE DAP HEALTH GETS READY TO WALK, OUT LOUD BY ELLEN BLUESTEIN
On Saturday, October 29, 2022, DAP Health will host its annual Desert AIDS Walk. For 35 consecutive years, the walk has raised critical funds for HIV/AIDS programs and services in the valley while celebrating survivors and remembering those who lost their lives to the disease. Goals for this year’s walk include walking to help end the HIV and AIDS epidemics in the Coachella Valley and to promote health equity and health justice. The theme of this year’s walk is Walk, Out Loud, because DAP Health has been watching the current socio-political climate in the nation and has seen challenges like this before. “We’re using our voices and our feet to advocate for members of our community who don’t have access to the healthcare they need and deserve,” said DAP Health Director of Brand Marketing, Steven Henke. “Together, we are going to help connect more people to wellness. DAP has always been an advocacy-based health care organization and this year, we are inviting community members who believe in health equity to lace up their walking shoes, join arms with their neighbors and be advocates for change”
28 THESTANDARDPS.COM
The Palm Springs AIDS Walk began in 1987, two years after the world’s first AIDS Walk was held in Los Angeles. Thousands of people were on hand to raise awareness and funds for the deadly disease. Local activists Dr. David Kaminsky and his wife Jan chaired the event. The late actor Kirk Douglas, a prominent valley resident, was a featured speaker who encouraged participants at the start of the walk by telling them, “Let’s walk, run, do whatever we can to eradicate AIDS.” Former President Gerald Ford and former first lady Betty Ford joined the post-event picnic. Mrs. Ford attended the event again in 1995. The late Sonny Bono, then Palm Springs mayor, took part in the walk in the early 90s. The walk has a loyal following. Between 1,200–1,500 people participate each year. One of those walkers, DAP Health Board Chair Patrick Jordan, has been involved since 2007. Over the years, he and his team, Palm Springs Properties, have raised millions of dollars for the organization. For Jordan, it is a labor of love. “It’s one of my favorite events that we do every year for a number of reasons,” he said. “Number one being its very community-focused. It