Faith and HIV advocacy have long been intertwined, and in honor of National Faith HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (NFHAAD), AIDS United is taking the opportunity to engage the two and work towards an end to HIV stigma and discrimination. First observed in 2017, NFHAAD is an opportunity for people of different faiths across the U.S. to work together to advocate for HIV/AIDS education, prevention, treatment, support and advocacy.
In recognition of this day, we spoke with Public Policy Council member and Executive Director Lauren Banks from the National HIV/AIDS Housing Coalition (NHAHC) to speak on her experience both as an ordained priest and HIV advocate:
I am from Gadsden, Alabama (like Beyoncé’s dad!) and was raised in a small Episcopal Church. The theology I grew up with was that “God Is Love” and Jesus is our friend. It’s on us to be Jesus’ hands and feet in this world. I long felt a call to be a priest, but because queer women couldn’t be ordained in Alabama in 2007, my journey thankfully took me to the non-profit sector where I worked in community organizing, economic and healthcare justice, and service learning for youth. In 2021, I was ordained as an Episcopal priest and served at Christ Church in Alexandria while also working at NHAHC. I’ve been at NHAHC for seven years now and am now Executive Director.
Thirteen years ago, I joined the board of AIDS Alabama. I had long cared about HIV/AIDS and was disgusted by the stigma denying people proper care and love. I had no idea about the intersection with housing, or the plight of the South, until I joined the board and was shocked at the lack of community awareness (including mine). Two years later, I became the Director of Policy and Advocacy at AIDS Alabama and since then have felt this work is my calling from God. Howard Thurman wrote, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
I came alive and passionate about my work at AIDS Alabama. I learned and fell in love with those living with HIV in Alabama, who I still think of wherever I go, and I worked on many policy issues, including the modernization of the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) formula, appropriations for the HOPWA program and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
My faith in God and in Jesus is the base from which I strive to make decisions. I certainly get it wrong a lot and am very human, but I remember what Jesus taught us. Jesus says in Matthew, “For I was hungry and you gave me food…I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’” Jesus’ teachings center on loving others through action in this life. The Jesus that I have come to know through scripture and in my life is deeply concerned about how our bodies, minds and souls are doing right here, right now. So, as a follower of Jesus, it is imperative that I use my time and skills to care for God’s people. For me, right now, this call manifests as fighting for policies and funding and practices to house people, care for people, and promote the dignity of every human being.
Unfortunately, the City of Grants Pass, Oregon vs Johnson decision that was rendered by the Supreme Court earlier this year denies that dignity. With this decision, our cities are criminalizing a person’s very existence. If someone cannot afford a place to live and there are no shelters to go to (or shelters are dangerous for you), you can be arrested or ticketed simply for sitting too long. The more those living with HIV are put into the criminal justice system, the greater the chance for criminalization of HIV status and building a record that will prevent future access to housing.
As the Executive Director of NHAHC, we are working on policies and guidance on provisions that can be adopted by localities that will protect unhoused people. We also are raising awareness of the intersectionality of being unhoused, criminalization of HIV status, and criminal records preventing people from being a future renter. We are elevating stories of those with lived experience of HIV and being unhoused through our Lived Leadership Council.
Many of us have been harmed by the Christian Church because of being LGBTQ+ or HIV status, or fear of not being good enough because of being a drug user, a sex worker, from having an abortion or a divorce, and on and on. I am convicted to share with our community that God is not the same as an institutional, human church that has gotten it wrong. So, no matter who you are or what you’ve done or what you’ve been taught, God loves you and God will never lose you.
To learn more about National Faith HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, visit National Faith HIV/AIDS Awareness Day #NFHAAD | HIV.gov. To learn more about how you can contribute to the fight to end the epidemic and support incredible activists like Cosme, visit cdc.gov/stophivtogether or email pact@aidsunited.org to connect with a member of AIDS United’s Partnering & Communicating Together team to find ways to increase the impact of your work in the communities you serve.
