Long-time HIV activist appointed to RivCo Advisory Council on Aging

Palm Springs resident David "Jax" Kelly has been appointed by the Riverside County board of supervisors to a three-year term on the Advisory Council on Aging as of July 1.

According to a press release, the council is mandated under provisions of the Older Americans Act and Older Californians Act to give planning and policy guidance to the Office on Aging and the board of supervisors as well as advocacy to seniors and disabled adults in Riverside County.

A graduate of Yale University who went on to earn an MBA from New York University and a juris doctorate from Fordham University School of Law, Kelly is a long-time advocate for health care for people living with HIV and people of color. He has served as president of Let's Kick ASS (AIDS Survivor Syndrome) Palm Springs since May 2019. And during the pandemic, Kelly earned a master's degree in public health in an online program at USC.

"The more I've been in the aging space," he says, "the more I hear stories that sound so similar to experiences with people with HIV. But do they know that those similarities, those shared stories, exist? I don't think so. Just as there are other chronic diseases that tend to get attention in the aging community, I think there's certainly space for HIV in that realm as well.

"Oftentimes when I talk to people in the aging community, and I ask, 'What are you doing for people who are aging with HIV?' they say, 'Well, aren't those guys handled somewhere else?' And I respond: 'No, we're aging with HIV. You should be able to do something.'"

Kelly says the appointment to the Advisory Council on Aging will allow him to accomplish several things.

"One is that I'd like to create that space for HIV-positive people in the aging world," he says. "My advocacy on this council is going to be largely focused on saying, 'What are we doing? How are we honoring our HIV and Aging Act? Are we looking at surveys, like the recently completed LGBTQIA survey on older persons, and using that data to implement programs or at least carving spaces and programs for people who are aging with HIV?'

"I also want to be more of an example to my colleagues throughout California as well as throughout the country," he says. "I don't think there's very many of us who are HIV positive who ever thought about participating in an aging advisory board. Sometimes we get comfortable in our own little silos. And I've noticed that, especially among people who are aging with HIV, oftentimes we fought the battles. We might've fought homophobia, sexism, racism, and then all of a sudden we're dealing with ageism — and that's maybe one fight too many for people."

Kelly will continue his commitment to advocate for people aging with HIV and LGBTQ+ older adults through community service, including as a member of the state's Equity Advisory Committee on Aging and Disability, the Community Planning Group of the state Office of AIDS and as a board member to Palm Springs' Mizell Center, the largest provider of Meals on Wheels in the Coachella Valley.

Among his many accolades, in 2022, Kelly was honored with the Spirit of Stonewall Volunteer of the Year Award by Greater Palm Springs Pride and the Legacy Award from Brothers of the Desert.

From Sept. 18 to 20, Kelly will attend a Collaboration and Care Conference at the San Diego Marriott La Jolla. It's directed at providers both in the aging and HIV world.s To learn, more visit bit.ly/3M42omU .

Kelly admits that his goals take a little bit of moxie, "but I think it's worthwhile, and I'm trying to make a space so that people who are HIV positive and aging can actually feel comfortable in doing that."

To learn more about the Office on Aging, visit rcaging.org/programs-services-overview . To learn more about Let's Kick ASS Palm Springs, visit lkaps.org .

As philanthropy editor at The Desert Sun, Winston Gieseke writes about nonprofits, fundraising and locals who give back, like his beloved dog Ernie Banks, who volunteers at the local cancer center . Reach him at winston.gieseke@desertsun.com .

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Long-time HIV activist appointed to RivCo Advisory Council on Aging