The nonprofit organization The New Jersey AIDS Walk, which hosts fundraising and awareness-building walks on the first Sunday in May each year, has changed its name. The change reflects an expansion of services over the years and efforts to target the disease’s root causes and contributing factors, as well as to treat those affected or at higher risk than the general population more holistically.
The organization, now known as The NJ RED Collective is still comprised of the same five groups that formed individually years ago to help New Jerseyans with the disease. Those groups are The Center in Asbury Park, EDGE New Jersey, the North Jersey Community Research Initiative (NJCRI), Buddies of N.J., Inc., and the South Jersey AIDS Alliance. The groups came together to create The New Jersey AIDS Walk in 2010.
To Ray Welsh of Hackensack-based Buddies of N.J., the RED Collective presenting the walks is more than just about a quality of life.
“It’s a movement solidifying and maintaining proven ways to serve the most vulnerable and the underserved, or I can even maybe dare to say the people who are less cared about. This is at the very least of what we owe the people who’ve come before us, and hopefully we will be able to be there until the end,” said Welsh — who manages Buddies’ fundraising, events and a home founded to provide those with the disease a place to live.
Owing the people who have come before, those lost to the disease identified by the Centers for Disease Control in 1981, is addressed by the first letter in the rebranded organization’s acronym, “RED.” The “R” stands for “Remember” and is part of the RED Collective’s mission, as outlined in a news release:
Remember: By honoring the history of the HIV/AIDS fight, celebrating pioneers and activists, and memorializing lives lost, NJ RED will honor those lost by staying committed to the lessons learned, informing future progress.
Educate: Through sharing information, confronting stigma, and exploring social determinants of health, NJ RED commits to empowering communities with knowledge — making progress one step at a time.
Defeat: United by purpose, NJ RED is dedicated to defeating HIV/AIDS in New Jersey by addressing not only the disease but also the daily challenges that perpetuate it.
To Michael Roland, who runs The Center in Asbury Park and is the NJ RED Collective’s president, the new name is a better fit to describe the organization and the groups that make it up and what they do.
“This new name reflects both our history and our vision. While we remain committed to the same mission that began with the New Jersey AIDS Walk, The NJ RED Collective better represents the breadth of services we offer and the unified strength of our five agencies,” Roland said in a statement.
Those services include prevention, testing, harm-reduction programs, access to “life-saving” medical care, counseling, resources for mental health and substance use, housing, hygiene, nutrition, and advocacy for equitable healthcare access, according to a news release. The NJ RED Collective’s combined services span the state and help 38,000 “unduplicated” clients, according to the release.
South Jersey AIDS Alliance President and CEO Georgett Shelton said in an email that while all the groups began as AIDS service organizations, their footprint has expanded significantly.
At Atlantic City-based SJAA, she said, “HIV will absolutely remain the focus of the Walk. That has not changed. But today our work also includes community health nursing, HIV testing, STI testing, Hepatitis C testing, overdose prevention, harm reduction services, and support for people who use drugs and individuals experiencing homelessness. All of these services are directly connected to our core mission of reducing HIV transmission, improving health outcomes, and addressing health disparities.
“Other organizations across the state have expanded even further beyond their original scope. The shift to ‘RED Collective’ reflects a desire to frame the Walk more broadly as a stand against stigma: stigma related to HIV, stigma toward people who use drugs, stigma toward those who are unhoused, and stigma toward marginalized communities overall,” Shelton said.
Roland said, “I think we just want the public to know that even though we’re changing the name from New Jersey AIDS Walk to The RED Collective, even in that acronym ‘RED,’ our primary focus is ending HIV, and we’ll never abandon that … until we have a cure,” he said. He also wants the public to know what that entails — it’s not just the medication, it’s treating the person holistically and the community in the same way.
This year the five walks will take place on May 3. Check-in is at 11 a.m., and step-off is at 1 p.m. at the respective walk sites. The event is pet friendly. Walk participants will step off from the following locations:
Asbury Park: The Center in Asbury Park, 806 Third Ave., hosted by the center, 732.774.3416, mail@thecenterinap.org.
Atlantic City: the boardwalk at Pennsylvania Avenue, hosted by the South Jersey AIDS Alliance, 609.347.1085, info@sjaids.org.
Bergen/Passaic counties: Wild Duck Pond, Saddle River County Park, 1133 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood, hosted by Buddies of N.J., Inc., 201.489.2900 or 800.508.7577 (New Jersey only), info@njbuddies.org.
Morris County: 295 E. Main St., Denville, hosted by EDGE New Jersey, 973.285.0006, info@edgenj.org.
Newark: the Park Avenue entrance to Branch Brook Park, hosted by the North Jersey Community Research Initiative, 973.483.3444, njcri@njcri.org.
A news release directed those with questions regarding registration to contact the walk’s host organization.
“All of the money raised at each event location goes directly back to the local member organization. You can be assured that your donation will stay in the community, helping your New Jersey friends and neighbors,” the release said.
In addition to defeating the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the organizations aim to defeat other epidemics including poverty, homelessness, and addiction and not just for those with HIV/AIDS, according to Welsh. “These are the things that we need to tackle, and we have undertaken this as we see that there’s a future that threatens the very work that we do, we want to be there to make sure that it continues,” he said.
Uncertainty caused by the specter of possible funding and program cuts has been a threat the organizations continue to face. Roland said that not knowing what’s going to happen next as far as federal guidelines from the Trump administration is a challenge that has affected each of the five organizations differently.
For example, Roland said, The Center’s primary function is housing and so far his organization has not been directly affected by any cuts in that area yet. However, he added, other organizations have had programs directly cut or diminished because of issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI. The Trump administration has been trying to stop DEI initiatives since the president took office.
Yet the five organizations, both individually and together as part of The NJ RED Collective, continue their work. And according to Welsh, that work continues harmoniously because everyone involved gets along very well and has similar goals. “We work really well together collectively, and that benefits the people we serve enormously,” Welsh said.
