News

FAM Update from the Board Chair, Fall 2025

2025 Q3 update on STORIES: The AIDS Monument by FAM Board Chair Irwin M. Rappaport Learn more.

ABC7 coverage of 2025 World AIDS Day in West Hollywood

'This is a place to remember and grieve and mourn but also celebrate the accomplishments of the communities that did respond and did make things better for all of us.'
- Tony Valenzuela, executive director of One Institute Learn more.

WeHo Times coverage of 2025 World AIDS Day at Monument

'We have a president who won’t even recognize World AIDS Day.… It is an outrage that we can prevent AIDS, that we can treat the disease, and this administration has turned its back on us.'
- John Heilman, Vice Mayor of the City of West Hollywood Learn more.

WeHo Online coverage of 2025 World AIDS Day at Monument

'We should make a commitment that we’re gonna be back out in the streets, because that’s what we need to do with respect to this administration. And we need to be taking this message not just here in West Hollywood, we need to be taking it all across the country.'
-- John Heilman, Vice Mayor of the City of West Hollywood Learn more.

West Hollywood commemorates World AIDS Day at new Monument

Despite the Trump Administration’s refusal to recognize World AIDS Day this year, we and our allies around the country will continue to remember those we lost, celebrate the activists, caregivers, community leaders and survivors. Learn more.

Wallpaper*: AIDS Monument among ‘Best Shows to See’

2UrbanGirls coverage of Rep. Maxine Waters at Monument Grand Opening

'The tall, lighted pillars in formation along San Vicente Boulevard call to mind the candlelight vigils, marches, and organizing that turned grief into action and built a strong sense of community. Seeing the monument lit at night, at what was once an epicenter of the epidemic, reminds me of the advocates, caregivers, and public health leaders who refused to give up on ending HIV and AIDS.'
- Maxine Waters, Congresswoman (CA-43) Learn more.

POZ magazine coverage of Monument Grand Opening

'The unveiling of Stories: The AIDS Monument marks a historic moment for the community, ensuring that those we lost are held close in our memory and that the courage and sacrifices of those who fought and continue to fight are celebrated.'
- Irwin M. Rappaport, Board Chair for the Foundation for the AIDS Monument Learn more.

Secret Los Angeles coverage of Monument Grand Opening

'The evening unfolded with a sense of history and shared purpose.' Learn more.

LA Blade coverage of Monument Grand Opening

'For some, [the Monument] may bring back incredibly painful memories. It might bring back wonderful times with friends who are no longer here. It might remind them of their own caregiving or activism, or the sense of community that they felt in striving with others to get more attention to the disease.'
-- Irwin Rappaport, Board Chair for the Foundation for The AIDS Monument Learn more.

WeHo Times coverage of Monument Grand Opening

'Sunday’s unveiling marked a profound milestone for a project more than a decade in the making — a monument designed to preserve the stories of those lost to AIDS and honor the activists, caregivers, survivors, and loved ones who shaped a generation of advocacy.' Learn more.

WeHo Online coverage of Monument Grand Opening