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Area residents are being asked to come together for a still important cause on May 6 — AIDS awareness.

HIV and AIDS reached epidemic levels in the 1980s. Now, it is possible to live with AIDS but it is still a chronic disease, according to The Center’s founder and executive director Rev. Robert. F. Kaeding, who is known as Father Bob.

The Center in Asbury Park provides people who have AIDS with shelter, meals, financial assistance and more. It operates through grants and donations, and has held a springtime AIDS walk for most of its 20 years of existence.

“People don’t recognize it as a threatening disease anymore,” Father Bob said. “But if somebody is 21 and they get diagnosed with AIDS, it’s forever. We want to get the word out that it’s still something to be contended with.”

Last year was the first time The Center teamed up with other AIDS prevention and awareness organizations throughout the state for the annual NJ AIDS Walk. Although the Walk is now a statewide event, all money raised in Asbury Park stays in Asbury Park.

The Center got its start in a storefront on Mattison Avenue in 1992, but now has its own headquarters on Third Avenue complete with 25 studio apartments for people with AIDS who were previously homeless.

“They come to us from the streets or living in their car,” Father Bob said. “Some people who come here are coming from transitional programs.”

The Center provides daily meals for other AIDS patients who live elsewhere, Father Bob said. They are also eligible for frozen take-home meals and a monthly hygiene bag with deodorant, toilet paper and other household items.

Funds raised at the AIDS Walk will benefit The Center’s food programs and other supplemental support services they provide, Father Bob said. Funding from the state and county does not cover all of The Center’s needs. Grant money is often earmarked for specific uses, but “when we raise money like this it’s unrestricted, so it covers whatever we need to do to help certain clients,” he said.

There is no registration fee to take part in the walk, but participants are asked to pledge money. Streets are closed for the event, which starts out with an aerobics session. Walkers will pass through the Casino, into Ocean Grove and down Main Street. Each participant receives a T-shirt.

“It’s fun and there’s a great spirit,” Father Bob said of the event. “And the more money you raise, the more services you provide.”

Although food is the first priority, The Center’s staff hopes to one day reinstate its now-defuncty laundry or bus ticket programs, Father Bob said.They  would also like to hold more recrational programs for clients, like art projects or trips to theme parks.

“Normal human beings do have little pleasures,” he said. “Those are the things we would like to be able to do more of.”

The walk takes place on Sunday, May 6, with registration at 11 a.m. and the walk at 1 p.m. For more information on The Walk or to register for participation, click here.

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