A significant chapter in fight against HIV recently closed in Minnesota, where the One Heartland summer campdesigned for HIV-positive childrenha finished its activities. After three decades of service, the facility announced its closure not for lack of support, but because of its original purpose.
Advances in HIV prevention and treatment have indeed led to a drastic decline in childhood infectionsmaking the existence of a campus exclusively dedicated to this cause unnecessary.
Perinatal transmission of HIV, in which the virus is passed from mother to baby during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding, is now below 1% in the United States thanks to antiretroviral drugs. Globally, new infections among children aged 14 and under have fallen 38% since 2015. These data reflect a sea change that has reduced the need for facilities like One Heartland.
The history of One Heartland summer camp
Founded in 1993 by Neil Willenson, then a university student, the campus was created to provide a safe and welcoming refuge for children affected by HIV, many of whom were isolated and stigmatized. Willenson was inspired by a specific case: a five-year-old boy in Milwaukee who faced discrimination at school.
What was supposed to be a temporary initiative became one thirty-year mission which changed the lives of thousands of young people. Willenson told the Minnesota Star Tribune:
The impact was so transformative the first summer of 1993 that during the week the children were already saying ‘When can we go back?’.
After initially renting space, Willenson purchased 80 acres of land in Willow River, thanks to generous donations, including from former Minnesota Twins player Paul Molitor. The campus became a place where children could feel free to talk openly about their condition, surrounded by unconditional love and acceptance.
Over the years, One Heartland has welcomed children from across the country, supported by grants and referrals from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The closure of the campus does not represent a failure, but a success: the decline in infections demonstrates the effectiveness of modern treatments. Willenson in fact concluded:
That there is no longer a need for the original purpose of the campus is the biggest story I could have ever imagined, it’s something I could never have predicted.
