Bruce de Ste Croix is the president of Provincetown’s Universalist Unitarian meeting house. Not only is he a historian of the AIDS crisis, but he’s also a long-term survivor of it. Bruce was diagnosed in 1984, and it wasn’t until 1996 that the life-saving drug cocktails became available. He attributes his survival during those 12 years to the work he did with people who were infected.

"When I started my volunteer work I felt so sick that I could barely walk from one side of a room to another, so I decided to quit taking my medication. My doctors likened it to suicide. Anyway it was a powerful experience to help people, they were so happy to have someone taking care of them who was also infected. Someone who understood. I started by doing 4 hour shifts, mostly just administering medication and talking with patients. Somehow over time I started to feel better and I was able to walk around town to meet with patients. I think when you help other people, there’s some sort of returned energy.”