A towering statue of Lady Liberty directs people to the Liberty Center Plaza's exit once they've left the protection of the structure on Northwest 13th Street.
On Tuesdays and Fridays, Lady Liberty has her work cut out for her when the Gainesville Area AIDS Project hosts the infected and affected at the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida for a free meal and a few hugs.
And for many of the HIV-positive and people living with AIDS (PLWAs) who come to GAAP, that's just what they're looking for.
"We're waitin' on these potatoes. I got to smash these girls up," hollered Randy Valentine, the GAAP lunch cook, while preparing a meal.
Valentine used 20 pounds of ground beef to make a giant meatloaf and about 20 pounds of potatoes with four sticks of butter for a generous serving of mashed potatoes.
As soon as Valentine moves the trays of steaming food from the kitchen to the serving table, those infected with HIV or AIDS, form a line to help themselves.
To the "friends" of GAAP, it is not a clinical facility where they feel the pressures of intimidating questions or the distribution of drugs.
But GAAP is not a playground. The friends of GAAP know what lies before them-ugly truth in a beautifully cruel world.
"[AIDS] is such a slow, sad death," said GAAP President Sidney Curtis.
"People don't even know I'm alive, let alone know I'm here," said Richard, a friend of GAAP's who asked not to be identified.
GAAP is run on donations and has no paid staff. According to a GAAP brochure, the organization relies "solely on the generosity of the community" for its financial needs.
"We've seen a lot of people come in and out of these doors these past 16 years just looking for some comfort," said Kim Howland, Curtis' daughter.
"AIDS is a horrible disease even with the new meds. We've lost a lot of members here at GAAP," Curtis added.
After the meals, the remaining friends of GAAP said goodbye to each other with laughter and hugs as they went back into the world, where the negative stigma surrounding their very existence remains.
GAAP awaits a new day when the same family and a few new faces will crowd around the dining room tables in a place where viruses don't matter, infections aren't discussed and second helpings are encouraged.
