As I write this, I’m looking at an Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) HIV Services volunteer award hanging on my office wall, dated May 6, 1995. I received the award after delivering meals weekly for about six months, which means this year marks my 29th year of volunteering for Daily Bread Express (DBX).
In 1987, my younger brother Stephen, living in San Francisco at the time, sent me a letter telling me that he and his partner Michael were both diagnosed as HIV positive. At that time, it was basically a death sentence.
In 1993, Michael died. I spent a week with Stephen helping him prepare for Michael’s memorial service. I noticed people delivering meals to his door and asked what that was all about. He explained that sometimes people living with AIDS don’t have the energy to cook, and meal delivery programs help with their nutrition.
The following year, I spent another week with Stephen and noticed some changes. He was thinner, experiencing vertigo occasionally at the top of a stairway, and he was receiving home delivered meals—all signs of what we both knew was to come. I asked him if there was a meal delivery program like that in Portland, and he told me to contact Gary McInnis, HIV Services’ program manager at the time.
In 1994, I began delivering meals for DBX. I met a lot of wonderful people, some of whom would invite me into their homes to chat, and all of whom were grateful for the help. The difficult part in those days was how frequently the client list would change. Clients didn’t usually leave the program voluntarily. It was difficult.
My son Timothy—who was very close to his Uncle Stephen and about eight years old at the time—asked if he could go on deliveries sometime with me. We delivered to gentlemen living in some nice places and some not so nice places in downtown Portland. DBX helped me teach my young son the importance of helping and giving to others in need.
Protease inhibitors were a new treatment for HIV/AIDS in 1995, and they saved my brother Stephen’s life. He went on to serve as cantor for St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco for 25 years, until he succumbed to acute myeloid leukemia in 2018 at the age of 61.
Now starting my 29th year with DBX, I realize what a significant part of my life this program and its mission have become. DBX gave me a way to help my brother by helping others battling the same wretched disease. DBX introduced me to some wonderful people over the years, and it helped me teach important lessons to my son, who today is also a volunteer delivery driver for DBX.
Patrick Walsh is a retired mechanical engineer. He is also a church musician, most recently serving for the last 13 years as co-music director with his son Timothy at St. Andre Bessette Catholic Church in Portland.
