Thank you to everyone who attended our Wellness Summit weekend events. Over 250 people attended our 7th annual Brothers of the Desert Wellness Summit, Building Our Collective Resilience on Saturday March 28th in our new location, The Renaissance Hotel Palm Springs. We heard from dynamic keynote presenters, Keith Boykin, Harold Phillips, Nii-Quartelai Quartey and Yolo Akili Robinson. Participants chose from a total of 12 different workshops at three different times throughout the day led by an impressive group of presenters. Topics included sexual health, the healing power of Black music, intergenerational communication and mentorship, Black LBGTQ history, the meaning and history of Ballroom culture, inspiration and resilience from our Black women allies, reclaiming Divinity, Black land loss, transformational leadership and more.

 

We added a pre-conference storytelling workshop on Friday led by writers and film directors Nathan Hale-Williams, Patrik-Ian Polk, Keith Boykin and Dr. Daniel Driffin and powered by Gilead Sciences. The immersive workshop was well regarded, and we look forward to having this happen again next year.

 

Our Friday night opening reception produced by Icon City was a celebratory way to kick of the Wellness Summit We had the opportunity to be introduced to many of the presenters and a get a preview of their workshops. We had over 100 people in attendance that evening.

We ended the weekend with a Sunday Soul Food Brunch at the Riviera hotel featuring Chef Andre Jones and entertainment from singer, Charlie Brown.

 

The overall weekend was very well-received. Here is what some Wellness Summit attendees said about their experience:

We are planning on 8th annual Brothers of the Desert Wellness Summit for March 2027. We would love to have you all attend next year.

(not pictured Andre Carthen)

 

When people talk about public health, it can sound abstract. Institutional. Full of acronyms, funding streams, and policy decisions made somewhere far away by people we will never meet.

 

But I do not experience public health as abstract. I experience it as deeply personal.

 

Public health is whether someone can get tested without shame. Whether they can afford to stay on medication. Whether PrEP is available, accessible, and talked about openly. Whether a clinic stays open in the neighborhood where people actually need it. Whether prevention, outreach, and education are treated as essential, or as optional line items that can be cut when politics shifts direction. The CDC says PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed. That is not abstract. That is life-changing.

 

As a gay man, and as someone who works closely with men around intimacy, shame, healing, and connection, HIV is not just a policy issue to me. It is part of the emotional and cultural landscape many of us have inherited. It lives in our history, our grief, our vigilance, and our care for one another. So when I look at what is happening in public health right now, I do not see paperwork. I see consequences.

 

And those consequences are local.

 

In the Coachella Valley, there are currently 7,227 people living with HIV. 63.3% of all people living with HIV in Riverside County live in the Coachella Valley, and the prevalence in Palm Springs/North Palm Springs is 7,666 per 100,000, more than 21 times the California statewide rate. The median age of people living with HIV in the Coachella Valley is 62, and 63.3% are age 60 or older. From 2015 through 2024, the Valley saw 915 new HIV cases, averaging 91.5 new cases a year. Those numbers tell a story. HIV is not some issue from the past. It is still very much part of the present here.

 

That is why current policy changes matter so much. In February, cuts to public health funding in California were reported to include HIV prevention money, including $1.1 million that had been slated for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Project. Around the same time, Los Angeles County Public Health announced it was ending clinic services at seven locations because of a $50 million reduction in federal, state, and local funding. On paper, these may sound like administrative decisions. In real life, they mean fewer access points, fewer prevention resources, fewer trusted providers, and more people falling through the cracks.

 

What gets neglected when politics takes over is often not just treatment, but the quieter forms of care that keep people healthy in the first place. Prevention. Education. Testing. Outreach. Trust. The things that help someone ask for help before they are in crisis. The things that make sexual health feel normal, discussable, and manageable instead of frightening or taboo. Once those supports are weakened, communities are left to absorb the impact.

 

And maybe that is the part I keep coming back to. Communities always seem to step in. We check on one another. We share resources. We educate each other. We make referrals. We hold people through fear and confusion. That is beautiful. But it should not be used as an excuse for neglect. Community care should deepen public health, not replace it.

 

For me, public health is community care because health does not happen in isolation. It happens in relationship. It happens through access, dignity, continuity, and trust. It happens when people are supported early, not abandoned until things get worse.

 

At its best, public health is love made practical. And in a place like the Coachella Valley, where the need is not theoretical but visible and ongoing, practical love still matters.

 

The Palm Springs Police Department and Brothers of the Desert have partnered with Blackbook Bar and Kitchen to host an open conversation and a complimentary breakfast, powered by Dean Lavine, owner of Blackbook.

 

The intention for this conversation/breakfast is to continue the open communication with the PS Police Department from a Black person's point of view.

 

Communication is key, so please join us on Tuesday, April 14th, from 9:30 am to 11:00 am at Blackbook Bar on Arenas Road.

 

Brothers of the Desert is committed to investing in the success of Black students throughout the Coachella Valley. We are in the second year of awarding our own Brothers of the Desert Scholarship. The Brothers of the Desert Scholarship was initiated in 2025 and was awarded to two eligible students last year. Students who identify as Black, African American, or of African descent, within the GBTQ+ spectrum with a GPA of 2.7 or above who have been accepted to a four-year college anywhere in the U.S. and currently reside and attend school in the Inland Empire are eligible.

 

The applications close on April 15th, and we will award one or two students with our second annual scholarship. For application and guidelines go to: https://www.iegives.org/students/overview/

 

Brothers of the Desert also recently supported and contributed to the following student success programs:

 

NASF (Negro Academic Scholarship Fund) held their 56th annual scholarship banquet on Saturday March 21st. 2026.

Palm Springs Black History Committee Gala honoring remarkable community leaders, outstanding organizations, and exceptional students who are making a meaningful impact held on February 7th 2026.

One Future Coachella Valley held their 20th year celebration; The Future is Ours 2026 on March 6th.  Our former board member, Dr. Larry Kidd is part of a committee that heads up the Black/African American healthcare scholars’ program. For the event, with his match, we contributed $2500 to this program.

 

To donate to our Brothers of the Desert Scholarship:

 

Brothers of the Desert is excited to continue our monthly discussion group called Barbershop: A Black Gay Men’s Space for Honest Talk About Wellness, now in our second year!

 

Building upon the tradition of barbershops in Black communities, the discussion group is designed to encourage open and honest conversation. The meetings are welcoming a spectrum of Black men, gay, bisexual, transgender and nonbinary. The wellness topics discussed are diverse, ranging from dating and intimacy, aging considerations, how we get and offer support, and exploring our identities as Black men.

 

The group meets the second Tuesday of each month from 5:30-7:00 PM. There is no charge to attend. We begin with a meet and greet with dinner that begins at 5:30PM and the discussion group starts at 6PM. The group is facilitated by Stuart Huggins and Will Dean.

 

To register to attend the meetings email: willdean.boardmember@brothersofthedesert.org

For questions email Tim Vincent at president@brothersofthedesert.org

 

Brothers of the Desert members meet monthly to discuss recent and upcoming events, share updates on the organization, celebrate our accomplishments, and have an opportunity to connect with new and existing members.

 

Join us for our Monthly Members & Allies Lunch at Mark’s Burgers!

Both members and allies are welcome to attend (Cash and Carry).

RSVP with DavidMaurice.Jones@gmail.com before April 10, 2026.

Spring always makes me think about what it means to come back to life.

 

Not in the dramatic, cinematic sense. More in the quiet, honest ways. The places where I have been hiding, performing, managing, or shaping myself to be more acceptable, more desirable, more easy for other people to receive.

 

Lately, I have been on a real journey with authenticity in my relationships and interactions. And I will be honest, it sounds more graceful than it actually feels. Being more authentic has meant catching myself in old habits. Smiling when I really feel hurt. Saying “it’s fine” when it isn’t. Offering the polished version of myself when what is actually true is that I feel tender, uncertain, needy, hopeful, or afraid.

 

There have been moments recently where I have chosen differently. I have said what I actually felt, even when my voice shook a little. I have admitted when I wanted reassurance. I have let people see that I do not always have it together. For someone who has spent a lot of time being strong, self-possessed, and composed, that has felt both exposing and freeing.

 

I am learning that authenticity is not about telling everyone everything. It is about being honest enough that your life begins to feel like it belongs to you again.

 

That kind of honesty changes your relationships. People can feel when they are meeting the real you. They may not always know what to do with it. Some people may even fall away. But the connections that remain have a different quality. More ease. More trust. More room to breathe.

 

Spring reminds me that blooming is not a performance. It is a natural expression of what is already alive.

 

Maybe this season is asking the same of you. Not to become someone else, but to let yourself be seen a little more fully, a little more truthfully, just as you are.