ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The AIDS Remembrance Garden in Highland Park, created 30 years ago to honor loved ones who died from AIDS and anyone fighting the disease, is getting $250,000 in new funding.

The garden was started in 1993 at the height of the AIDS epidemic by two people as a place for reflection and to remember the more than 400 Monroe County residents who died from AIDS.

The state grant, secured by Democratic Assemblymember Harry Bronson, will help restore the garden and complete the project’s original vision, with benches, more foliage, and the names of those who have died.

“The voices of many of my friends we can no longer hear. Their hands we can no longer hold. We only see them in pictures or in our memories. We have lost so many,” Bronson said.

Bronson hopes the garden helps young people understand the importance of testing and prevention.

The announcement comes right before Rochester Pride Week, but officials say this garden is something they hope makes everyone proud.

Learn more on how to volunteer to help take care of the AIDS Remembrance Garden here.

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