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Perfect attendance: Felix Sirls

Jason A. Michael

His score is 10 out of 10. For every year there's been an AIDS Walk Michigan – City of Detroit, there's been Felix Sirls in the mix – and often out front and in the lead.
"To be 61 and be down here and still coming in first, it's showing people we still have strength and hope," Sirls said.
And if anyone knows anything about strength and hope, it's Sirls. HIV-positive for 26 years, Sirls is one of the city's most active activists. And all that he does, he does it with a smile on his face.
"I walk for all the folk who can't walk," he said. "They give me energy. I walk to demonstrate that with proper care it can be done."
When not walking, Sirls is out working for the cause. He's board chair of CHOW, Community Health Outreach Workers. He's also on the board of the Michigan HIV/AIDS Council, as well as on the board of POS, the Positive Support Organization, an HIV-positive support group for heterosexuals both infected an affected.
In addition, Sirls in on the speaker's bureau of both the Michigan AIDS Fund and Gospel Against AIDS, and is also a certified HIV counselor who does testing on the city's mobile unit. But it's not just HIV/AIDS causes that capture Sirls' attention.
"My life is not all HIV," he said. "I'm a citizen of the United States."
Sirls is also the non-food vendor co-chair for the annual Dally in the Alley event, a member of the North Cass Community Union and on the board of the Michigan Rehabilitation Council. What's more, Sirls is also an accomplished poet and the author of three books, which can be purchased through his Web site, http://www.felixsirls.com.
Sirls definitely knows about strength and hope. One might even say he's a master of resilience.
"I want to give the young folks hope that they can make it to 61, that they can enjoy life," he said. "They don't have to give in, give out and give up. I demonstrate that by working, by my life and my involvement in the community."

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