p.e.i. man honoured on toronto aids memorial 30 years after his death
2 minute read
daniel boudreau, holds a photo of his great uncle harvey younker, a p.e.i. man who was honoured on the aids memorial in toronto. boudreau said having younker's name added to the memorial was an important moment for the family.
contributed
thirty years after his death, harvey younker was honoured on the aids memorial in toronto.
younker, who died of aids in 1996 at the age of 52, grew up in a farming family in rural p.e.i. and later moved to toronto in the 1980s, where he lived openly as a gay man at a time when doing so was not so easy.
his great-nephew, daniel boudreau, said having younker’s name added to the memorial was an important moment for the family.
“it’s been 30 years since he’s passed away. it was a really good way to get more people talking about how he passed away and to have his legacy remembered.”
boudreau described his great-uncle as someone who chose to live authentically despite the challenges he faced.
“he was the type of person who, in a very difficult period in the world, chose to live an authentic life when it was not easy to do so,” he said.
according to boudreau, younker was offered faith-based conversion therapy but declined. he later left p.e.i. and moved to toronto, where he could live more openly.
while in toronto, younker contracted aids and later returned to p.e.i. for treatment.
“that was extremely difficult for the family to deal with, and they rallied around him as much as they could,” boudreau said.
treatment options
at the time, treatment options for hiv/aids were still developing. younker received highly active antiretroviral therapy, known as haart, which was still considered experimental.
“it kept him alive for a little while, but it didn’t work as well as they thought it would because it had a lot of side effects,” boudreau said.
younker died in october 1996.
for boudreau, preserving his great-uncle’s story is personal.
“it’s important for me to do because, unfortunately, i had to make the same decision,” he said.
thirty years after his death, harvey younker, a p.e.i. man was honoured on the aids memorial in toronto.
contributed
supportive community
boudreau, who is also gay, said he left the maritimes because he felt he could not fully be himself there and moved to toronto, where he found a supportive community.
advertisement
“which is exactly what he did,” boudreau said of his great-uncle.
although he believes attitudes toward lgbtq+ people have improved over the years, boudreau said there is still work to be done.
“there are still stories every now and then where we are reminded that the maritimes are still a small place. people are really scared to be their true selves.”
he said his great-uncle’s story also serves as a reminder of how much progress has been made in the treatment of hiv/aids.
“most people my age have never met somebody with aids or don’t know somebody who had aids,” he said. “we have things like prep now. aids is not a deathly illness now. but i know that for people like my great-uncle, it was.”
boudreau said he hopes people remember one thing about his great uncle.
“his life mattered,” he said. “his story gave me purpose to advocate for this community. it put a face to an illness that people whispered about back in the day.”
- stay informed: don’t miss the news you need to know. sign up for our newsletter today.
vivian ulinwa is a reporter for the guardian in prince edward island. she can be reached at vulinwa@postmedia.com and followed on x @vivian_ulinwa.
share story
