Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center: Banyan Tree Project

The goal of the Banyan Tree Project (BTP) was to eliminate HIV stigma in Asian and Pacific Islander communities across the United States and its Pacific territories. The BTP's communications and community engagement campaign was led by the then-Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center (A&PIWC) / now the San Francisco Community Health Center, and was funded by the Centers for Disease Control. At the heart of the project was a commitment to sharing stories about HIV that empower people with knowledge and inspire action.

In collaboration with the BTP, StoryCenter led more than ten workshops in which Asian and Pacific Islander people diverse in gender identity and sexual orientation shared and created powerful digital stories about living with or being impacted by HIV and AIDS. A number of A&PIWC staff attended workshops and facilitator trainings, in order to better support storytellers at workshops.  

BTP enabled interested storytellers to take leadership on project planning and implementation. For example, storytellers often helped decide on venues for story screenings, presented selected stories, and participated in Q&A sessions. In addition, storytellers who had already experienced the digital storytelling process provided facilitation support in subsequent workshops. Twenty-three storytellers expanded their role to include spokesperson duties, for the project. Some have testified to protect funding, promote policy change, and mobilize communities at the local, state, and federal levels; others have presented their stories at conferences; still others have sparked conversations about HIV stigma within their communities,  including a young man in the Pacific region who started HIV youth education groups. His story is shared below.