New York, NY (July 17, 2024)—The AIDS-service community—and CAI—lost a leader and a friend when John Hatchett died in New York City this month.
John was one of a small group of people who stepped up to advocate for AIDS services in NYC in the early days of the AIDS crisis. He began his service to the community as a volunteer with the People with AIDS Coalition of New York and went on to lead the organization until 1996.
CAI’s Dean LaBate, another pioneer in advocating for AIDS-service delivery, remembers John’s role as a leader fondly: “John was always the voice of great reason, strength, logic, and even defiance. We all looked up to John with great respect and much love.”
As an advocate and a person living with AIDS, John understood the importance of building leadership skills among people living with the disease. In the late 1990s, he helped to found the Leadership Training Institute (LTI) and directed the program at CAI for more than 16 years. The LTI was developed with, and is funded by, the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute.
Under John’s leadership, the LTI program trained hundreds of people in New York State who were living with HIV to become leaders and advocates. As the epidemic evolved and treatments became effective, John oversaw the expansion of the LTI curriculum to include courses in self-managing health care and peer mentoring. He also traveled to other states to share the LTI model. Today, the LTI also works with people who are living with hepatitis C, accessing harm-reduction services, and using PrEP. The LTI has trained and empowered more than 3,500 people in the last 25 years.
“John was a great man and a powerful leader. His love for humanity and deep commitment to equity nurtured a future generation of leaders. Although his legacy lives on, John will be greatly missed,” said CAI founder and CEO Barbara Cicatelli.