For Sergio Flores, Pride is not just celebration — it’s survival. It’s remembering the long road it took to get here. “We’d get pulled over on the street at 18 or 19 years old just for being gay,” Sergio recalls. “The police used the term ‘public nuisance.’”

Diagnosed with HIV in 1986, Sergio watched countless friends die during the height of the AIDS epidemic. While living in Hollywood and working as a costume designer, he witnessed firsthand the fear, grief, and uncertainty that surrounded an HIV diagnosis. He also saw the harsh side effects many of his friends experienced from early medications, leading him to delay treatment himself.

But Sergio comes from what he calls “a family of fighters,” and that fighting spirit eventually led him north.

In 1992, he moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco with a purpose larger than himself: to participate in AIDS research.“I wanted to be part of the research — not to save myself, but the future generations.”

That decision became part of his legacy of resilience. But decades later, another loss would leave him searching for support in a different way.

When Sergio’s mother, Fausta, passed away in 2016 from congestive heart failure, the grief swallowed him. He fell into a deep depression and began isolating himself. After being referred to Shanti Project by his doctor in 2017, Sergio was introduced to the LGBTQ Aging and Abilities Support Network (LAASN). That single connection changed everything.

“They gave me a sense of community — like I belonged there.”

Through LAASN, Sergio found more than support groups. He found people. Friendship. Joy. Connection. He joined field trips to places like Muir Woods and Alcatraz, met others who understood his experiences, and slowly began rebuilding a sense of stability and hope.

“They broke the isolation,” Sergio says. “Shanti is the best medicine for isolation because it makes you feel alive, welcomed.”

Over time, Sergio began giving back to the same community that helped him heal. He led classes at Shanti teaching others how to make decorative fans and embraced opportunities to connect with people from different walks of life.

“Shanti has helped me open myself up to different experiences and people.”

Today, Sergio says he feels stronger emotionally and socially than he did before finding Shanti. “Because of Shanti, I’m more stable, got my shit together, don’t feel depressed anymore. It’s quite rewarding how many people I met.”

For Sergio, Pride is deeply tied to community — not only fighting to exist but making sure no one has to go through life’s hardest moments alone. “Without Shanti, people would not have a sense of community,” he says. “Because that’s what gives us pride.”

Now, after decades of loss, activism, survival, and healing, Sergio reflects on his life with gratitude rather than regret. “Considering all the cards I was dealt with, I’ve played them well.”

And when asked what advice he would give to his younger self, his answer carries the same hard-earned wisdom that has guided his journey all along:

“You never know where life’s going to take you. But whatever it is, make the best of it.”