Obituary: Joe Carroccio, Led AIDS Activists Group

Cleveland Heights resident Joe Carroccio, leader and cofounder of the Cleveland chapter of ACT-UP, spent the final decade of his life educating the public about HIV, lobbying for research on AIDS treatment and giving away clean syringes and condoms. The 45-year old Cleveland native, who had AIDS, died Jan. 3 of complications from hepatitis and cirrhosis. Carroccio, who helped plan Cleveland's first World AIDS Day March in 1993, was active in several AIDS activist groups. He was program manager of the Living Room HIV/AIDS Drop-in Center, a counseling service of the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center of Greater Cleveland. Carroccio chaired the AIDS Clinical Trial Unit's Community Advisory Board at University Hospitals; acted as a watchdog at City Council meetings on behalf of the AIDS-affected community; and led public demonstrations to dramatize the gravity of his mission.

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