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AIDS walk raises money and awareness

In the 1980s, Steven St. Julian watched almost all of his friends die. Like him, they were infected with AIDS, but he was one of the few who survived "the dark, dark days."

Now, more than 20 years later, Julian is an outspoken voice in HIV/AIDS awareness and just one of many organizers and supporters of the annual Southern Illinois AIDS Walk.

"It's about showing support," St. Julian said. "HIV is a horrible disease just like so many other horrible diseases. But, imagine cancer, almost everyone has been affected by cancer. Add that pain to the pain in not being able to talk about it, to the stigma associated with AIDS. That's why we need this sort of support."

This year's walk is prefaced by a fundraising drag show at the Upside Downtown Club, 213 E. Main St., Friday night, and a community services fair Saturday at 8 a.m. at the Newman Catholic Center, 715 S. Washington St. The 1 1/2-mile walk will start shortly after.

All proceeds benefit the Southern Illinois Regional Effort for AIDS, an organization that serves more than 17 counties, providing services for those living with AIDS and their families.

"We have sponsored teams and people who take pledges," said SIREA President Barb Pfeffer. "But you don't have to raise money to walk. We need support of all kinds."

SIREA works closely with the federally funded Southern Illinois HIV CARE Consortium, which St. Julian directs.

Often, SIREA steps in to fill the shoes the Consortium can't, providing services to the children of AIDS patients, which the Consortium cannot do with government money.

"Typically, the people who are getting HIV are the people most prone to not having safe sex," St. Julian said. "It's the poor, the uneducated, the younger and specifically women, the people who have the least bargaining power when it comes to their own bodies.

"Unprotected sex leads to HIV and babies. So what is someone who is poor to do when they have HIV and kids? Drug cocktails can cost anywhere from $800 to $3,000 a month. That's where we and SIREA step in."

In addition economic and moral support, the Consortium, located at the Jackson County Health Department, provides free health services for those with HIV and conducts anonymous AIDS testing.

To get tested, people can contact the Health Department at, or go to the Newman Catholic Center the first and third Thursday of every month from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. or Longbranch Coffeehouse the second and fourth Thursday of every month at the same time.

Tests are non-intrusive and free.

"The earlier someone gets tested, the better off they will be," St. Julian said. "There is no reason to ever get debilitated. You can stay perfectly healthy and have HIV. The prognosis today is that if someone gets treatment early, they will live to die of normal old people things."

Now in its fifth year, the walk, which started with 200 participants, draws more than 800 people, but organizers are hoping for many more this year, for fundraising purposes as much as awareness.

"In the last few years, since medication, people aren't as cautious as they should be," Pfeffer said. "There is treatment, but there isn't a cure, and sometimes people loose sight of how serious this is."

For more information about AIDS/HIV testing call Jackson County Health Department at 618- 684-3143.

 

 

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