September 27, 2000

Hundreds step out for AIDS Walk

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       For the third year running, they came out walking.
      Traverse City was again one of 12 cities statewide to participate in AIDS Walk Michigan Sunday afternoon. Sponsored locally by the HIV/AIDS Wellness Network, the event drew more than 150 walkers and raised $20,000 for AIDS education and support services in the Grand Traverse region.
      The message that drove local walkers and organizers this year remained unchanged: education is the key to AIDS prevention.
      Organizers noted that ongoing education, especially among young people, is crucial to fight the perception that AIDS is not a fatal illness. This belief has spread due to medical advances over the past five years that are extending the life span and quality of life for people with AIDS.
      "Kids need to be aware, and parents, too, that if you are having sex, use the tools to do it safely," said Jim Carruthers, executive director of the HIV/AIDS Wellness Network. "Even in the gay community, AIDS is spreading again. A whole generation of young people see AIDS as a curable thing because of the new medications, they haven't seen the death."
      Many of the 23 teams walking in the event were sponsored by or included young people. Groups from Northwestern Michigan College, Interlochen Arts Academy and local Traverse City high schools turned out to show support for AIDS education.
      "We want to get the word out about AIDS and safer sex," said Liz Brief, a senior at Traverse City Central High School and a member of the Wellness Network's Peer Outreach program. "We're not promoting sex, we're promoting safer sex. Abstinence is still the first choice, safer sex is next."
      Some of the money raised at the walk is earmarked to support people and families living with AIDS. For a disease that can stretch out into years and interrupt or stop a person's ability to work, the financial support that the HIV/AIDS Wellness Networks offers can make a huge difference to individuals and families.
      "AIDS is an expensive disease, the new drugs alone can cost $30,000-40,000 a year, " said Tom Kincaid, president of Friends North. "There are so many things that people with AIDS have to pay for but they have no income or a limited one because they can work only part-time: heating bills, driver's license fees, car insurance, groceries. Things you and I don't think about, they can't afford."
      Members of the Simms family know firsthand how much support, financial and otherwise, can help someone living with AIDS. Ten members of the family came this year from around the state to walk in memory of Ron Simms, their son, brother and uncle who died in July of 1999.
      Ron, who received the Thomas Judd Award in 1998, was a well-known musician, poet and AIDS educator who spoke in schools around the region about living with AIDS and AIDS prevention. His friends from the HIV/AIDS Wellness Networks helped Ron and his family extensively during the last months of his illness, especially the last week of his life.
      His family wanted to participate this year to thank people in Traverse City for their generosity and caring.
      "There were some great people here who helped take care of him," said Bob Simms of Kingston, Ron's brother. "We wanted to say thank you."