AIDS quilt touches home

A quilt in remembrance of Alaskans who have died of AIDS is touching home for one Valley woman.

Palmer's Helen Munoz helped with the embroidery on the Alaska AIDS Quilt, which was on display in Palmer for the first time during Colony Christmas two weekends ago.

For her, it is a project close to her heart. She lost her son Stephen to the disease, and has been committed to informing others about the deadly disease for which there is no known cure.

"AIDS has touched me quite close -- with my 20-year-old son," Munoz said. "I hope the quilt and the education we give our young people touch them and they learn how cautious they have to be."

The quilt has been worked on by numerous people. Laurie Wolf, a former development director at the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four As), thought the 12-by-12-foot quilt would be a great way to represent Alaska's response to the AIDS epidemic. She got in touch with quilters around the state to start the project.

The center motif was designed by Karen Jenkins. There are 208 red ribbons bordering the quilt, which represent each Alaskan who died from the disease through August 1998. Most of the ribbons were created during an AIDS memorial in May 1997.

There are also 157 beaded forget-me-nots on the quilt, which represent more victims.

Each panel of the quilt represents a different cultural, age, ethnic or social group, which shows how diverse Alaska's AIDS victims have been.

At the bottom of the quilt, a simple message is sewn, which contains a powerful statement. "As the stars on our flag turn to ribbons in our hearts, we remember Alaskans who live with HIV and have died of AIDS, their lives as diverse as this great land, each memory as precious as their gifts to us."

The quilt has been touring Alaska, and communities have been receptive to hosting it. Now that Palmer has hosted the quilt, Munoz is sewing "Palmer" on the quilt. Sometime early in 2002, the quilt will be sent to Atlanta, where it will meet up with the National AIDS Quilt through the NAMES project. Names of Alaskan communities where the quilt has been on display are sewed on the quilt.

According to the Four As Web site, the quilt plays an important role in HIV prevention because it demonstrates that AIDS can happen to anyone, anywhere at any age. Munoz agr,ees wholeheartedly.

"My son said that before the AIDS epidemic is over, I won't meet a person who hasn't been affected by AIDS in one way or another, whether it be themselves or their family," Munoz said. "And 20 years later, I still hear those words. He's right. I think it's our responsibility to keep active and reach out to kids and tell them to be cautious."

Working on the quilt has been sort of a therapy for Munoz, she said.

"The hours, the heartache and the tears that went into that quilt are many," Munoz said. "Every person who worked on the quilt has been touched by AIDS."

According to national figures, there have been 230 AIDS cases reported in Alaska, and 29 cases of HIV, through December of last year. Many people believe that AIDS is a homosexual disease. They couldn't be more wrong.

According to the Four As, half of their clients are heterosexual. AIDS also knows no age or race -- the youngest client of the Four As is only three, while the oldest is 73.

A majority of the Four As clients are in the 18-44 age range.

The organization is devoted to AIDS education and outreach. For more information about the organization, interested people may call (907) 263-2054.