Dozens mark World AIDS Day in Myrtle Beach

Tuesday was World AIDS Day, the 21st anniversary of the day set aside to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic.

Two hundred sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt are on display at the Myrtle Beach Train Deport and Tuesday night, a candle light vigil was held for people to take a moment to remember people who died from the disease.  At the beginning of the vigil, dozens of people stood in silence outside the train depot in remembrance of those who died of AIDS.

Tim Kelley said he’s lost many of his friends and family to the disease.  “People suffer, daily, and i think it’s something we need to really behold in our hearts and realize that this is a disease that affects not only specific groups of people but everybody in our community.“  Kelley said taking part in the vigil is something he can do to help raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.  He also wants others to know that the effort to find a cure needs everyone’s support.

Emory Helms said he came out to the vigil to show his support and look at the quilt display.  The individual panels show the names of people who have died from AIDS.  Some of them names on the quilts are from the Eastern Carolinas.  Emory Helms said,  “It is really sad to me, i get to read what is on the panels and really get a glimpse of who that person was, I’ve seen several panels with apples on them, which obviously is an indication they’re teachers, so being a teacher myself that means something to me.“  Helms said with someone’s life story on every panel, he can’t help but feel some kind of connection to each person, even if he doesn’t know them.

Darrell Senter, the man responsible for bringing the panels to Myrtle Beach said prevention and awareness is key when it comes to HIV and AIDS, and over the years those things have not been in the forefront of people’s minds.  “Partly because of the medications that we have now are helping people live longer and thank God for that, so to some people it doesn’t seem as dire as others are so i think it has kind of lost it a little bit of the importance of it.“  Senter said he hopes events like the vigil and the quilt display will be a reminder to people that people everywhere are still getting infected and there is no cure.

The quilt will be on display at the Train Depot until Thursday.  It is free and there is someone at the Depot who can give you information on confidential testing.