Stitch by stitch, The Center joins long tradition on World AIDS Day
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — While experts say the AIDS epidemic has drastically improved over the past four decades, thousands in Clark County continue to live with HIV.
On World AIDS Day, Traci Leno is remembering a previous career: she was a healthcare worker throughout the ’80s and ’90s, when HIV and AIDS transmission levels became critical.
“The stereotype back then is people would die,” Leno said, stitching together a quilt block Friday afternoon. “People were just kind of shunned if you had AIDS. No one wanted to talk to you. Nobody wanted to be around you,”
She calls a diagnosis then a “death sentence,” which pushed man or woman, gay or straight, and all those in between into the shadows.
“As other diseases come around, people forget about those with AIDS and HIV,” Leno said.
Leno is one of several people who picked up the sewing needle inside The Center of Southern Nevada Friday. The health center, which significantly caters to the local LGBTQ+ community, has joined a national tradition.
Cities across the country use World AIDS Days to honor and remember the lives lost from the disease, which can be transmitted sexually, through shared drug use and, sometimes, by birth. Several choose to form a quilt containing blocks or squares that hold memories of a victim.
Leana Ramirez, Chief Clinical Officer for The Center, says this is their first year creating a quilt of their own, made up of memories of local victims. Beyond honoring the fallen, she says it’s to acknowledge the changing dynamics of treatment.
“Multiple medications around the clock, setting their alarm every four hours and waking up in the middle of the night to be able to take these medications, and then the medications making them sick,” Ramirez said inside The Center Friday, speaking of the only treatment options from decades ago. “The treatment now is potentially so easy. One pill, once a day, potentially an injection every two months.”
But, much is left before a cure is found entirely, she said. The Southern Nevada Health District reports that over 11,000 people live with HIV in Clark County, with another 488 newly diagnosed in 2022.
In the meantime, advocates say social stereotypes surrounding frequent testing remain to be torn down.
“I just want people to know that it affects everybody. It doesn’t affect just men, it doesn’t affect just gay men, it affects everybody,” Leno said, completing her quilt block made of shiny fabric and a red heart in the middle. “Not everybody has resources or knows where to get the resources.”
The Center offers, among other services, free HIV testing Monday through Saturday each week on a walk-in basis. Appointments can also be made on their website.
The quilt is expected to be displayed inside The Center.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
