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By Rosemary Pollock
LDS Assistance Helps AIDS Retreat
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Volunteers from churches including the
American Baptists, Methodists, Unitarians, Presbyterians and members
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, joined together
at Camp Pinecliff to participate in an AIDS retreat. A group of 78
gathered at the camp near Coalville last weekend to take part in
activities for both sufferers and their families. The Interfaith
Volunteer Care Program is 10 years old and is run 100 percent on
volunteer labor.
"Ten years is a long time, and we're in a different place than we
were then," said program organizer Dick Dotson. "We've broadened our
perspective and times have changed. People are more willing to help
people than perhaps they were 10 years ago, regardless of what the
situation may be." Interfaith Volunteer Care is one of three national
AIDS organizations to receive a $25,000 grant form the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation. "We had to keep going back and asking for an
extension because we put the money in the bank and didn't touch it
for years," said organizer Don Steward.
Steward and Dotson see Camp Pinecliff as a chance for people to
simply be themselves in a welcoming social context. Campfire talks,
bingo games, hikes, crafts, volleyball and many kinds of activities
are avalable to those seeking a refuge from their daily routines. In
an effort to keep costs down, Steward and Dotson literally run most
of the operation out of their dog kennel in West Valley City. "We use
the phone here to register people for Camp Pinecliff," Dotson said.
They can remember the days when no one would go near someone with the
disease for fear the virus was airborne. Now their volunteers help
AIDS patients with all sort of grassroot efforts that no other agency
has resources to deal with.
"I don't see the situation in Utah with the LDS Church any different
from anyplace else in the country," Dotson said who was raised
Presbyterian in American Fork and later graduated from an LDS
seminary program. "Being from Utah, I'm very comfortable with the
Church, but some who come in from the outside are not." "You find
people everywhere in every church where it's still someone else's
problem, especially when they haven't been personally affected."
Many local gay rights activists groups openly criticized the LDS
Church when it publicly condemned acts of homosexuality. However,
Dotson and Steward have had a long working relationship with the
Church welfare officials who have provided food and clothing. "We met
with the First Presidency a few years ago and discussed issues within
the HIV arena. Gordon B. Hinckley said to us, 'I have three
questions: how many people are affected in Utah now, how many do you
expect to be infected by the year 2000, and what can we do as the LDS
Church to help?' We were very impressed with that," the men said.
Many of the AIDS care program clients are former Latter-day Saints,
Steward reported. Institutionally, the program gets all of its eggs,
butter and milk from the LDS Church. "We even have the ability to
make referrals for those who need emergency assistance. We can
actually do a bishop's request. It's a nice option to give people in
low-income housing." "We've tried to have this non-confrontational
attitude toward things..... When you have people who see a person in
trouble and simply respond because there's a need, we're getting
somewhere," they said.
Source:
Camp eases AIDS misery
Deseret News 29Sep01 N1
By Carrie A. Moore: Deseret News religion editor
Volunteers work on varied initiatives to help sufferers
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