ASN - Aids Support Network - San Luis Obispo County
ASN News
ASN Partners with Census 2010
- Every year, more than $300 billion in federal funds are awarded to states and communities based on census data. That's more than $3 trillion distributed over a 10-year period.
- Census data guide local decision-makers in important community planning efforts, including where to build new roads, hospitals and schools.
- Census data affect your voice in Congress. The census determines how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the redistricting of state legislatures, county and city councils, and voting districts.
The goal of the Census Bureau's partnership program is to combine the strengths of local governments, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, schools, media, businesses and others, to ensure a complete and accureate 2010 Census. The Census Bureau will provide promotional materials, regular updates and data assistance to prtners to assist in this effort. Together, through this partnership, we can ensure the 2010 Census message is delivered to every corner of the nation. Achieving a complete and accurate 2010 Census is in our hands.
Cleve Jones at "Pride in the Plaza"
On Sunday, July 12th, ASN hosted a portion of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and its founder, Cleve Jones. In conjunction with "Pride in the Plaza", the Quilt was placed on the street next to Mission Plaza in the first outdoor display in our community. Jones, who spoke on the "Pride" stage in the afternoon, engaged the crowd with his mix of humor, history and activism in the pursuit for equality for all.
The entire Quilt is made up of over 50,000 panels, each one 3 feet by 6 feet, which represents over 91,000 names. Each panel is the embodiment of the person that it is made for - with partners, family, friends, co-workers, inmates, church groups, and others stitching in their memories and love. At this time, there is no venue large enough to display the Quilt in it's entirety, but ASN was able to bring over 400 panels to the area, many of which were made for people who died here in our own community. The Quilt was shepherded by Gert McMullin, who has been associated with the project from the very early days of 1987. Gert is the true keystone of the Quilt - repairing older or worn panels, sewing panels into blocks and guarding the legacy of each of the names that are incorporated in it.
The evening before the display, an Interfaith "Celebration of Life" was held in two different local churches, the First Baptist Church of San Luis Obispo and the Seventh Day Adventist Church of San Luis Obispo. The services were in memory all of the friends and family who have died of AIDS, and in honor of those who are still living with the disease. The two congregations met after the services and walked together to the Art Center to officially present twelve newly crafted panels to the NAMES Project. Gert will take these panels back with her to Atlanta and lovingly stitch them into the larger Quilt. Many of these new panels depict the names and lives of people who have died very recently of the AIDS virus, a reminder to us all that our struggle with this disease is far from over.
