Arrival of AIDS quilt in Peoria offers an opportunity to remember and reflect

Elise Zwicky for Chronicle Media
The AIDS Memorial Quilt, a 54-ton handmade tapestry that stands as a memorial to more than 94,000 people who have died from AIDS, was displayed in its entirety on the National Mall in 1996. Sections of it will be on display at the Methodist Atrium in Peoria from Dec. 1-18. (Photo courtesy of the NAMES Project Foundation)

The AIDS Memorial Quilt, a 54-ton handmade tapestry that stands as a memorial to more than 94,000 people who have died from AIDS, was displayed in its entirety on the National Mall in 1996. Sections of it will be on display at the Methodist Atrium in Peoria from Dec. 1-18. (Photo courtesy of the NAMES Project Foundation)

As a unique visual reminder that AIDS has claimed too many lives, a local advocacy group will unveil a portion of the national AIDS Memorial Quilt at 6 p.m. on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, at the Methodist Atrium in Peoria.

“I think there are a lot of people in Peoria who think AIDS is something from the ‘70s that’s not here in central Illinois, but that’s false. HIV and AIDS are here in central Illinois,” said Mariah Hart, community engagement coordinator for Central Illinois Friends of People with AIDS, the nonprofit organization that’s sponsoring the display.

The Quilt is a 54-ton, handmade tapestry that stands as a memorial to more than 94,000 individuals who have died from AIDS. Sections of it are continuously on display across the country in schools, churches, community centers and other institutional settings “in hope of making the realities of HIV and AIDS real, human and immediate,” according to the NAMES Project Foundation, the quilt’s custodian. It was last displayed in Peoria in 2000.

“The display at the Methodist Atrium building will include fifteen 12-by-12 foot sections, all created by family or friends to commemorate the lives of their loved ones who have died from AIDS,” Hart said.

Some will be panels made for local AIDS patients, including one that commemorates the life of John Keets of Canton, a young man who worked to raise awareness and funds for research after contracting HIV through a blood transfusion. Keets lost his battle with AIDS in 1994 at the age of 20.

“We wanted to bring The Quilt to Peoria because it’s a national monument,” Hart said. “We hope people will stop and think and remember or reflect on all the people we have lost to HIV/AIDS.”

The panels will hang from the ceiling to the floor, she added. People will be able to look up at the panels from the main floor and go on each level of the building to get a closer look.

John Keets’ mother, Liz, remembers viewing portions of The Quilt, which was started in 1987, at Illinois State University in 1991 with her son after he had been infected with the virus but before he became very ill.

“They had The Quilt displayed on the floor, and I knelt down to touch (teenage AIDS activist) Ryan White’s quilt, and I lost it. The tears just flowed. John knelt down and picked me up and stood beside me with his arm around me,” Keets said. “The way I was impacted that day is why it’s important to me to have John’s quilt displayed around the country. You never know who’s going to be affected by it.”

John Keets’ panel includes 16 photos of him throughout his life with his friends and family, including his brother, Matthew. It also features a poem John wrote.

Every panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt is unique and personal, featuring everything from “fabric, paper, embroidery, needlepoint, photographs … any kind of craft supplies you can think of,” said Mariah Hart.

The NAMES Project states in a news release that The Quilt “helps teach compassion, triumphs over taboo, stigma and phobia; and inspires individuals to take direct responsibility for their own well being and that of their family, friends and community.”

Liz Keets noted, “You can shoot statistics at people, but it really truly takes a face and a name, to make people see what AIDS is taking from us.”

Statistics kept by the Illinois Department of Public Health show that more than 61,800 HIV infections were diagnosed in Illinois from 1980 to 2014, and more than 36,000 people are currently living with HIV in Illinois, including 313 people in Peoria County as of last December.

More than 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV, and about one in eight are unaware of their infection, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Central Illinois Friends of People with AIDS brings together people from diverse backgrounds and philosophies to provide support services for HIV/AIDS patients and their families in Peoria, Woodford, Tazewell, Marshall, Putnam, Stark, LaSalle, Knox, Fulton, McLean, Mason, McDonough, Hancock, Henderson and Warren counties.

The organization, which has helped thousands of individuals, was created by a small group of concerned citizens in Peoria 25 years ago, according to its website.

About 90 percent of the Friends’ $400,000 budget goes directly to client services, including providing transportation to medical appointments and helping with rent. An emergency fund helps clients at risk of becoming homeless or with other emergent needs. The organization also offers preventative services and performs about 250 HIV tests annually, Hart said.

“We’re a nonprofit organization, so we’re hoping some people will be inspired by the AIDS Memorial Quilt to want to give back to the community and donate to help us continue helping our clients as we work toward our goal of having zero infections and zero discrimination,” she added.

WHEN AND WHERE TO SEE THE QUILT

State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, will speak at the unveiling on Dec. 1, along with Dr. David Slagel of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.

The Quilt will be on display at the Methodist Atrium, 900 Main St., through Dec. 18 and can be viewed anytime from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

To learn more about the NAMES Project and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, visit www.aidsquilt.org. For more information on the Central Illinois Friends of People with AIDS, visit www.friendsofcentralillinois.org or call (309) 671-2144.

–Arrival of AIDS quilt in Peoria offers an opportunity to remember and reflect–