Candlelight vigil honors memory of AIDS victims

"He knew he was going to die," said Lucy Jones-Voisey, a University of Arizona United Methodist minister.

Jones-Voisey said she remembers her stepson watching a 7-year-old girl go up to the altar to light a candle.

"He said children shouldn't have to go through this," Jones-Voisey recalled.

A month after attending the candlelight service with his family and partner, David Voisey Jr. died of AIDS at the age of 33.

This Sunday evening, Jones-Voisey will remember her stepson as she attends a similar vigil in support of the 21.8 million people around the world who are infected with AIDS.

Tucson will be among 290 cities observing the 14th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial and Mobilization. The Tucson event will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Armory Park downtown.

"It's the world's largest grassroots AIDS event," said Scott Blades, executive director of the (TIHAN) Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network.

This is the fourth year the event has occurred in Tucson, Blades said.

"This is an issue that knows no boundaries," he said. "It's a virus. It doesn't know if you're a college student, male or female, black or white, young or old. It's just a virus."

Jones-Voisey said she encourages students to simply go and show their strong support.

"Somebody really cares," she said. "Do something about it. This is an event about humanity, not about people."

Heidi Van Borkulo, a member of the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Association at the UA, said, "AIDS affects the entire community, which includes the campus."

Van Borkulo, a physiology junior, said it is important that UA students show support at the vigil since the campus is such a significant part of the Tucson community.

"Those who have lost people to AIDS will have the opportunity to remember them, and people will have the opportunity to learn how they can help," said Mark Schaye, coordinator of the local event.

Schaye said the theme of this year's event is, "Illuminate the truth, honor every death, value every life, and bring about global solidarity for access to health care, dignity and life."

The event, which began in San Francisco in 1983, was organized to support people living with AIDS and to serve as a memorial to people who have died of AIDS, Schaye said.

The event will include speeches by people who have AIDS, a mother who lost a child to AIDS, and songs by Desert Voices, a gay/lesbian chorus.

An interfaith service of healing hope will follow the candlelight precession, Schaye said.

The event is sponsored by Wingspan, the lesbian/gay/bisexual center; TIHAN, the Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network; and Desert Voices, a lesbian/gay chorus.