NORTH CAROLINA: HIV Can't Tamp Holiday Joy

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

NORTH CAROLINA: HIV Can't Tamp Holiday Joy

News & Observer (12.20.03) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Bonnie Rochman

Lynette Traynham, 36, found out she had HIV eight years ago. Although drug regimens have kept her fairly healthy, she can no longer work and subsists on a disability check of $542 a month. She has no money for holiday gifts for her children - three boys and two girls ages 8 to 18 - and her grandson, Malik.

Yet the children will get Christmas presents, provided by Wake County Human Services, the children's schools, and the Angel Tree program of Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina. On Dec. 18, Traynham's family went to a party at Under One Roof, a one-stop HIV/AIDS assistance agency, to receive their Angel Tree gifts.

Jacob Padron, a volunteer in charge of the Angel Tree program, said Traynham is one of 400 clients for whom he found presents this year. When the program began several years ago, between 50 and 100 clients participated. As HIV infection rates rise, Padron's workload increases. Most donors come from church congregations.

"For many of these families, this is it for Christmas," Padron said. "They fall below the poverty line."

Traynham said she is grateful for the gifts and has a plan. "On Christmas Eve, everyone is going to open one, and then, on Christmas," she said, "we will get up and open the rest."
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