Copyright 2000 Daily News, L.P.
Daily News (New
York)
March 30, 2000, Thursday SPORTS FINAL EDITION
SECTION: SUBURBAN; Pg. 3
LENGTH: 287 words
HEADLINE:
RYAN WHITE MOM'S STILL CRUSADING
BYLINE: BY CHRISENA
COLEMAN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
BODY:
Ten years
after the death of her son Ryan, Jeanne White is still fighting the battle
against AIDS.
She took her crusade to Harlem yesterday and spoke in her
son's memory at the Harlem Director's Group Legislative Breakfast before an
audience of 300.
"There have been a lot of advances and breakthroughs
since Ryan was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS, but there is still a lot of work
to be done," White said. "I watched my son live and die with AIDS, and it was
very painful."
White, who heads the Ryan White Project, said she has
been traveling around the country to speak out against the spread of AIDS. She
also told the group to press their elected officials to reauthorize the
Ryan White Care Act.
She said the law, which has to be
reapproved by Congress, provides funding, education and treatment for people
with AIDS. It was passed in 1990 when Ryan White died at age 18 and was
reauthorized in 1996 by President Clinton, who earmarked more than
$730 million in federal funds to support it.
The law
helps pay for home care, transportation, counseling, hospice care and other
support. It is named for Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who contracted AIDS
through a blood transfusion and spent his dying years campaigning nationwide for
help for AIDS suffers.
"I want it to be a sure thing, because people
suffering from AIDS need help," she said. "I know the importance of this and
that is why I am out here talking about it. . . . People are getting the
education and treatment they need because of the Ryan White Care
Act."
White said she agreed to speak in Harlem because the
spread of HIV/AIDS has had a devastating affect on the African-American
community, and she wants to get the word out.
LOAD-DATE: March 30, 2000
