Fact:

Nearly two of every five women (37.7%) diagnosed with HIV in South Carolina in 2001 - 2005 were late testers, meaning they were diagnosed with AIDS less than one year after testing positive for HIV.*

*SC Department of Health & Environmental Control

About Us

The Southern AIDS Living Quilt is a website that illustrates the growing impact of HIV/AIDS on women in the southern United States, particularly women of color. 

Using video testimonials, the Living Quilt shares the personal stories of women living with HIV/AIDS, their families and healthcare providers throughout the region.  The stories underscore the critical importance of making HIV screening a routine part of medical care in order to ensure earlier diagnosis and prevent the spread of the disease.  The Living Quilt provides links to valuable resources and fact sheets about the epidemic to empower those directly impacted to make informed healthcare decisions and to help others understand the power of knowing their HIV status. 

The Living Quilt is designed to grow organically, with women throughout the South continuing to add their stories to a collective community that is sure to become more powerful with each new voice.

The Living Quilt is a project of the Southern AIDS Coalition and supported by Gilead Sciences.

Participants

The Living Quilt currently features more than 100 video “patches” of individuals from southern states including: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington D.C.

Goals of the Living Quilt

• Empower women on the frontlines of the epidemic to share their personal stories so that others will join them
• Encourage everyone to know their status and the power routine screening can have in reaching the nearly quarter of a million people who have HIV/AIDS and do not know it
• Educate policy makers at all levels of government on the severity of HIV/AIDS today in the South and the need for action

Join us today by contacting us at 800.461.6946 or sending an e-mail to info@livingquilt.org