
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 3, 1995                   TAG: 9510030107
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN THE NAME OF LOVE, `SISTERS' REACH OUT, SUPPORT AIDS PATIENTS

Don Law takes 45 pills a day to combat the virus stealing his life away a day at a time. But he finds happiness in an otherwise sad situation - a war with AIDS - through the love and support of friends.

His friends are members of Sisters in the Name of Love. They gathered Monday night in Elmwood Park for a candlelight vigil and talked of loved ones who died of AIDS. They cried, hugged and supported each other.

Law understands the value of the group's seemingly unconditional caring.

``I know my time is limited, but they keep me happy,'' Law said while sitting in a wheelchair. ``All I have to do is call, and they are at my house any time. It's the first group I've seen that loves you.''

Since its formation in May, Sisters in the Name of Love has raised about $6,000 to help Roanoke Valley AIDS patients, including 14 children.

Faye Curry spent four days in the same hospital room with her 9-year-old friend, Jamie. Curry has cancer, but she was in the park Monday for Jamie, who was born with AIDS.

Executive Director Barbara Maberry said the organization hopes to achieve a nonprofit status, apply for grants and help patients buy medicine and dental care not covered by Medicare and Medicaid. They also are working to help fund a trip to DisneyLand for a girl with AIDS.

``My goal in life is to make this organization work, because I've lost so many friends'' to AIDS, Maberry said.

Melvin Whitaker, the group's founder, explained the name and its reference to the female impersonators who pooled their resources to start the group. ``Sister'' is what the impersonators call each other.

Their membership is slight at about 30, but its impact already is being felt. It goes beyond the gay community to friends and relatives of people who have died or are currently fighting the illness.

``We've got to remember to love your brother. ... That's why I formed the group; people are crying for help,'' Whitaker said. ``AIDS is not a gay disease; it has no prejudice.''

Tim Barton, chairman of the group, said his lover died of AIDS on a Tuesday just two days after confirming he had the virus.

Barton's lover ``refused tests,'' he explained.

Now, Barton - who is HIV positive - talks to groups about AIDS and the importance of being tested. In the last group of 300 he spoke to, one teen told Barton he is bisexual and agreed to be tested for AIDS. That one boy was accomplishment enough for Barton to continue educating the public.

For more information about Sisters in the Name of Love, call 982-1124.

by CNB