LJWorld.com

When it comes to AIDS, it is not the 1980s nor 1990s anymore, when the syndrome was a top-of-mind issue for millions of Americans.

"I think the issue nationally has gone under the radar for a few years now, but we need to remind people that it is still a pressing problem," said Kristin Brumm, executive director of the Douglas County AIDS Project.

Brumm and a host of volunteers organized Sunday's 14th annual Red Ribbon Art Auction as a way to raise awareness and about $15,000 for local efforts to combat AIDS. The event attracted several hundred people to Maceli's, 1031 N.H., to bid on approximately 100 pieces of art donated by local artists.

"I love the event," said Earl Davis, who was there to bid on items that ranged from paintings and vases to fine woodwork. "You never know what you'll find."

Brumm said the auction is a major fundraiser for the nonprofit organization, which operates on a budget of about $200,000 per year. Brumm said DCAP hoped to use proceeds from the auction to restart an AIDS testing program that was stopped about four months ago after one of DCAP's partners in the program lost funding.

The tests were the only ones offered in the community that allowed people to receive results in about 20 minutes. The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department does offer tests, but those results take more than a week, Brumm said.

Photo by Rachel Seymour

A painting titled "Pastoral V" captures the attention of, from left, James Rowland, Kim Keicker and Joey Tillman. The three viewed items at the Douglas County AIDS Project's Red Ribbon Art Auction on Sunday evening at Maceli's. Several hundred people attended the event.

DCAP also uses the money to fund education programs that teach prevention measures and to operate a case management program that currently works with about 60 people who have AIDS.

Boosting awareness, though, was an equally important goal of the event. Lauren Yoshinobu Buskirk, a DCAP board member, said AIDS awareness has diminished some because the disease is not as deadly as it once was.

"It is not a death sentence anymore, and that is obviously great," Buskirk said. "It has become much more like a chronic disease. There are lots of people living with this chronic illness that requires them to take lots and lots of medication, with lots and lots of side effects. It is still a very serious issue."

Brumm also said the group's outreach efforts have found that many youths are confused about how the disease is spread.

"There's a lot of false information out there," Brumm said. "They weren't growing up in the '80s to see the crisis and the deaths, and they didn't hear as much about it. As we go out in the high schools, we realize people don't have an accurate understanding of how it is transmitted."