Your Walk for AIDS Dollars Help Kids on the Street – By Shirley Gilbert

Sixteen-year-old Shawn (we've made up his name) lives on the streets somewhere in downtown San Jose.

He left home one night because his parents are drug addicts and he just couldn't take it any more.

Having no family, Shawn created his own on the streets of San Jose.

There are hundreds of Shawns in Silicon Valley, teenagers and even pre-teens who are living a desperate life on the streets of our community.

They camp in parks, abandoned buildings, on city streets, under bridges, wherever they can find a place to stay each night. The lucky ones do what is called "couch surfing" – they sleep on couches in friends' homes.

Many of these homeless youngsters engage in prostitution and drug use to stay alive and survive in our high-priced Silicon Valley economic climate. Homelessness, they would also tell you, makes it difficult to go to school so they drop out at a very young age.

Because of very risky behavior, almost all of them could be victims of HIV/AIDS.

Bill Wilson: From Bakery Owner to Benefactor

The Bill Wilson Center was named for Bill Wilson Junior, the fabled Santa Clara County citizen who went from owning a famous bakery (Wilson’s Bakery) to Santa Clara City councilperson, to Mayor in 1965 and the Center’s beloved founder and counselor. For more of Bill Wilson’s journey and story, click here.

According to Judy Whittier, Director of Community Resources for the Bill Wilson Center, the non-profit has handled some 877 cases of kids on the streets last year with the numbers growing every year.

And that's only the Drop-In Center's clients – so many of them don’t come to the Center. The year before, the Drop-In Center treated some 700 clients and they are seeing the numbers of young people on the streets rising appreciably from year to year and a marked increase in intravenous drug use.

Judy affirms that the Bill Wilson Center is one of the non-profit organizations that is helped by the AIDS Coalition of Silicon Valley and by the funds raised by the Walk for AIDS.

"Xilinx walks on water..."

"As far as I'm concerned," says Judy, "Xilinx walks on water. I feel honored to be associated with your company. You have done so much for HIV/AIDS all these 17 years – it's just amazing."

Judy adds that the Center has come to rely on our generosity to cover the areas that are not covered by government funding.

"You know," says Judy, "some 75 to 80 percent of our funding comes from the government. But the government grants don't cover everything so we need to go to foundations and corporations. I don't know what we would do without the funds that Xilinx contributes."

Join Team Xilinx and Support the AIDS Walk Silicon Valley 2006

For the 17th year, Xilinx is a major sponsor of the Walk for AIDS Silicon Valley, which will be held on Sunday, October 15, 2006. You can participate by doing one or more of the following:

1. Sponsor a Xilinx team walker.

2. Sign-up to walk with us.

3. Participate in the Xilinx fund-raising events.

4. Volunteer to help the Xilinx team

Registration forms were recently distributed to all XSJ employees, and you may also register online with Team Xilinx:

1. Visit http://www.walkforaids.org.

2. Click on "Sign up for Walk for AIDS 2006" (in the left-hand navigation).

3. Click on "Register here."

4. Click on "Agree."

5. Select "Join a Team"; choose "Xilinx" from the pull-down menu; click on "Continue."

6. Fill out the form completely, and you will be taken to the Xilinx team homepage.

Our goal is to have a Xilinx team of 300+ walkers. Friends, families and even pets are welcome to join the team!

The money that is raised from the Walk for AIDS goes to the HIV/AIDS program that the Bill Wilson Center provides. These include awareness and prevention programs having to do with HIV/AIDS as well as funds for the HIV/AIDS programs offered by the Centre for Living with Dying, also part of the Bill Wilson Center’s program offerings.

Centre for Living with Dying services include workshops and retreats for adults suffering from HIV/AIDS and their caregivers called a Circle of Care; as well as a 24-hour hotline called The Centre Cares, which is a crisis line for all ages of people who are HIV positive or have AIDS along with the people who care about and for them.

"We need to change behavior..."

Judy explains that the role of Bill Wilson Center is to go beyond just making young people aware of the threat of AIDS. "We need to change their behavior," says Judy, "and if we can’t all is for naught."

The kids, she continues, have a variety of problems and they address each of them in turn: get them off the streets; get them off drugs; find meaningful work for them; get them back to school – all these will keep the youngsters from engaging in the kind of risky behavior that can result in AIDS. "It isn’t," says Judy, "just one thing."

Most of these kids, adds Judy, are from very troubled and abusive homes. She says there is a connection between foster care and kids on the street. When kids aren’t loved unconditionally, as most of us are by our parents, they walk out on their families and make their home on the streets. Given an untenable family situation, the streets are often preferable.

Judy and her non-profit colleagues in Bill Wilson Center are very appreciative of the help they have received from Xilinx employees.

Aside from dollars that come from the Walk for AIDS and Unmask the Mysteries, the Center could use volunteers. It has an excellent three to four week training program for volunteers and if any employees would like to work with young people in our county, please click visit the Bill Wilson Center's web site.

"Without Xilinx," Judy concludes, "there would be no extra funds and probably no Walk for AIDS. I can’t thank you all enough."