Readers Care Fund: Rise n' Shine helps HIV families

EDITOR'S NOTE: For a quarter-century, Seattle Post-Intelligencer readers have donated generously to the newspaper's annual Readers Care Fund drive, generating more than $5 million for local charities. Today we look at one of this year's beneficiaries: Rise n' Shine.

Diane Harris was groggy and deep under several layers of blankets on her couch, still in recovery from several weeks of battling pneumonia.

Her 6-year-old son, Devin, kept turning the television up too loud, blowing a whistle, throwing his pillowlike doll in the air and otherwise acting like an engaged and rambunctious young man.

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Harris has HIV, and complications can come along pretty fast and lay her pretty low.

But her son and two daughters are able to get out of the house with mentors from Rise n'Shine, a Seattle-based non-profit agency supported partly by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Readers Care Fund.

Harris said Monday night that she was also thankful she has met other parents through the organization, which focuses on helping children who have a relative with HIV or AIDS.

"It helps knowing that other parents have it, and I'm just not going to drop dead," she said, her head just out of the dark blue blankets and her voice weak.

Originally set up in 1988 to pair children with mentors, Rise n' Shine has grown into an organization with an annual budget of $450,000, supporting about 175 children. The agency provides emotional and material support to the kids and their families.


		Mike Urban / P-I
	Six-year-old Devin Harris, with his mother, Diane Harris, background, who is HIV-positive and is recovering from pneumonia, at their home in Seattle.

Terry Marsh, program director for Rise n' Shine, is the first person many of the families meet when they become involved with the organization. Most often they are referred to Rise n' Shine by support groups meant to help the person suffering from HIV.

Those organizations are good for the patient, but are little help for the children.

"They went to a lot of meetings with me," Harris said of her children, "but they didn't know what was going on."

Marsh meets with the children and parents to assess whether everyone is ready to accept that they have HIV in their family and can discuss it openly. Then he helps set up mentors and other activities for the children.

The Harris family has had a host of problems in addition to HIV.

The children have had to live with relatives, and "the oldest daughter, (Dianika Harris-Dones, 16) most of the time is the parent for the family," Marsh said.

"In many of these families, the need is so great you just have to focus on one or two things," he said. "We're able to help with the emotional stuff. ... You just can't quantify how important it is for these kids to have a place they can come to and talk about these things."

Pinned to the wall over the couch where Harris drifted in and out of sleep, alongside a few pictures and several old Mother's Day cards, is a white T-shirt with signatures and notes from other children who have gone to Rise n' Shine's summer camp with Danisha, Harris' 11-year-old daughter.

"I had the most funest time with you at camp," one note in big black letters said. "I hope to see you again next year."

The T-shirt is a beacon of hope shining over Danisha's mother.

It's one of the things Danisha looks forward to the most. At camp she gets to have fun with new friends and old friends, who all have this one big thing in common.

Their parents or other close relatives have HIV, and they can talk about it. They can share their fears and support one another, as well as play.

"You have so much fun there you don't want to leave," Devin said, arms swinging wide and in circles. "I just can't wait to go back."

P-I reporter Jake Ellison can be reached at 206-448-8346 or jakeellison@seattlepi.com.

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