And Government must provide badly-needed cash for orphans living with relatives.

That was the stark message to Agape House's second annual conference yesterday.

Hospice coordinator Mrs. Hilary Soares said more than 100 youngsters had lost one or both parents to AIDS -- and that number will skyrocket.

She warned there were hundreds -- if not thousands -- walking around with HIV, the virus which leads to AIDS.

"That has very serious connotations for the children,'' she stated.

The conference also heard efforts were being made to keep AIDS orphans within their "family units''.

But this means their guardians are unable to obtain the Government maintenance payments foster parents receive.

This was revealed by one of the presenters at the conference at St. Mark's Church Hall in Smiths Parish.

Opened by Education Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons MP and moderated by Hospice coordinator Mrs. Hillary Soares, the conference addressed the care of the terminally ill and the effects on family members.

"We are very much opposed to the establishment of orphanages for children who have lost their parents to AIDS,'' Mrs. Glenda Edwards of Family Services told the audience.

Mrs. Edwards said the number of children having to be placed in foster care has been kept low thanks to the efforts of organisations such as Children and Adolescents Services and the AIDS support group STAR.

But she said there is a need for an across-the-board financial support policy concerning all orphaned children who are living with relatives -- regardless of how they lost their parents.

Currently, only foster parents -- who cannot not be related to the child -- receive maintenance payments from Government each month to offset expenses.

If family members take in the orphan, no financial assistance is given. The conference's key note speaker, school counsellor Ms Marilyn Smith, said in addition to dealing with their parents' death, AIDS orphans frequently endure scorn and isolation because of stigmas attached to the illness.

They are also denied the empathy usually offered to children who lose parents to a terminal disease she said.

Ms Smith used two of her former students -- sisters who lost their mother to AIDS -- as examples of how "networking'' between family members, friends, social and medical services and others can make the difference.

Early intervention, sensitivity and professional counselling help those close to AIDS patients live their own lives more fully she added.

Mrs. Soares announced at the conference that a pilot support programme for such youngsters will begin this Thursday, and she said any children who wish to participate can contact her at Agape House.

She said the group is meant to be a forum where the young people can share and discuss the problems and obstacles they must face, as well as the fearful and inspirational times they have experienced.

Mrs. Soares warned against community apathy towards AIDS, saying the disease "is not contained by any means''. She said: "In our community there are hundreds, if not thousands of people walking around with HIV today,'' she said. "That has very serious connotations for the children.'' Presenter Mrs. Lois Wilson offered the audience an insight into the world of foster care by describing her life caring for a young girl who lost her mother to cancer.

Miss Valerie Cheape, a health visitor with the Department of Health, also addressed the conference highlighting her work in the community.

AIDS orphans Miss Cheape assesses the needs of mothers and babies with HIV, and works with others members of the HIV Multi-Disciplinary Resource Team to offer support, guidance, counselling and referrals.

Rev. Alan Tilson, Rector of the Holy Trinity Church and one of the pasters that make up Agape House's chaplaincy services, said his work at the hospice has "become one of the most meaningful parts'' of his ministry.

"There is more to healing than pills and stethoscopes,'' he said. "Every human being is a complex entity with a body, mind and spirit. The body effects the spirit, and the spirit effects the body -- we can't disentangle them.'' Calling the 10-strong nondenominational group "part of God's healing team'', Rev. Tilson said they minister to Agape residents, their families and hospice staff.

He said talking, sharing and above all, a smile were some of the most effective healing agents for terminally ill patients.

Ashton Associates psychologist Ms Lainie Andrew Koolkin, spoke on physical pain and it's role.

"Pain is very important,'' she said. "It is a sensory signal to say something is wrong.'' Ms Koolkin said chronic pain -- pain which endures for more than six months -- can literally take over a person's life and adversely effect his or her family life and career.

Various methods can be used to bring chronic pain under control she said, including proper breathing, relaxation therapy, stress management and biofeedback -- instrument-assisted relaxation.

The Hospice will round out this busy week with a banquet this Saturday at the Hamilton Princess Hotel starting at 7.30 p.m. Tickets ($38) are available from Mrs. Soares at Agape House: 236-2345.