FLORIDA: AIDS Group Loses Money, Not Hope

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

FLORIDA: AIDS Group Loses Money, Not Hope

Pensacola News Journal (12.19.06) - Thursday, December 21, 2006
Carmen Paige

The Santa Rosa HIV/AIDS Minority Task Force is shutting its office after losing a state grant, effective Dec. 31. Volunteers, however, vow to continue to offer outreach services and testing. The $75,000 Florida Department of Health grant was the main monetary source for the task force, whose officials are applying for other grants and urging community support. The group's 15 volunteers served nearly 1,000 clients this year.

"We don't want to close," Gail Collins, executive director, told board members Monday. "This is a good thing for the community, and it's free," she said. "Even if we are closing the doors, we are not really closing. If someone calls for testing we will still do it."

The task force cannot reapply for the grant for two years. Although the October rejection letter did not state why the contract was not renewed, Collins said she had been told the decision was due to budget cuts and the group's poor performance; she disputes the latter. "In September, we received a good evaluation. Whenever things were pointed out we needed to do or to correct, we followed through," she said.

"It's very important to have this in our area and in our state," said state Sen. Durrell Peaden (R-Crestview). "If they have had a good performance evaluation, they should be getting funding."
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