Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Bay Area Reporter - November 19, 1999
Terry Beswick
Earlier this month, Bristol-Myers Squibb, manufacturer of AIDS drugs ddI and d4T, gave San Francisco's Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center (TARC) $35,000. The money is being used to triple the size of the group's HIV testing and treatment education programs.
"It has allowed us to offer HIV antibody testing and results on demand to a population that has trouble keeping appointments," said Paul Causey, TARC's executive director.
HIV testing and counseling will now be available on a drop-in basis for homeless people at high risk for HIV infection 30 hours each week at TARC's storefront operation at 187 Golden Gate Avenue. And for those newly infected with HIV, TARC will provide treatment advocacy counseling at the Tom Waddell Health Clinic on Ivy Street.
Founded in 1990, TARC has become a focal point for AIDS and HIV prevention information, referral, and service coordination in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods. Now working with an $800,000 annual budget, its workers and volunteers also provide testing, prevention education, and safe sex supplies in local parks, residential hotels, on street corners, and at the TARC late night drop-in center.
TARC began offering HIV antibody testing in 1998 with $3,500 from the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
Pharmaceuticals have supported HIV testing and early intervention programs for many years, and Causey had no qualms about taking money from a maker of AIDS drugs for funding of a treatment education program.
"Bristol Myers was very blunt about why they were doing this û to get people into treatment quicker," he said, adding that no particular drug will be promoted to TARC's clients. "That's everyone's goal, to make sure that people have the information to make a decision."
The TARC program is designed to link HIV test counseling with treatment advocacy, Causey emphasized, to ensure that homeless people testing positive have immediate access to supportive and potentially life-saving information and services.
For more information about TARC's services, call (415) 431-7476.
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