Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bay Area Reporter - May 14, 2009
Seth Hemmelgarn, s.hemmelgarn@ebar.com
Colm Hegarty, 42, who had been serving as the group's director of resource development and public relations, started in his new post May 1.
Hegarty starts his new job as the nonprofit organization, like many others in the city, faces budget cuts.
The agency's budget this year is $7.5 million, but for the 2009-10 fiscal year its budget will be $7 million, due to a contract with San Francisco's Human Services Agency being de-funded.
Hegarty said that as a result of the cut, Tenderloin Health's popular community drop-in resource center would shut down June 30. The center, which served more than 12,000 unduplicated clients every year, has offered everything from bathroom access to help with shelter reservations.
The rest of the agency will remain open, and Tenderloin Health will continue providing help through its HIV services and housing programs. Those programs, which serve 1,300 unduplicated clients a year, include primary medical and urgent care, HIV testing and counseling, supportive housing, and workforce development, said Hegarty.
"A big challenge we are facing is an increase in the demand for our services while public funding is being severely cut and private resources are dwindling," Hegarty told the Bay Area Reporter in an e-mail. "Our goal is to continue to provide excellent quality services during these very challenging times. I'm looking forward to working with a very dedicated staff here at Tenderloin Health to maximize our ability to serve as many residents as possible."
David Krimm, Tenderloin Health's board chair, said in a statement, "After six months of working hard to identify the right candidate for the position, we believe we have found in Colm the best mix of strengths and skills to take the agency forward to ensure that we provide best-in-class services to residents of the Tenderloin living with HIV/AIDS and at the highest risk of infection."
The agency had been without a permanent leader since former executive director Tracy Brown stepped down last October due to health reasons. Chiquita Tuttle had led the agency on an interim basis.
Hegarty is the partner of B.A.R. general manager Mike Yamashita.
Tenderloin Health has a paid staff of 55, and more than 200 volunteers and interns have worked for the organization over the past year, said Hegarty, whose annual salary is $100,000.
Hegarty said the biggest challenge ahead is in addressing disparities in access to health care.
"The African American community is the most disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS as well as the community that faces the greatest disparities in accessing health care, so our goal will be to make sure as many people as possible" who are "traditionally service avoidant" are accessing health care, he said in an interview, referring to people "outside the system" who experience barriers such as mental illness, addiction, and homelessness.
Hegarty joined the Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center in 2004 and helped that agency merge with Continuum HIV Day Services, leading to the formation of Tenderloin Health in 2006.
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