The Miami Herald, Inc.; a Knight Ridder publication. One Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132-1693 - Tuesday, December 3, 1996 Edition: Broward Section: Broward News Page: 1BR Word Count: 845
Audrey Ross; Herald Staff Writer

TEXT: Just last year, Katherine Smith* was panhandling on the streets with her young son at her side.

She had the virus that causes AIDS and her life was a cycle of drug abuse and drinking in a crack-infested section of Dayton, Ohio.

"I remember I looked back and I said I didn't want this for my son," said Smith*, 44. "I was tired of running. I was tired of drugs. I was tired of friends that I had leading nowhere." With help from relatives, she moved to Broward County and started a new drug-free life at Broward House's Family Living Center.

Smith* and her son, Kevin, 8, who has AIDS, are among 11 families and 24 children living at the renovated cream-colored apartment complex in Fort Lauderdale which houses families with AIDS and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Coupled with services from the Children's Diagnostic Treatment Center and social service agencies, the families get a variety of assistance there -- medical help, drug counseling and job training from caseworkers who help them rebuild their lives and teach families to cope with the disease.

Smith* is now enrolled in an intensive drug rehabilitation program at Broward House and her son is in a counseling program at the Children's Diagnostic Treatment Center for children with AIDS.

Once she graduates from the drug rehabilitation program, Smith* plans to complete nursing studies, which she abandoned when she began abusing drugs and alcohol.

"This is something I've never really had before," Smith* said. "This is a new life for me. It means a brand new start."

Families housed at the center usually arrive empty-handed, like Smith*, who didn't even have utensils for the kitchen when she moved into a furnished apartment there. Most live on a limited income averaging about $6,000 a year for the average family on welfare. While others at the center work, most are struggling with enormous medical expenses. Many are too ill to work full-time.

"This is not a group of people that are looking for a handout. In fact, they'll do the opposite," said Martha Harrop, director of client services. "The people that live here are looking for a step up, not a handout. They're very self-sufficient."

The center, which opened in mid-July, was designed to serve families who under other housing programs would be split up. Before the new Broward House facility opened, adults were often admitted to one center, only to have their children parceled off to relatives.

"When you hear some of the clients, you hear some incredible stories about where they have been. Some have been on the streets or moving from place to place," said Tom Shidaker, CEO of Broward House. "They didn't have a lot of family support. Now it's like one big family."

In a short time, the center has become an extended family for residents who watch over each other and frequently share baby-sitting duties. When one mother recently became sick and had to be hospitalized, the other adults pitched in to care for her children. A tight bond has developed between the families.

Before moving into the center, Thalia Armbrister and her four children, ages 18 months to 9, were often discriminated against by their neighbors. Because Armbrister and one of her children carry the virus that causes AIDS, neighbors wouldn't let their children play with her kids and ignored invitations to a birthday party.

"There was a lot of isolation," Armbrister said. "Now I look out the window and see them play and I know they're not being discriminated against."

Armbrister contracted HIV from her fiance, who didn't know he had the virus. She learned she had it at age 25 during a routine prenatal exam. Through treatment in an AZT program administered by the Children's Diagnostic Treatment Center, her daughter, Dahlia, was born with no sign of the virus.

When the family was tested, an older daughter, Thamielle, was diagnosed with AIDS. The girl, 2-1/2, struggled with the disease for months before she died the week the family moved into the shelter.

"Even now I can't put her pictures up," Armbrister said. "I felt I didn't deserve this. I never used drugs. I was angry."

Armbrister, who recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend a Ryan White Foundation conference on AIDS, works as a consumer advocate for the Children's Diagnostic Center. She is pursuing a degree at Broward Community College in social services.

"The center is an inspiration," Armbrister said. "You can share your experiences with a neighbor and they understand. We cry together a lot of times."

WISH LIST

Employees at the Broward House's Family Living Center want to help resident families purchase gifts over the holidays. Staffers are asking for a gift certificate for each adult ($50) and each child ($25). They also want to raise $200 for a holiday meal for the families to share on Christmas Day.

*Names have been changed to protect identities.

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