Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald - Wednesday, September 23, 1998
Ozzie Osborne, Herald Staff Writer
"When I joined the board of AIDS in 1995, nearly all of the county's known AIDS cases were concentrated in the southernmost Keys," said The Rev. Thomas Mullane of St. Peter's Church in Big Pine Key.
"But today almost 60 of AIDS Help's 300 or more clients live in the upper two-thirds of the county."
AIDS Help now has two case managers and a growing network of volunteers working out of its Marathon office to provide health care, housing, food and support to people with the HIV illness for whom the agency's Key West office is inconveniently remote.
"I'm glad AIDS Help had the foresight to begin expanding its presence up the Keys a few years ago and undertook the outreach that has brought people with AIDS in the Middle and Upper Keys into the care system," Mullane said.
"At the same time it worries me to see the numbers continue to go up."
AIDS Help's countywide case load of 320 clients is almost 100 more than two years ago.
Based on population, Monroe County has the highest rate of AIDS in Florida's 67 counties and one of the highest rates in the nation.
"This is partly good news," Mullane said. "Because of new AIDS treatments people with HIV are living longer.
"Many of our clients would not be with us today if these medical breakthroughs hadn't occurred.
"But the bad news is that we're still seeing new infections. This is a great human tragedy, because the transmission of the virus can be prevented."
AIDS Help receives federal and state grants, but 20 percent of its $2 million yearly budget is financed by private giving, most of this coming from fund-raising events.
"Our biggest annual fund-raiser," Mullane points out, "is going on during the next several weeks and that's the campaign for the king and queen of Fantasy Fest.
"The six great people in the running will be working very hard to raise the money we need to round out our services and make sure that no one living with AIDS in our country falls through the cracks."
Since the AIDS Help's volunteer network has been extended throughout the county, the agency has put out a call for people who would like to work specifically in the Middle and Upper Keys.
"We don't yet have the volunteer support we need to give care and support to our clients living in Big Pine and Key Largo," Mullane says.
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