AEGiS-SC: True-Blue AIDS Volunteers Flourish Without Red Tape Contra Costa group survives funding cutoff

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

True-Blue AIDS Volunteers Flourish Without Red Tape Contra Costa group survives funding cutoff

San Francisco Chronicle; Saturday, April 18, 1998
Michael Hytha, Chronicle Staff Writer

Abandoned a year ago by the nonprofit agency that sponsored them, volunteers helping people with AIDS in Contra Costa are ready to take charge with their own organization. The 150 volunteers have stuck by their clients, helping with chores, shuttling them to medical appointments and offering a friendly ear. Now the fledgling AIDS Volunteer Resources in Concord has applied for nonprofit status to attract tax-deductible donations, government grants and contracts. But unlike other organizations serving people with AIDS and those infected with the HIV virus, the group does not want to hire full-time employees. Instead, it hopes to provide a low-cost alternative for care as a new phase of the epidemic takes hold. "The volunteers said this was a grassroots organization before, it can still be," said Gene Boyett, a longtime volunteer who became the executive director of AIDS Volunteer Resources. Concentrating on volunteer services will help guarantee that services will be available by stretching dollars further. That was the bitter lesson of last year's decision by the Oakland-based AIDS Alliance to pull up stakes in Contra Costa. The alliance, which absorbed the AIDS Project of Contra Costa in 1996, gave two weeks notice last April that it was terminating its county contract to serve 400 clients. The precipitous decision, prompted by a financial crisis, frightened clients, shocked volunteers and puzzled the county. "Speaking for myself, it was very painful and I wanted to blame somebody," said Boyett, who, unlike some of those associated with the AIDS Alliance, no longer harbors resentment against it for leaving Contra Costa. "If it was necessary to cut off a vital body part so the patient could survive, then that had to be done," he said.

AIDS Alliance President Elizabeth Grossman said the organization concentrated on services instead of fund-raising as its funding declined.

She said corporate and foundation support had tapered off because new drugs were introduced that halted the disease's progress in many patients. "In part, I think we were a victim of the good news on protease inhibitors," Grossman said. The new medications have given many private donors, including those within the gay community, a sense of long-overdue relief, said Derek Gordon of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "Some are starting to get burned out and moved on," Gordon said, citing donor surveys. "To come this far and have people back away at the critical moment is disconcerting.".

AIDS agencies also face increased competition for state and federal funds as the disease has spread into smaller cities, suburbs and rural regions, increasing the need for volunteers. Although state and federal AIDS funding has remained constant, that money must be divided among an ever larger number of local agencies. San Francisco's share of a $204 million federal housing program, for example, has slipped to $8.5 million from a high of $11.7 million four years ago. When the AIDS Alliance left Contra Costa, the county health department, along with the organization's former employees and volunteers, stepped in and guaranteed that clients would continue to receive the counseling, health care, household help and support they needed. Though some services were delayed, patients received immediate help when needed.

The departure also prompted the county to change how it distributed $1.9 million in federal AIDS funding. Instead of relying on one provider, the county AIDS program contracted with four agencies to counsel people with AIDS and HIV and direct them to help, often to AIDS Volunteer Resources.

Boyett said volunteers cannot replace professionals entirely. "Our folks aren't therapists," he said. "The folks that come to us just have a good heart." The volunteers help with chores, bring a warm meal, drive clients to the bank or store, or baby sit children during medical appointments. The volunteers also offer a warm hug, said Tanya Anderson of Oakley, whose AIDS condition was diagnosed last year. "They touch you, which is really important," said Anderson, 28, the mother of a kindergartner and a preschooler. "When you have AIDS you feel really toxic." Like many people with AIDS, Anderson is warding off AIDS-related infections with protease inhibitors and other new drugs. The shift from preparing to die to staying healthy is changing volunteers' work. A decade ago, volunteers were more likely to be like hospice workers. Now they are may be job counselors, financial advisers and cheerleaders. Unlike paid counselors, volunteer Sheila Gutman of Walnut Creek often helps clients' friends and family members, becoming part of their social network. One woman asked Gutman to drive her to Berkeley where the two spent the afternoon in a bar with some of the woman's old friends. "I've been to hospitals. I've been to funerals," Gutman said. "Those are the sad parts." Gutman said she barely noticed the switch from the AIDS Alliance to an all-volunteer organization.

"Our group kind of never hiccupped during the entire transition."

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