Transcript: Aids Fund Penn's Way

Robb Reichard, Executive Director, Aids Fund — narrator.

- AIDS Fund Mission is to help the most vulnerable people living with HIV in our community. Whether it be they're facing eviction from their housing, in their utilities are about to be shut off, or they don't have a bed to sleep in. We can help them with small grants that make a huge difference in peoples lives. You know, our goal is to end this epidemic and get to zero stigma, zero infections, and zero deaths. And all of our programs are working towards that goal. We also do educational programs. We want to make sure that the community knows about the latest treatment options available, and the latest prevention options available. We're a small organization trying to do big things. Our goal is to one day turn off the lights, shut the door, and go home because this epidemic is over. AIDS Fund has its roots in the AIDS Walk. The first AIDS Walk in Philadelphia was in 1987 and the AIDS Fund was founded two years later to produce the Walk and distribute the funds to AIDS service providers. As we approached our 30th year we looked at the environment, and where the greatest need was today for people living with HIV. And so we evolved our mission to offering small grants to people living with HIV when you're facing financial difficulties.

- Well the AIDS Fund is really a great resource as far as unconventional resources.

- This is like a savior to a lot of people 'cause they've been facing eviction, foreclosure on their homes, we even did a water heater for someone. Their house was, you know, flooding in the basement and they needed that.

- I had an older client, and I noticed that he didn't have a bed. And he never brought it up to me, but when I finally asked him about it he was like, "I haven't had a bed in probably, like, two years or so." And before, I don't think there were any programs I could apply for to get him one, but the AIDS Fund got him the bed in, like, two days.

- I think nothing really feels worse as a social worker than when someone comes to you in need, and you can't link them to anything because you know, you're going through this laundry list of, kind of like, red tape.

- The AIDS Fund has really, definitely been a great service to Bebashi in helping our clients get things that they didn't have, and no other agency was willing to help them.

- I never thought I would be doing this type of work, but it really has become my dream job.

- The amazing thing about it, is that we're not doing it for ourselves, we're doing it for the community, and the communities working together with us to help us grow.

- We were on an annual calendar fundraising event, and we do the AIDS Walk once a year, and we use volunteers for all of those events. It just makes the work a lot more meaningful to know that we're doing a Gay Bingo, we have the drag queens up on stage doing a dance number, or when we have volunteers out giving water at the Walk. They are the ones who are helping us raise the money, giving someone a place to sleep at night, or keeping their electric on.

- We did a refrigerator for somebody who is HIV positive, on disability, and also diabetic, and they didn't have a refrigerator to keep their insulin. And so, they didn't ask for much, they asked for a little dormitory sized refrigerator for $160, but it allowed them to keep their medicine cold. We have the treatments today to help people live a long and healthy life with HIV. However, they have to have their basic needs met in order for those treatments to be a success. I've been doing this work for a long time, and the work I'm doing today is the most important work of my life.