While the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to expand into every segment of society, it also continues to disproportionately expand into and affect communities of color, poor people and disenfranchised communities -- communities which have been considered largely "disposable" by the larger society; communities who have traditionally had difficulty accessing the health care and social services they need to live full and productive lives. This situation only worsens for those from these communities who are diagnosed with HIV disease or AIDS, who have all of the traditional barriers to overcome in addition to the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS and the increased needs associated with maintaining oneself both physically and mentally with HIV/AIDS. best online casino
Since many of the services being offered to HIV-positive individuals and individuals living with AIDS were established toward the beginning of the epidemic, these services, as the epidemic expands and changes, are becoming increasingly distant and inaccessible to the communities these services are now supposed to serve, and are often not either culturally appropriate or geographically accessible to the people who need the services most.
Additionally, the AIDS service system has generally been set up to serve those who have been diagnosed in the later stages of AIDS and who are dependent on a variety of medical and social supports. As the epidemic has expanded, however, the majority of people living with HIV are relatively healthy, and do not require intensive, ongoing case management services (over two-thirds according to statistics in The Philadelphia AIDS Consortium's Regional Plan for HIV/AIDS Services); however, because of poverty and other considerations, the primary immediate threats to their quality of life are factors such as lack of education or employment, substance abuse, mental illness, and/or lack of housing -- any or all of which can make much more complex the management of HIV disease. c i a l i s 5 mg
While the HIV/AIDS service system has made enormous strides in meeting the needs of some dependent, ill people with AIDS, it has not yet fully developed mechanisms to assure access of indigent and minority people whose lives are less functional and who struggle with many obstacles to obtaining the care they need. These individuals -- the target population of all of We The People's activities -- require specialized approaches to their care if they are to be able to obtain the many services they need to lead stable lives and effectively manage the impact of HIV infection.
A Membership Organization, Not An Agency
We The People is a membership organization. According to our by-laws, any individual with HIV disease in the five-county Philadelphia region is eligible for membership, and can assert that membership by attending and participating in membership meetings.
The general oversight of the organization's activities is conducted by a 20-member Board of Directors which is directly elected by the membership and 90% of whom are people living with HIV/AIDS. Board meetings are held monthly at the Life Center and are open to the participation of all members. Full membership meetings are held every six months, and issues of general policy, by-laws changes and Board elections are held at these meetings. At all times, at least eighteen Board members must be people living with HIV infection.
Various committees also provide opportunity for member involvement in our activities. These include the Center Operations Committee, which deals with issues, policies and concerns related to our daily Life Center program; the Fundraising Committee, which seeks to raise private donations for our programs; the Strategic Planning Committee, which defines future directions and programs; and the Personnel Committee, which oversees personnel policies and supervises the Executive Director. These meetings are held regularly and the committees include both Board members and regular members.
A small staff works with the Board to implement program activities. The staff includes an Executive Director, who is responsible to the Board and membership for the overall management of the organization, public affairs and advocacy activities; a Life Center Coordinator, who manages the daily operations of the Life Center; an Administrative Coordinator, who provides general clerical and administrative support to the staff; a Crisis Intervention Case Manager, who provides crisis intervention and counseling services; two Housing Counselors, who assist the members in obtaining affordable and appropriate housing; an Education Director, who supervises our outreach and risk reduction efforts; and a Prevention Case Management Coordinator, who supervises our individualized prevention efforts targeted to sexual minority men of color. Обучение маникюру-педикюру. Курсы маникюра-педикюра в Петербурге.
Most We The People activities are implemented by volunteer members, including our meals program, clothing bank, outreach efforts, HIV prevention program, and various programs dealing with addictions and recovery, as well as various clerical functions including reception, filing, typing, etc. At the present time we have approximately 450 very active members, from a general membership of about 4800 individuals with HIV disease.
Over the past several years, we have greatly expanded the activities of our Life Center: our hours have increased from eight hours/day four days per week to 14 hours per day weekdays and eight hours per day on weekends; we have expanded our staff by three-fold. hiring mostly people with HIV/AIDS; we began publication of two highly-respected newsletters, the monthly Alive & Kicking! which now has a circulation of over 8500 per month, and its weekly update, fastfax, with a circulation of 1200 by fax, mail and email; we have produced a weekly television program on WYBE-TV called Positive Health, and we have engaged in aggressive (and successful!) advocacy efforts to improve access to housing and medical care services for people with AIDS in Philadelphia.
In addition, we have obtained funding to provide ongoing technical assistance and training to our volunteer Board of Directors, and have increased our overall budget for our operations by almost 400%, from approximately $180,000 in 1991 to over $2,000,000 in fiscal year 1998, not including over $2 million for the development of a several housing programs for people with HIV disease.
At our Life Center, we offer each other a comprehensive array of educational and support services to advance our overriding purpose: helping people with HIV disease confront the daily challenge that living positively presents. We are especially dedicated to helping those of our brothers and sisters who are more needy than others--those who are homeless, recovering from their addictions, grappling with their HIV infection as just another burden complicating lives of poverty and despair.
We The People has structured itself to serve as a linkage to the larger medical and social service system for people with HIV/AIDS who are disenfranchised because of their own behavior or because of discrimination based on race, mental illness, substance abuse, income status, sexual preferences, lifestyles, etc. We do this by offering services that we believe our target population needs: free, anonymous and confidential diagnostic and medical services, meals, clothing, social connections, substance abuse and mental health counseling and referral, HIV/AIDS information and referral to other services. We offer these services in an informal, "low demand" atmosphere that makes it possible for individuals to build trust amongst themselves and ultimately work with us as we all attempt to help each other.
In order to maintain the trust of those we serve, they are treated as members of We The People rather than as clients of our social services.
As members, people with HIV/AIDS who participate in our programs or request our assistance are given certain rights and privileges beyond what might be normally expected for a "client": they have the power to elect our Board of Directors and participate in the development of general organizational policy as well as specific policies regarding the day-to-day operation of the Life Center.
As noted, our by-laws require that 90% of the members of our Board of Directors must at all times be people living with HIV disease; the majority of our paid staff and all of our stipend volunteers are also people with HIV disease. This unique concept of self-empowerment is, we believe, a cornerstone of our program and essential to the trust our members have for each other as they attempt to help each other deal with the realities of their HIV disease.
As much as possible, we work closely with other agencies providing AIDS, substance abuse, mental health and housing services to help our members access those services and maintain their compliance with the agencies' requirements. When that is not possible, we provide services ourselves either formally (through our paid staff) or informally through trained peer counseling and support.
The Mission of We The People
As amended by the Board of Directors, January, 1996We The People Living with AIDS/HIV of the Delaware Valley, Inc., is a community. and a Life Center, run by people living with HIV/AIDS to help ourselves and other people infected with and affected by AIDS/HIV.
In order to achieve a better quality of life and empower ourselves, we aim to provide a caring and supportive environment in which we can feed, clothe, shelter, teach, listen to, learn from, and advocate for ourselves. We exist to give ourselves the hope and courage to live with dignity, and pride.
For all people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, we love you.
As amended by the Board of Directors, January, 1996
We believe:
We believe that by coming together as a family, as a community of love and support, we can help each other to live with dignity, and with pride.
- That it is important to maintain honesty and the highest level of love, sensitivity and respect for ourselves and our community
- That our members have a right to quality health care, housing, nutrition and social services
- That our members have a right to a Life Center that is clean, safe, sober and hopeful, one which nurtures live-affirming values and supports the highest quality of living
- That it is important that each member of We The People know that they have a right to participate and a responsibility to contribute
- That We The People shall be a leader in the fight for human rights for all citizens
- That each of us has a right to make our own decisions, and the responsibility to accept the consequences of those decisions
Who We Are | News That Matters | Supporting WTP
Local Resources | Research | Programs & Activities | Internet Links
Copyright © 1997 We The People