From the Executive Director

May 26,2007

 

Dear Friend of HAVEN,

 

Never have I been so proud of the work that the HAVEN community does in support of itself!

 

But never have I been so concerned about our financial outlook. We finished our fiscal year in the black, thanks to an unexpected grant from Nordstrom/MAC. Then we lost one of our five Ryan White awards. Just as we tightened our budget to adjust for that, we got whacked in the county budget! The $25,000 that provided most of our administrative costs last year was reduced to $4,000!

This is my 15th year with HAVEN, and I believe more strongly than ever in the importance of our mission. I am appalled at the sense of alienation and discrimination that our friends living with HIV and AIDS still face from their families, churches, jobs, and landlords.  Families ask their infected members to say they have cancer. Churches are not supporting gay men. Jobs are lost because of periods of illness. Landlords won't rent to those who have turned their lives away from drugs.

I am not about to lose the lifeline we keep tossing to these friends! And neither is our dedicated staff. I am so proud of Vance, Sharon C. and Sharon D. (and the Our House weekend relief staff) for hanging in there because their hearts are in their work. If they did not,

♦Who would recruit, train, and assign all those volunteers to make sure folks get to their support group meetings?

♦Who would drop everything and meet with a couple who just learned that the husband was HIV-positive?

♦Who would live at Our House from Monday morning to Friday night, with only weekends to herself, so she can make sure everyone's needs are met?

♦Who would spend 6 hours in the emergency room with someone from Our Place?

♦Who would match a volunteer and her son with a client who is too sick to walk his dog?

And I am not about to lose the lifeline these friends provide each other! I am so proud of the gifts they give and receive from each other -- peers and volunteers alike.

Just look at the articles in this edition of our newsletter to see those gifts in action--and keep those financial gifts coming. THANKS! We need you!

 

Diane

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