By Eduardo Morales, Ph.D.–
AGUILAS’ HIV/AIDS grants from the CA Office of AIDS and the AIDS Office of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) are scheduled to end on June 30, 2023. The AIDS Office of the SFDPH decided to fund only one agency for up to 1.5 million dollars per year for HIV/AIDS prevention services to Latinx LGBTQ+ individuals. Meanwhile, the CA Office of AIDS has not announced continued funding of its Empowerment Initiative that targets Latinx and African American LGBTQ+ people who are most impacted and overrepresented in the number of HIV/AIDS cases.
The end of HIV/AIDS services at AGUILAS appears to be inevitable even though AGUILAS has provided HIV/AIDS prevention services for over 29 years since 1994 with excellent satisfaction ratings from participants. The organization has not only met but also exceeded its contractual obligations throughout the past 29 years. Additionally, AGUILAS is the only agency in the city and county of San Francisco to provide all of its services in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Founded by Latinx LGBTQ+ individuals in San Francisco in 1991, and funded by SFDPH since April of 1994, AGUILAS as a grassroots organization is very active and engaged in the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities. AGUILAS has been an independent 501c-c organization since August 5, 1999. It has a very dedicated and highly skilled staff and has helped thousands of Latinx LGBTQ+ individuals for nearly three decades with its HIV/AIDS prevention services.
About 40% of current AGUILAS participants are HIV positive. Those who speak Portuguese are Brazilian and are being served by the organization. Additionally, AGUILAS assists those who are seeking political asylum by providing documentation of their program participation. 100% of these individuals have successfully obtained their political asylum cases with their personal representative attorneys. If the grants end as scheduled and are not renewed, all of the HIV/AIDS individual and group interventions and social events that are part of the funded prevention efforts will end on June 30, 2023.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is having a public comment session about the city’s proposed budget at SF City Hall at 10 am on Monday, June 26, 2023. At that time, the public will have a chance to comment—a maximum of two minutes per person—about the budget. The Board of Supervisors through an “add back” process can change the proposed budget of the city and county and decide to fund areas where there are gaps and needs. Once finalized, the budget will be approved by the Board of Supervisors and the new fiscal year will start on July 1. It is hoped that members of the public will express their concerns, comment on the contributions of AGUILAS, and advocate that AGUILAS be included in its new proposed budget.
Historically, AGUILAS is the only and oldest independent Latinx LGBTQ+ organization in Northern California. Its efforts include organizing the candlelight march for the killing of transgender Gwen Araujo in 2002, and raising over $30,000 to build and construct the new SF LGBT Center. When the San Francisco Board of Supervisors set aside funding to create a Pulse Memorial, AGUILAS was the only agency that voluntarily stepped up to take the lead. For over five years it oversaw all aspects of the process, from design to construction to identification of the site for the memorial’s installation. Now San Francisco has its Pulse Memorial located on the second floor of the SF LGBT Center.
AGUILAS was also instrumental in the formation of the cannabis club Purple Star located at 2520 Mission Street. Purple Star has provided AGUILAS, the SF LGBT Center, Shanti Project, and the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund with shared profits from its operations since its formation in 2013. For every dollar the SFDPH provided AGUILAS during the past three years, AGUILAS was able to match it dollar for dollar by acquiring funding from other external sources.
AGUILAS will continue its leadership trainings called La Academia funded by ViiV Foundation for one more year. This does not include donations made by various organizations and individuals. Although AGUILAS will continue to seek other sources of funding, the turnaround time will mean that the organization must plan to end its HIV/AIDS services unless the city’s Board of Supervisors approves the “add back” funding for continuation of the much-needed assistance. Given the increasing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation implemented throughout the U.S. and the immigration border issues faced by people seeking asylum, AGUILAS remains a critical resource for the Latinx LGBTQ+ community.
Eduardo Morales, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus, retired Distinguished Professor, and current adjunct professor at Alliant International University. He is also a licensed psychologist and a founder and current Executive Director of AGUILAS, an award-winning program for Latinx LGBTQ+. Of Puerto Rican decent, he has received numerous distinguished awards and citations, including being named a Fellow of 12 divisions of the American Psychological Association.
Nuestra Voz
Published on June 8, 2023
Recent Comments