San Francisco AIDS Foundation

For more than 30 years, San Francisco AIDS Foundation has been answering the call from our community. A lot has changed since we first opened our doors on Castro Street in 1982, but our commitment remains the same: to see the end of HIV/AIDS.

Through education, advocacy, and free local services for prevention and care, San Francisco AIDS Foundation confronts HIV in neighborhoods most impacted by the disease and gives a powerful voice to all people living with the disease nationwide.

We are committed to making routine HIV testing the community norm, so that everyone is aware of his or her HIV status regardless of perceived risk. We are actively engaged in improving health—and health care access—for people living with HIV.

With the valuable support of thousands of individuals standing behind us, San Francisco AIDS Foundation is committed to these outcomes:

Reducing HIV infections: By devising new prevention tools and relying on proven scientific research and community knowledge, the foundation is working to dramatically reduce new HIV infections.

Encouraging HIV testing: The foundation provides HIV testing, STI screening, counseling services, and awareness campaigns to increase both supply and demand for testing in communities most affected by the disease.

Improving health for people living with HIV: Our housing and medical referral programs, counseling and treatment for substance abuse, and weekly drop-in groups are closely connected to excellent client health. The foundation actively lobbies for universal access to health care and is determined to fight institutional obstacles and empower our clients and others to navigate the red tape that frustrates access to care and treatment.

To learn about all of the foundation’s programs, public policy work and information services, read the foundation fact sheet or visit www.sfaf.org.

San Francisco AIDS Foundation Fact Sheet

No city experienced epidemic levels of HIV faster than San Francisco. At San Francisco AIDS Foundation, we work to end the epidemic where it first took hold, and eventually everywhere. Established in 1982, our mission is the radical reduction of new infections in San Francisco. Through education, advocacy, and direct services for prevention and care, we are confronting HIV in communities most vulnerable to the disease. We refuse to accept that HIV transmission is inevitable.

Funds raised by AIDS/LifeCycle participants support these vital services:

PREVENTION Our services empower people to lead healthier lives and play an active role in preventing new infections. We offer free support groups to 1,500 African Americans, Latinos, newly diagnosed men, and guys interested in service projects via STOP AIDS PROJECT.
CARE We provide free case management and peer advocacy services, housing assistance, and financial benefits counseling for 600 people living with HIV/AIDS. In doing so, we create a seamless network of care and support. No one with HIV should feel alone with their diagnosis.
GAY MEN’S HEALTH We offer free sexual health services including STD screening and more than 12,000 HIV tests annually at MAGNET, our gay men’s health center in the Castro. MAGNET is more than a clinic – it’s building a healthier community from the inside, out. We also operate an HIV testing van to deliver mobile services citywide.
SYRINGE ACCESS We provide more than 2.4 million free sterile syringes annually to injection drug users to stop the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. Our efforts have contributed to rates of new HIV infection among people who inject drugs in San Francisco that are well below the national average.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE & MENTAL HEALTH Drugs and alcohol are known drivers of HIV infection, making both central in efforts to fight HIV. We offer free counseling, education, and resources for 600 clients via THE STONEWALL PROJECT to connect the dots between HIV, substance use, and mental health issues.
EDUCATION Access to reliable sexual health information can make a world of a difference in a person’s life. Thousands of people depend on our free online resources, publications, and community forums for information about HIV risk, testing and care, and to stay informed about breaking news in HIV prevention, clinical research and treatment.
ADVOCACY We provide a powerful voice advocating for people at risk for or living with HIV to public officials at City Hall, in Sacramento and in our nation’s capitol. We inform lawmakers at all levels of government of the critical need for evidence-based policies and programs that improve health and save lives.

More information about the programs of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation is available at www.www.sfaf.org.

How your Gift can make a Difference

Strut San Francisco AIDS Foundation works to end HIV in the city where it first took hold and eventually everywhere. Established in 1982, our mission is the radical reduction of new infections in San Francisco. Through education, advocacy and direct services for prevention and care, we are confronting HIV in the communities most vulnerable to the disease.

We are guided by three ambitious goals for 2015:

Reduce new HIV infections by 50%, through health services including testing, treatment as prevention, syringe access and support services for 1,500 African-Americans, Latinos, and newly diagnosed men
Ensure all San Franciscans know their HIV status, through over 10,000 HIV tests at five locations in neighborhood “hot spots” and an HIV testing van delivering services citywide
Ensure access to proper care for all HIV-positive San Franciscans, through advocacy targeting Medicaid expansion and implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and expanding sexual health services.

With you by our side, San Francisco will be the first U.S. city to end the HIV epidemic.

Your gift(s) to San Francisco AIDS Foundation help us provide the following essential services for prevention and care. While government funding sometimes provides the bulk of the resources to deliver vital services, private support like yours bridges the gap (an average of 30%) and provides us the resources to expand critical services beyond current government funding limitations and fully serve those in need.

$50,000 can help a substance use counselor see 40 clients a year for harm reduction counseling, which integrates substance use, mental health, and HIV prevention and education.
$25,000 can help a half-time peer advocate see 50 clients for a year enabling them get to their doctor appointments and assisting them with daily living activities.
$15,000 can help 120 Magnet clients receive sexual health services, including HIV and STD tests, treatment, education and counseling.
$10,000 can help us provide substance use counseling services for more than 250 clients in one month.
$7,500 can help provide a nurse for one month to administer STI screenings and treatments to 100 Magnet clients.
$5,000 can help keep our mobile testing unit rolling for one year so that 2,400 gay, bi and transmen can be tested and counseled.
$2,500 can help four HIV-positive people receive safe and stable housing situations for one month.
$1,000 can help provide two Positive Force community forums where 150 men can learn more about HIV and how to live better and longer with HIV.
$500can help 15 people receive medical benefits counseling to obtain prescription drug assistance.
$250 can help provide ten Rapid HIV Antibody test to test ten people at Magnet, and other foundation sites.
$175 can help provide case management for 15 HIV-positive clients who are homeless or at-risk for homelessness.
$150 can help provide 1,000 syringes through the street-based Syringe Access Service.
$100 can help provide the travel cost for a Treatment Advocacy Coordinator to attend the medical appointments of 25 clients, providing moral support and to help clients advocate for themselves.
$25 can help a Financial Benefits counselor to assist one person in navigating the private and public benefits systems, including Medi-Cal, Medicare, CARE/HIPP, short-term disability, and Social Security.
$10 can help provide 143 condoms to our clients at all of our service sites.

In addition to our programs and services, our public policy work has a national scope: We are helping develop and implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, as well as the formulation of HIV/AIDS components of national healthcare reform legislation. Your support helps people in every corner of the country who are impacted by HIV.