The AIDS/HIV Services Group (ASG) was founded in 1986
by a group of citizens who were concerned about the lack of care available
for people in the area living with HIV and AIDS. As with most small,
grass-roots organizations, ASG was run exclusively by volunteers in the
early years. A grant from the City of Charlottesville in 1988 allowed ASG to
hire its first salaried employee-a part-time Coordinator of Volunteers,
whose title soon was changed to Director.
In 1988, ASG was serving as the sole contracting
agency for AIDS services and education for a 24-county, seven-city area. new
salaried positions were added, including an Education/Outreach Coordinator,
Client Resources Coordinator and Case Manager. Eventually, as other AIDS
service organizations formed through the Commonwealth, ASG's client service
area was redefined to match the Region Ten Thomas Jefferson Planning
District, which includes the City of Charlottesville and the counties of
Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson. Out education/prevention
programs focus on a 22,000 square mile area of central and northwestern
Virginia, and are available statewide.
The agency's name change in 1996 from the AIDS Support
Group to the AIDS/HIV Services Group reflects the broad range of services
offered to HIV+ individuals and to our community at large. ASG continues its
commitment to provide compassionate support and practical services, as well
as to help prevent the spread of HIV through education and outreach. The
once all-volunteer agency currently employs seventeen full-time staff,
and continues to rely heavily on volunteers to help fulfill its mission.
ASG's client services program continues to provide a
lifeline to people living with HIV. Case Management is provided in both the
states and the Northwest Region's HIV care planning groups, In addiction,
clients have access to a food pantry, support groups, volunteer and work
opportunities, skills-building classes, social opportunities, housing
assistance, and prevention programming.
HIV Prevention Education targets specific populations
through HIV testing and counseling and multi-session psycho-educational
programs teaching negotiation skills, assertiveness training, communication
skills, self-efficacy and control, risk-trigger management, peer support for
change, HIV transmission and substance abuse knowledge, and consistent
condom use. These programs include Sister to Sister targeting African
American women; Brothers in Touch, targeting African American men; Desire,
for men who have sex with men, Latino/Migrant programs; and Peer Education
for youth. ASG offers two outreach programs, Street Outreach and Intensive
Street Outreach, which target individuals at risk in community settings.
Counseling and testing services begin in 2000. Voluntary OraSure testing is
available onsite, and all program staff are trained in HIV Counseling,
Testing and Referral to accommodate individuals on a walk-in basis, and
outreach workers and educators perform counseling, testing and referral, in
a variety of settings, including local bars and health fairs.
We provided prevention education programs to over
7,000 people. People on the street, young offenders and incarcerated adults,
people in churches, students in schools and in community-partner programs,
migrant farm workers and settled immigrants, have all participated in ASG
prevention programs, showing changes in behavior, beliefs about risks and
how to stay safer.
There are many, many accomplishments that we can take
pride in, and some of the most important may not be so visible. Not everyone
sees when we help people whose lives have been torn apart by HIV/AID to get
stabilized and get their lives back. Not everyone hears a client tell us,
"If ASG hadn't been here for me, I don't know if I would still be here," or
a young person shares the changes that took place from participating in our
classes and how they now understand that they deserve to be safe and they
know how to make that happen. In addition, newly release data shows that the
rate of new HIV infections has dropped across the state by about 19%.
However, in our region the rates decreased this year over twice as much as
the state average, and no small part of that success is due to our working
together to stop this disease.