AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES NOW PROVIDING HIV CARE, PREVENTION SERVICES IN ANTELOPE VALLEY

PROGRAMS TO ENHANCE EXISTING HIV SERVICES IN HIGH DESERT COMMUNITIES

Los Angeles, Calif., August 14, 2008 – On August 1, AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) expanded its service portfolio to provide HIV prevention and care services in the Antelope Valley which were previously delivered by Antelope Valley Hope Foundation (AVHope).

With this move, APLA has become the area's provider of dental care, free groceries, case management services and treatment education for people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as a provider of HIV prevention education in the region. As the current host of the Service Provider Network, APLA will join other service providers (including AIDS Healthcare Foundation, The Catalyst Foundation, High Desert Health System and Tarzana Treatment Centers) to help articulate the Valley's HIV-related needs at county meetings.

Since 1997, AVHope had provided programs for people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in one of California's most geographically diffuse but fastest growing communities. The Lancaster-based agency ceased operations on July 31, 2008.

"While this decision was difficult for us, our top priority is to maintain uninterrupted service for our clients," said Raymond H. Johnson, chair of the Board of Directors at AVHope. "Our transition with APLA has ensured that."

While the Antelope Valley has just one-twelfth the population of Los Angeles, it is geographically three times larger. The High Desert's HIV epidemic is also unique. Although it accounts for a smaller proportion of total countywide HIV/AIDS cases, the Antelope Valley has the county's highest rates of infection from injection drug use and heterosexual contact. And it is second only to South Los Angeles in the percentage of African Americans living with the disease.

"The Antelope Valley faces a unique set of challenges in HIV prevention and care," said APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson. "Limited resources exist to cover a very wide area. We are honored to join the area's other first-rate providers to help support a successful care network here."

Since 2005, APLA has provided free groceries to low-income people living with HIV/AIDS in the Antelope Valley through its Necessities of Life Program food pantry. And in November of that year, APLA's mobile dental clinic began traveling to Lancaster to provide dental care to people living with HIV/AIDS there.

"Throughout Los Angeles, APLA is confronting the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS among communities of color and people struggling with addiction," Thompson said. "We'll use what we've learned -- along with our previous experience providing services to the High Desert -- to build on this vital work."

APLA is integrating AVHope's staff and will continue operations in the existing Lancaster facility as "Antelope Valley Hope Services, a program of APLA."

AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Marking 25 years of service in 2008, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit www.apla.org.