AIDS Alabama

Meet Our Clients

AIDS Alabama's clients come from all walks of life. No matter what their background, gender, age, race, or sexual orientation, our clients share one thing in common: they are living with a serious illness and need the help provided by AIDS Alabama's programs and services. Below are just some of the stories we encounter and experience with our clients every day.

Sam

"When I was homeless and needed help, I turned to AIDS Alabama. I am now living in permanent housing through AIDS Alabama, which provides me with a safe environment where I can benefit from all of the agency's services. I use the transportation services every day to get to and from my doctors' appointments and my 12-step meetings, as well as the grocery store and laundromat.

Why would I tell you all of this? I want you to see how AIDS Alabama and its programs have truly saved my life. AIDS Alabama serves people with stories just like mine here in Birmingham and all over the state. The organization is a blessing in the lives of those who tend to get overlooked. I am asking you to search your heart and allow AIDS Alabama to continue to help people just like me who would be nowhere without the services they provide." ~ Sam

Janet

"I know in my heart that I would not be alive today without the work and care of the wonderful people at AIDS Alabama." ~ Janet

Janet was diagnosed with HIV in 1985. During the 1990s she lost most of her family to AIDS, including her parents, husband, and son. After her son died of AIDS in 1999, Janet felt lost and hopeless and turned to drugs. At the recommendation of her doctor and social worker, Janet was referred to AIDS Alabama's substance abuse treatment program where she completed treatment in 2004. In 2010, Janet will celebrate six years of sobriety. Thanks to her hard work and the help of AIDS Alabama's housing and substance abuse treatment programs, Janet has risen above drugs and homelessness. She continues to serve as an AIDS Alabama peer educator, reaching out to youth and adults locally to tell her story and provide HIV prevention education information.

Michael

Michael came to AIDS Alabama through our JASPER House program for persons dually diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and mental illness. When Michael entered JASPER House, he weighed less than 100 pounds, was unable to walk, and was experiencing severe dementia. At JASPER House he received wonderful care, including three hot meals a day and medication supervision from staff members. Within two months, Michael had gained 40 pounds, was able to walk on his own, and showed no signs of dementia. Six months later Michael was able to leave JASPER House and move into independent housing. He even returned to work part-time - the first job he had been able to hold in ten years.

Kim

Weighing 96 pounds and unable to walk, Kim had been told by her doctor in New Jersey that she had less than a month to live. Her only request was to come home to Birmingham, Alabama to see her mother before she died. When Kim arrived in Birmingham she was on 32 medications, and was experiencing complete kidney failure. She began treatment at the UAB 1917 Clnic and gradually her health began to improve. Within a year Kim had improved dramatically and was ready to move out of her mother's house. She was referred to AIDS Alabama, where staff members worked to move her into an apartment at the AGAPE House program and provide furnishings for her. Thanks to the AIDS Alabama transportation department, Kim was able to get where she needed to go, including her medical and social service appointments, as well as the grocery store and pharmacy. The next Thanksgiving, weighing 170 pounds, Kim returned to New Jersey to visit her family, where her daughter almost didn't recognizer her when she picked her up from the train station.