Tampa AIDS Network Merges With Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services

The Tampa AIDS Network announced on Friday that it has become part of Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services, a merger that was prompted by TAN's "financial difficulties," the Tampa Tribune reports. TAN, which serves 1,500 people in the Tampa area with HIV/AIDS, links HIV-positive people with food, housing and health care services. The organization also runs HIV prevention programs and operates support groups for families and friends of people with AIDS. Gulf Coast Executive Vice President Janice McDonald said that TAN's budget has dropped from $6 million "at its peak" to $1.6 million currently and has had to rely increasingly on donations. Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services, which is based in Clearwater, Fla., offers many of the same services to approximately 800 people with HIV/AIDS in other counties, and McDonald said that TAN clients will continue to receive services "without interruption" after the merger. "The biggest thing we want to get across is that TAN's services will not change. We don't anticipate any changes in case managers," McDonald said. Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services is a part of Gulf Coast Community Care, which provides services to individuals in 12 Florida counties (Jackson, Tampa Tribune, 2/23).