Detroit Organization Serving HIV-Positive Women To Close Without Additional Funding
Officials from Children's Immune Disorder, Detroit's oldest agency serving HIV-positive women and their children, have said that the organization faces closure without a new source of funding or a merger with a similar organization, the Detroit Free Press reports. The 17-year old agency had since 1999 received funding from the city's Planning and Development Department, but this year was rejected for a $107,000 grant after the application was turned in late, according to PDP spokesperson Sylvia Crawford. CID previously offered services such as support groups, transportation to appointments and a preschool counseling program. Now, the agency has one staff member and offers only two programs -- a once-a-week evening support group and a program that distributes food baskets and infant supplies to HIV-positive mothers. Kerry Laycock, chair of the CID board, said the organization needs financial commitments by Jan. 1 of "at least" $50,000 a year "for a couple of years." Laycock added, "We need the public to understand that this is a problem worth solving and devoting energies to. The need is growing." Jewell Martin, HIV/AIDS coordinator for the Detroit Health Department, which has funded CID in the past, said that similar programs exist in the state so there will be "no gap in services" if CID is forced to close. However, Barb Murray, executive director of AIDS Partnership Michigan, said only one other Detroit organization besides CID provides services exclusively for women, adding that more services for HIV-positive women, especially African-American women, are needed in the area. Approximately 2,429 HIV-positive women currently live in Michigan, according to the state Department of Community Health (Anstett, Detroit Free Press, 12/11).
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