PRC Brief: Black History Month Highlight — Sylvester

As Black History Month comes to a close, we’d like to highlight someone with profound significance to PRC. Sylvester, “Queen of Disco”, was known for his gender-bending persona and performances, flamboyant and androgynous appearance, falsetto singing voice, and hit disco singles in the late 1970s and 1980s. An inspiration to countless LGBTQ+ people, Sylvester was a trailblazer within the drag community and always unequivocally himself. You can learn more about Sylvester in this 8-part podcast about Sylvester’s life.

As one of the first public figures to be open that he was dying of AIDS, Sylvester was instrumental in raising awareness of the disease and fundraised to support the cause until his death in 1988. Prior to his passing, Sylvester selected two organizations he received support from during his lifetime — AIDS Emergency Fund (read the history of how this became PRC’s Emergency Financial Assistance program) and Project Open Hand — as the beneficiaries of his estate and future music royalties.

Sylvester attending the Castro’s 1988 Gay Freedom Parade in a wheelchair

We continue to receive financial support thanks to Sylvester’s foresight and are proud to be connected in this meaningful way with such an inspirational figure.

To honor Sylvester’s legacy, PRC named its signature fundraising event after his biggest hit, You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), and each year we give the Sylvester Community Pillar Award to an individual who embodies the love, joy, individualism, and sheer fabulousness of Sylvester. Past recipients include drag
personality and LGBTQ+ advocate Donna Sachet, Former SF Pride President and LGBTQ+ advocate Gary Virginia, singer and actress Dionne Warwick, and singer-songwriter Patti LaBelle.

Ideas on who we should honor in 2023? Send us your nomination with why you think they should be honored to [email protected]!

We’re hard at work planning the 2023 Mighty Real Gala and look forward to announcing the date soon. In the meantime, save the date for Gary Virginia & Donna Sachet’s Pride Brunch, benefitting PRC, on Saturday, June 24, and enjoy getting Mighty Real!

Sylvester — You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

Introducing PRC Brief: Our commitment to you

With new leadership and a new year, we wanted to rethink our communications
to you, so we’re launching PRC Brief — shorter, more frequent, and more
engaging bites of content to keep you informed.


We also recently surveyed you, our dedicated supporters, and we heard you.

  • You want to know what’s going on with PRC
  • You want us to be transparent
  • You want to know how we are strengthening the organization

We heard you, and what you had to say aligns perfectly with our organizational

values of:

We commit to you, our clients, and our community to embody these values in everything we do.


Starting with accountability. We are taking significant steps to become more financially sustainable over the long-term. We are making great progress in implementing a plan that maps out several key strategies.

  • Re-negotiating our contracts to make them more fully funded
  • Reducing expenses wherever possible to create a more efficient organization
  • Establishing a federally negotiated indirect rate for our federally funded contracts
  • Restructuring programs to focus on those most central to our core mission and be financially sustainable

As part of the last strategy, we successfully transferred two of our programs — Joe Healy Detox Program and Acceptance Place — to another service provider with as little disruption to clients and staff as possible. Both are up and running and accepting clients.


There is still much more work to do, and we look forward to keeping you informed throughout.

Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns and share why PRC is so meaningful to you and worth saving. On behalf of the more than 5,000 clients we serve each year, we wholeheartedly agree.

We invite your continued dialogue.

Look out for:

  • 2021/22 Impact Report
  • Save the date for our 2023 events
  • Upcoming campaign for supporters to share PRC’s impact on your life

In community,

PRC

PRC Names Chuan Teng as New CEO


As a valued supporter, we wanted you to be among the first to know: we are
elated to formally announce that PRC’s Board of Directors has appointed Chuan
Teng as the permanent Chief Executive Officer of PRC!

Since September, Chuan has served in this role on an interim basis and
chartered a path to organizational sustainability by strengthening the agency’s
health through creative problem-solving, keeping our mission and values at the
core of all decision-making, and leveraging our partnerships in meaningful ways.


With this in mind, we are optimistic about what 2023 and the future will bring. Stay
tuned for more frequent and informative updates on our progress. We also want
to hear from you! Watch for an upcoming survey requesting your input on our
communications and the PRC donor experience.


Thank you for your commitment to PRC and for being an integral part of our
successes. We look forward to engaging with each and every one of you.

In partnership,

All of us at PRC

Joanie Juster, A Super Volunteer, Advocate, and All-Around Beautiful Human Being!  

Last spring, we sat down with Joanie Juster, one of our super volunteers, who was previously on staff and served on the board of the AIDS Emergency Fund (AEF), the precursor to PRC’s Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA) program. Joanie has supported AEF, PRC, and so many SF nonprofits since the early 1980s. When we spoke, she had just authored an article about Jeopardy’s superstar consecutive winner Amy Schneider for her column in the Bay Area Times and had ventured to the Castro to grab some printed copies before meeting with us. We were thrilled to listen as she shared her history, experiences, and several old AEF newsletters that we had not previously seen.   

Joanie moved to San Francisco from Santa Cruz in September 1978 and landed a studio apartment in the Fillmore for an unheard of $210 a month. Her grandmother had lived in the area, so it was the only section of the city she was familiar with. Her move was only two months before the tragic assassination of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone by Supervisor Dan White. Being so new to the city, Joanie still regrets that she was unable to make her way to the candlelight vigil from the Castro to City Hall.   

“I was watching it on TV and sobbing because I didn’t know how to get there to join them. I literally didn’t know how to find this march. And in those days, you had to call a cab to go anywhere but I didn’t know where to tell the cab to take me. I also didn’t have cash. This was before ATMs and debit cards so even if I could figure out how to get there, I wouldn’t have been able to pay for the ride. Ever since then, I’ve made it to every anniversary march that I was able to.”  

Joanie had long been active in theatre and through her charming and welcoming personality, has grown a large network of friends, many of whom are part of San Francisco’s gay community. She witnessed the AIDS pandemic take the lives of those around her, and she couldn’t just watch from the sidelines. The growing pandemic weighed heavily on her. She knew she wanted to do something to help but didn’t know where to start. Her first step was making a panel for the AIDS Memorial Quilt. She had been volunteering with them and continues to do so to this day. Her first AIDS Walk was in 1988. She has been actively involved ever since. The next step was becoming a practical support volunteer for Shanti Project, providing one-on-one care for Shanti’s clients. If there was ever a need for support, Joanie would provide as much as she could.  

Eventually, Joanie joined the AIDS Emergency Fund Board, and later as part of the staff, she issued checks sometimes for amounts as small as $7.00 per grant to pay utility bills, medical expenses, and housing assistance. She expressed how amazed she was that an amount so small could make a difference in someone’s life and keep them going another month.   

“That’s where I needed to be! Someplace where that little amount, an amount that even I could afford to donate, could make a difference for someone. That’s why I will always do grassroots fundraising, and that’s why I am forever devoted to AEF, which has now become EFA. My life would have been far less gratifying if I hadn’t done this. It changed everything for me. The people I’ve met have totally enriched my life: the living, and the dead. They’re all with me, all the time. It really does take a village, and we’ve all been a part of it.”  

One of the events that Joanie loves volunteering at most is the annual PRC client Christmas Eve Dinner. For more than 30 years, local hotels, caterers, and chefs have donated their time to provide beautiful foods and desserts for the event. Each year, more than 100  volunteers served more than 1,200 clients over multiple seatings.  Lee Harrington, who retired in December 2021 after 24 years as EFA’s Director of Client Services, would show up every year to sit and socialize with his clients and was known to never miss a happy holiday. For a few years, Joanie’s desk was positioned near Lee’s, and she shared how much she admired him for his dedication to EFA’s clients.  

“The fact that Lee stayed with EFA for 24 years is just epic. I really don’t know of any other way to explain it. That man is truly one of my heroes.” 

Joanie has a keen understanding of how important it is to document historical information, especially regarding the HIV/AIDS pandemic. She took it upon herself to collect as many of the old AEF newsletters as she could. During the current pandemic, she found herself with some free time and organized her collection to provide complete sets to friends who value them as much as she does. She even sent a set of these newsletters to the Smithsonian after they had indicated that they had limited material documenting the early days of AIDS in San Francisco, and they were thrilled to receive them. She’s single-handedly ensuring that AEF’s history is never forgotten, and even has plans to digitize them so that anyone can access them.   

“What made AEF so unique was that it was built out of a grassroots community response. I used to run the school program, and we had dozens of schools bringing jars of pennies to Union Square for Every Penny Counts Day for a big public counting. It was amazing that all those kids learned about fundraising and compassion. They were able to learn about AIDS directly from volunteers who were living with the debilitating disease and would go out to the schools and tell them how their pennies help. Could you imagine doing that today?”  

During Joanie’s tenure with AIDS Emergency Fund, their sister agency, the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund (BCEF) was born, and Joanie became part of that team as well. She continues supporting people with breast and ovarian cancer to this day. In 2020 BCEF became a program of Bay Area Cancer Connections (BACC), and Joanie is now on their team. She also continues volunteering for other organizations and causes.

Joanie truly has a heart of gold and inspires us all with her passion to be there when others need support. She still manages to find time to volunteer for PRC events, and we couldn’t be more grateful for everything that she does.   

If you’ve enjoyed learning about Joanie and the compassion that led her to a life of serving those in need, please consider making a donation in her honor. You can learn more about all of PRC’s services on our website. 

AIDS Emergency Fund Continues Serving Clients as PRC’s Emergency Financial Assistance 

As the city of tolerance and the birthplace of gay rights, San Francisco has been a sanctuary and home to hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals since World War II, when many landed here after being dishonorably discharged from the military solely for their sexual orientation. To this day, San Francisco stands as a symbol of hope for gay men, women, and non-binary individuals from less progressive towns throughout the country and the world. Sadly, San Francisco is also one of the cities most heavily impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic that has taken the lives of millions and continues to affect countless individuals to this day. At its onset, HIV/AIDS primarily affected gay men, who were not acknowledged or given assistance from the federal government, forcing them to fend for themselves.     

It is no surprise, therefore, that San Francisco spearheaded efforts for HIV/AIDS support services and medical advancements. San Franciscans have long been a leading example of how communities can come together to support each other. In the four decades that have passed since the first documented cases of AIDS, many of the grassroots organizations that formed in response have either merged with others or faded into memories. PRC’s Emergency Financial Assistance program has stood the test of time and continues to support the basic financial needs for low-income HIV+ San Francisco residents.   

If you were living in San Francisco in the 1980s and 1990s, you probably recall seeing penny jars on the counters of local merchants, bars, restaurants, and offices, politely asking for donations. Simple displays prompted you to leave the change from your purchase or lighten your pockets to support a local cause. It was an effort spawned out of desperation by a community witnessing friend after friend fall victim to the deadliest pandemic of their time. These penny jars meant something, not only to the people wanting to help friends and partners, but to those who relied on these donations to pay for utilities, medical bills, housing, and even funerals. This “Every Penny Counts” grassroots effort was one of the many fundraising tactics utilized by the AIDS Emergency Fund (AEF), now known as PRC’s Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA) program, which has distributed more than $35 million dollars to clients since its founding in 1982.   

Every Penny Counts Founder Fred Skau passed away in 1993

You may wonder how collecting pennies could ever translate into millions of dollars. Also, who collected and counted them, and who decided how much money to give to each person? How much does that amount of coins even weigh? These are all important questions that need to be answered. Starting with the easiest to visualize, 100,000,000 pennies, or $1 million dollars, collectively weigh 551,000 pounds, roughly the equivalent of 16 semi-trucks. Granted, not all the donations came in pennies. Other coins, bills, and checks were also accepted. Still, collecting and counting was no light task.    

Volunteers were the lifeblood of AEF by delivering empty coin jars around town, picking them up when filled, cleaning and sorting the coins, working directly with recipients of the fund, and writing grant checks. Each year on December 2nd, following World AIDS Day, hundreds of volunteers, sponsors, and even school students would gather in San Francisco’s Justin Herman Plaza, then years later at Union Square, for Every Penny Counts Day to sort and count donations. Bodybuilders from World Gym would do the heavy lifting as coin bags were filled, and Radio station Wild 107 awarded a dance party and a mixer to the top two schools that raised the most pennies per student each year.   

In 1982, AEF’s first year in operation, $6,500 was raised, and by 1992 they were distributing more than $1,000,000 annually in the form of emergency grants to low-income individuals experiencing HIV/AIDS. To qualify for a grant, a client’s monthly income had to be less than $1,456. However, most recipients were living on $900 or less. Each qualifying recipient could receive up to $500 per year with a lifetime benefit of $1,000. Although the grant amounts seem small, they managed to keep people housed, their basic utilities on, and provide some relief to the already overwhelming stresses associated with the debilitating disease. By 1996, EFA was distributing more than $1.6 million annually with 75% going to requests for emergency housing payments, and the remaining 25% supporting utilities, medical bills, and funeral costs.  

In 1997, AEF operated with a four-person staff, donated furniture, and a phone system that was on its last leg. Still, they stayed true to their mission to assist as many people as possible. AEF was also operating at a deficit and for the first and only time, was forced to reduce grant amounts to $400 per year with a lifetime cap of $800. Grant amounts returned to $500 per year in March of 1998, and clients who had met the reduced lifetime maximum of $800 were informed that they could receive the additional $200.   

Providing nearly 4,000 individuals per year with a grant of up to $500 required AEF to raise an additional $500,000 annually, and collecting pennies was not enough. As HIV/AIDS continued taking lives and more people tested positive, the number of individuals needing assistance also continued to grow. Once again, the community responded by creating a variety of fundraising events in bars, homes, and community spaces. Some even put AEF in their wills, their final gift as many joined the ever-growing list of AIDS victims. The creation of the Bare Chest Calendar in 1994 joined the annual AEF Awards Dinner in funneling its proceeds directly to AEF grants. Ambassador James Hormel, who sadly passed last year, announced the Hearts of Gold Campaign at the AEF Awards dinner in 1997, asking the community to pledge recurring yearly donations of $500 or more to help support the growing need.   

In 2016, AIDS Emergency Fund merged with PRC (at that time known as Positive Resource Center) and was renamed Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA). PRC had been assisting HIV/AIDS clients since 1987 as AIDS Benefits Counselors by offering legal assistance in securing Social Security and disability benefits and helping to navigate through the cumbersome process. The merger was a natural fit for these two organizations serving the same population and provided a continuum of services that clients could move through on their path to better health and financial outcomes.  

The need for PRC’s Emergency Financial Assistance continues to this day. To keep up, PRC has grown in its operations and in its fundraising efforts. It now partners with the city and other public funders, foundations, and corporate donors in addition to individual supporters. This growth has helped to secure the funds needed to provide individuals with an annual maximum benefit of $500 with no lifetime maximum, and the possible addition of a $1,000 stipend to assist with a deposit for housing or to prevent an eviction. We are infinitely grateful for the continued support of all our donors who make this grantmaking possible and remain forever thankful to the countless staff and volunteers who helped build AEF and bring it into a new era, all of whom have a lot to be proud of.  

If you enjoyed reading about the history of the AIDS Emergency Fund and its transition to become PRC’s Emergency Financial Assistance and would like to support our programs, please consider making a donation. You can learn more about all of PRC’s services on our website. 

Congratulations to SF HIV FOG for acceptance of their AIDS2020 Abstract

PRC would like to congratulation the San Francisco HIV Frontline Organizing Group (SF HIV FOG) for the acceptance of their AIDS2020 abstract: CREATING A PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY OF FRONTLINE WORKERS AS AN INNOVATIVE METHOD TO IMPROVE THE CARE OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS.

Below is the poster which was shown at the virtual AIDS2020 conference, July 6 thru 10.

COVID-19 ADAP Update from the California Department of Public Health Office of AIDS

  • For all participants whose enrollment expired or was set to expire before August 30, 2020
    • ADAP & PrEP-AP has extended eligibility to August 31, 2020
  • OA-HIPP, EB-HIPP & MDPP enrollments have been extended through September 30, 2020
  • New ADAP applicants can reach out by phone or email to an enrollment worker
  • If you are having difficulty finding an enrollment worker, call 844-421-7050 for assistance
  • Until July 15, 2020, applicants can provide their 2018 tax returns as proof of income for program eligibility

HIV Prevention Starts with Each of Us:Women and Girls Awareness Day and Let’s End the HIV Epidemic Together

Every year on March 10th,  the U.S. observes National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. HIV prevention and treatment are critical to reducing new HIV cases among women and girls.  Women and girls – as well as their partners, friends, and family members who care about them – are encouraged to learn more about how they can take control of their own health to prevent and treat HIV. HIV/AIDS is an equality opportunity virus. Any woman or girl who is sexually active can contract HIV/AIDS regardless of race, ethnicity, age, or sexual orientation. However, statistics show that African American and Latinx women and girls have a higher chance of acquiring HIV than their counterparts. [Facts https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/gender/women/index.html] There is great news! With today’s advancements in HIV/AIDS research and treatment it is possible to prevent HIV infection or passing the virus on to a partner or baby.  Some unique challenges women and girls face are related to STDs, which may increase the risk of HIV infection. Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) is addressing the specific needs of women and girls who could be exposed to the virus or living with HIV. Please take a minute to view this important message from Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Follow these links to: Learn more about National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Find a local HIV testing or a healthcare provider, visit locator.HIV.gov. Find out more about PrEP at HIV.gov/PrEP and see if you qualify for the Ready, Set, PrEP at GetYourPrEP.com Together, we can stop HIV.

Computer Learning Center Expands Opportunity

Inside PRC’s buzzing 24-station Computer Learning Center, more than 100 people like Marilyn, Kim, and Sam are building digital literacy and skills to grow their income and workforce engagement.

“I’m so excited to move forward and into the workforce again.”

Outdated skills and gaps in employment can be hard to face, so PRC Workforce Development offers skill and community building opportunities that get people trained-up, confident, and back on their feet. Two accredited programs—Next Step Computer Training and Step Up Administrative Training—provide 64 combined hours of digital literacy and office skills readying people with mental and physical health disabilities for competitive internships and employment opportunities. Last year, PRC ran 20 cycles graduating 106 trainees!

“I have a better grasp on how this [technology] works…finally.”

The results speak for themselves. In 2019, employed graduates saw their annual incomes increase 337%.

People with disabilities experience three times the unemployment rate of the general population. But PRC is getting people into the workforce at more than double the statewide rate. When PRC opened the Integrated Service Center’s doors in April 2019, our computer lab’s capacity more than doubled, and the Workforce Development team began to ramp up classes, programs, and skill building opportunities. In less than one year, with the same high quality, high impact instruction, enrollment is up 30%.

“I can’t place a value on this experience. It was motivational, personally uplifting, and I learned so much in such a short time.”

Graduate
December Graduates: Marilyn (above); Kim (top), flanked by PRC volunteer Troy Kondo and Computer Training Associate (and former graduate) Tomas Llorence; and Sam (left).

PRC also launched LIFT UP SF – Lifting Up Peers for a Brighter Tomorrow – a 64-hour curriculum putting real life experience with mental health and substance use services to work for graduates as peer professionals across public health and social service fields. The first cohort just entered paid traineeships, the final step in advance of competitive employment placements at PRC and partner health agencies across San Francisco. The second cohort is double in size, with 15 students gaining competencies to put their lived experience to work advancing community health.

Graduate

For graduates like Phil (not pictured), opportunities like Next Step, Step Up, and LIFT UP SF are transformational. A longtime PRC client, Phil has overcome drug addiction and homelessness. Fifteen years ago, when he was newly diagnosed with HIV, Phil accessed PRC’s legal services to secure disability benefits. Most recently he’s moving forward with PRC workforce development. “I feel really good right now in my recovery; I’m mentally stable and poised to be able to go off of disability [benefits] and back into the workforce…But the highlight of [LIFT UP SF] is the overall realization that my life experience is worth something. I can connect with that person going down a certain pathhelp people who are drug addicted, homeless, and in health crisis to get from that place—from where I was stuck—to where I am now.”

“My objective is to find a place where I’m happy and a place to grow”

On top of skills-based training and practice in the lab, clients work with PRC specialists to accessed tailored supports in resume and cover letter writing, skills inventories, vocational assessments, interview preparation, and post-placement counseling. PRC partners with some of the largest employers in San Francisco including the University of California at San Francisco, the City and County of San Francisco, the State of California, Apple, Genentech, Target, H+R Block, Starbucks, Blue Apron, Hyatt, Genentech, Uber, Alaska Airlines, Salesforce, Apple, Old Navy, and Whole Foods. The average wage of clients placed in employment was $20.66 per hour in 2018, 38% higher than the local minimum wage.

Congratulations to all our participants and graduates! We’re proud to stand with you, moving forward.

Learn more about PRC’s Workforce Development trainings and services here or reach out about hiring partnerships and putting graduates to work for you.

How to Qualify for Social Security Disability Benefits With HIV/AIDS

If you have HIV or AIDS, and your symptoms have advanced and made it impossible for you to work and earn a living, you may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) oversees two different disability programs that offer monthly benefits to disabled workers. A medical guide, which is called the Blue Book, is used to determine if an individual meets the medical criteria to qualify for disability benefits. There are several listings in the Blue Book that may apply to an HIV or AIDS diagnosis, but there is a specific listing that focuses on the condition itself. Meeting the Medical Criteria Section 14.00 of the Blue Book applies to adult immune system disorders. Listing 14.11 itself applies to HIV infection itself. To qualify using this listing, you must provide documentation to confirm your diagnosis, and you must also be able to prove one of the following:
  • Multicentric Castleman disease that affects multiple groups of organs containing lymphoid tissue or lymph nodes OR
  • Primary effusion lymphoma OR
  • Progressive multifocal leukoencephalolopathy OR
  • Primary central nervous system lymphoma OR
  • Pulmonary Kaposi sarcoma OR
  • Absolute CD4 count of 50 cells/mm3 or less OR
  • Absolute CD4 count of less than 200 cells/mm3 or CD4 percentage of less than 14 percent, and one of the following – BMI measurement of less than 18.5, hemoglobin measurement of less than 8.0 grams per deciliter, or complications of HIV infection requiring a minimum of three hospitalizations within a 12-month period at least 30 days apart with each hospitalization lasting no less than 48 hours.
For your claim to be successful, you must provide hard medical evidence that includes test results and different laboratory tests that confirm your diagnosis and that support your claim. Any opportunistic diseases that you have been diagnosed with should have indications of a cell-mediated immunity and should have been diagnosed by the proper testing. As an example, provide biopsy results for any cancer diagnosis and biopsy results for toxoplasmosis of the brain. You should provide detailed records that confirm any systems, restrictions, and limitations, such as headaches, fever, brain lesions, and seizures. Even if your diagnosis does not meet any of the specific Listings set out above, you can still be found disabled if you can show that your impairment prevents you from being able to perform the functions of your past relevant work or other full time work. Medical tests, including positive serology tests, should be provided to help confirm the diagnosis and its severity. Some blood tests, including CD4 tests, aren’t adequate for confirming a diagnosis of HIV or AIDS. Remember, hard medical evidence and supporting documentation are essential for a disability claim to be successful. Applying for Disability Benefits If you are unable to work because of HIV or AIDS, or because of an opportunistic disease resulting from either of those conditions, you should apply for Social Security Disability benefits. You can start your application process online at the SSA’s website or by calling 1-800-772-1213 and talking with a representative or by scheduling an appointment at your local SSA field office. While it sometimes takes months for a claim to be approved, the more documentation that you provide to support your claim, the more likely you are to get an approval and be awarded disability benefits. Resources: https://www.disability-benefits-help.org/social-security-disability-locations/ https://www.ssa.gov/disability/ https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/14.00-Immune-Adult.htm https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/14.00-Immune-Adult.htm#14_11 https://www.disability-benefits-help.org/glossary/social-security-disability-medical-sources https://www.ssa.gov/applyfordisability/