The San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing services for people with HIV/AIDS, with a mission to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States. They were founded in 1982, at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. SFAF is one of the largest and oldest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States. SFAF has an 87.67% overall rating, and a 97% accountability & transparency rating, at Charity Navigator.

History

The SFAF was established in April 1982 as the

Kaposi's Sarcoma Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a type of cancer that can form masses in the skin, in lymph nodes, in the mouth, or in other organs. The skin lesions are usually painless, purple and may be flat or raised. Lesions can occur singly, multiply in a limit ...

Research and Education Foundation, by

Cleve Jones Cleve Jones (born October 11, 1954) is an American AIDS and LGBT rights activist. He conceived the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, which has become, at 54 tons, the world's largest piece of community folk art as of 2020. In 1983, at the onset ...

Marcus Conant Marcus Augustine Conant (born May 11, 1936, in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American dermatologist and one of the first physicians to diagnose and treat Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in 1981. He helped create one of the largest priv ...

, Frank Jacobson, and Richard Keller. They reorganized as the San Francisco AIDS Foundation in 1984. The SFAF was originally an all volunteer group led by physicians and

gay community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and ...

leaders. It began by providing a hotline service originally called the Kaposi Sarcoma or KS hotline that was later renamed along with the organization. The Hotline was intended to serve as a source of accurate information about the AIDS epidemic. It was initially available in Northern California but the organization's growth would see it expand nationwide. By 1995, the SFAF reported receiving more than 10,000 calls every month on their Northern California AIDS Hotline. By October 1982 the foundation officially began working with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Through collaboration the SFAF was able to provide public services meant to educate people about AIDS. By November the foundation was working with the

California Department of Health Services The California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) is the state agency tasked with administration and oversight of "state and federal programs for health care, social services, public assistance and rehabilitation" in the U.S. state of Califor ...

to provide the same services to other areas of California. The SFAF conducted a large advertising campaign, placing messages on public transportation, popular newspapers, and strategically placed advertisements in venues and media popular with the gay community. The foundation also worked with journalists to increase awareness and understanding of the epidemic. The media produced by the SFAF focused on risk reduction and safe sex. In particular the Foundation emphasized the use of condoms during anal intercourse for gay men, and cautioned against activities that shared bodily fluid. By 1983 the foundation had reached the point where they could establish a social services department that could offer emergency services to those affected by AIDS and related issues. Today the SFAF continues its mission in combating AIDS and to eventually end the disease, and has grown large enough be a respected source of information on AIDS as well as support other organizations and programs aside from its advertising efforts. Among the services offered, the SFAF offers sexual health services including a pre-exposure program. Participants in the program are assisted in obtaining medication easily. The SFAF also runs services designed to help with substance abuse such as the Stonewall Project and social support programs aimed at the homeless and people over fifty. In addition the SFAF is a major influence and collaborator on the Getting to Zero initiative. SFAF has received part of its funding from the annual

AIDS Walk AIDS Walk is a walkathon fundraiser that raises money to combat the AIDS epidemic. Since 1985, AIDS Walk Los Angeles has drawn hundreds of thousands of supporters to walk, and millions more to donate, raising more than $90 million to combat HIV ...

SF, which has raised over $80 million for SFAF since the first AIDS Walk in 1987. SFAF additionally funds other local and international HIV/AIDS organizations with proceeds from the walk. AIDS Walk SF severed ties with SFAF after the 2013 walk. SFAF advocates for reducing stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and treatments for it. Congressperson Nancy Pelosi gave tribute to SFAF in October 2004, praising then-executive director Pat Christen. SFAF will open a wellness center in the

Castro District The Castro District, commonly referred to as the Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco. The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States. Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood throug ...

in 2015. The 50-Plus Network, developed by Jeff Leiphart, PhD, and Noah Briones, MFT, and currently managed by Vince Crisostomo, offers a growing number of opportunities for older gay men in the San Francisco area to improve health and well-being, connect with peers, and give back to their community.

Publications

* ''How AIDS Ends: An Anthology from San Francisco AIDS Foundation'',

Timothy Ray Brown Timothy Ray Brown (March 11, 1966September 29, 2020) was an American considered to be the first person cured of HIV/AIDS. Brown was called "The Berlin Patient" at the 2008 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, where his cure ...

, Jeanne White Ginder and Cleve Jones, foreword by

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. (2012)

References

External links

San Francisco AIDS Foundation website
{{Authority control HIV/AIDS organizations in the United States Organizations based in San Francisco 1982 establishments in California LGBT history in San Francisco 1982 in San Francisco 1982 in LGBT history

History

Publications

See also

References

External links