HOPEDC Ushers in 24 Years of Service Helping Men in the Greater DC HIV+ Community
Providing support to the HIV+ Men's community since 1988, HOPE DC celebrates 24 years of service with a celebration in Arlington, Virginia in late September.
On September 22nd, 2012, the Health Options and Positive Energy Foundation, Inc. (HOPE DC) will celebrate 24 years of bringing together the HIV+ community in the Greater Washington, DC area. The event will be marked by a social much like the very first gathering that initiated the HOPE DC community.
In keeping with a tradition now more than two decades in the making, the HOPE DC anniversary celebration will be hosted that evening by a generous foundation member in a private home located in the in DC, MD, VA area. Details are available upon request.
The HOPE Foundation originated in 1988, during the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic, when a small group of HIV+ men met at Georgetown Hospital during clinical trials of life-saving treatments. They decided to bind together for mutual moral support away from the hospital and began hosting private social events throughout the district. The clinical trial is long since history, but the fellowship that they started is still going strong.
In 1996, the informal group became a non-profit 501C3 organization called The HOPE Foundation. Over the years, the group has grown to over 900 individuals. The gatherings are now regular events called “The Monthly Social” where HIV+, and poz-friendly, gay/bi/trans/questioning men can meet and provide support for each other in the greater Washington/Baltimore area, and is funded by a generous grant each year from BHT (Brother Help Thyself) and private donations, which are always welcomed.
The group remains active today, as the need for moral and peer support for HIV+ attendees has not changed. Over the years, services and support offered by the HOPE DC foundation have proven to be essential for the health and well-being of each social attendee. The focus of the group is primarily directed to single gay men with HIV in the Washington, DC area, but all are welcomed.
“We celebrate the dramatic medical breakthroughs that have turned HIV into a manageable condition, but we are deeply aware of the social challenges of living well and responsibly with HIV,” explained Jim Garza, Vice-President of the HOPE Foundation. “That is why, after more than 24 years, we are still here and will continue to be here as long there is a need.”