October 1, 2008

Atlanta ASO Closes Due to Idea AIDS Is Under Control

Atlanta’s nonprofit group AIDS Survival Project (ASP) will shut down most of its operations by the end of this year because of increased competition for grants and the prevailing notion that HIV/AIDS is no longer a crisis in the United States, the Atlanta Journal–Constitution reports. The advocacy group specializes in testing and training HIV-positive people to counsel peers, lobby politicians and educate the public.

According to the article, ASP had a $1 million budget this year, but fundraising difficulties led to the decision to close rather than face a budget crunch. Advocacy groups like ASP link their financial woes to the public perception of the epidemic.

“Most of the funding is going to medical care, substance abuse, to [counseling] agencies with licensed professionals,” said Melanie Sovine, executive director of ASP. Lobbying and peer counseling were a major focus for ASP.

Tracy Elliott, executive director of AID Atlanta, another service agency in the city, said that advocacy groups face challenges raising money when the public believes that HIV/AIDS is under control in the United States. “We don’t see AIDS as a problem in our society anymore,” Elliott said.

Search: AIDS Survival Project, Atlanta, advocacy

Scroll down to comment on this story.

Previous Comments:

Ken Ross, Atlanta, 2008-10-05 06:28:26
ASP failed because its management, going back 15 years, has been wholly incompetent, not because there is no need for there services. All their good employees and volunteers were chased away years ago. AID Atlanta suffers from the same disease, and it's not AIDS or HIV. It is the arrogance of having well-meaning amateurs run our HIV organizations. Ken Ross, ASP Volunteer of the Year, 2003

JOHN HOPKINS, ATLANTA, 2008-10-03 14:47:19
IT IS BECAUSE FOLKS DO NOT 'ACT UP' ANYMORE. I WORK FOR THE STATE AND OUR FUNDS HAVE BEEN CUT. OUR GOVENOR DOES NOT CARE, HE IS LAME DUCK, AND MOST OF OUR CITIZENS HAVE THEIR HEADS IN THE SAND. I HAVE WORK IN RURAL GEORGIA, ATLANTA AND NOW WORK IN THE BURBS. IN EVERY SITUATION EVERY YEAR WE HAVE HAD INCREASES IN THE NUMBER OF NEW CASES. THIS IS THE SECOND MAJOR ASO ORGANIZATION WE HAVE LOST THIS YEAR. OUR COMMON WELFARE AND THE AIDS SURVIVAL PROJECT WILL BE MISSED.

Oriol (POZ Deputy Editor), New York, 2008-10-02 16:23:43
Since our news blurbs are digests from other sources, we don't include facts that weren't in those original sources. This particular news blurb, however, has been updated to clarify that ASP will shut down most operations by the end of this year. Also, we included a quote by the ASP executive director.

Adam Thompson, Charlottesville, VA, 2008-10-02 13:59:51
Perhaps this failure is not only attributable to the lack of awareness nationwide but also the cut-throat environment created due to poor funding and fear of collaboration. We as Advocates should all look at the four fingers pointing back at us and how we do business with one another. I am sorry to see an ASO go.

David, Atlanta, 2008-10-02 12:19:12
I live in Atlanta and volunteered for this agency from 1994-2006. This article gets it all wrong. The agency is closing at the end of them year, not immediately. And lack of funding is hardly the reason. The leadership changed two years ago and there was a failure to evolve and remain a viable candidate for grants. The money is out there but you have to be competent enough to seek it out. And how weird is it that the only quote is from the ED of a completely different ASO in the same city?

Cowboy Larry, Knoxville, 2008-10-02 11:01:26
This is a disturbing story.I understand more competition for grants but this will cut into services for people living with Hiv in the Atlanta area and we need everything out there as far as sevices go.