Today, out of the blue, a old army buddy of my hubby called. Hubby was at work. The guy, I don't know, told me he has had aids for many years. I told him I was so sorry for him. Said he had no money and was out of meds??? He has no close contact with family...maybe no friends. Sounds very lonely. We have no money to offer him. He lives in Florida and we are in Wisconsin. We have friendship to offer, what else can we do? How should we handle this. Thank you

Offering friendship is extremely important. One of the most serious problems people with AIDS encounter is being abandoned by some friends and/or family because of fear, ignorance and misunderstanding about HIV and AIDS, or because of blaming, judgmental, self-righteous attitudes about the behaviors that led to HIV infection. If you continue to offer him your friendship, concern and caring, then he will be a very fortunate man.

I would also urge him to contact the Department of Health to learn more about the public health services available to people with AIDS in Florida. Also, being a veteran, he may be eligible for health care and other services provided by the VA health care system. I don't know what part of Florida he is in, but the Miami VA Hospital is an excellent one. Excellent health care services for people with AIDS are also provided at the U of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, at the U of Florida in Jacksonville, and at the U of South Florida in Tampa.