What You Can Do to Help

This information has been compiled by The Body based on information provided by the American Academy of HIV Medicine and other sources.

• Helping in General
• Housing
  • If You Are Part of an Organization
  • If You Are an Individual
  • AIDS Organizations Providing Housing
  • Web Sites Providing Housing Assistance
• Resources for Physicians and Healthcare Workers

Helping in General

The most efficient way to help is to send money. This will help AIDS organizations provide gift certificates for people to buy clothing and household goods. However, donations of clothing, dry food goods or personal hygiene products also may be sent to each agency individually. If you donate either money or goods to any of these organizations, please indicate that your donation is for the hurricane relief.

Some of these organizations would also love volunteers. For volunteers in or headed to relief areas, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has issued these recommendations.

For a state-by-state listing of all AIDS organizations in the United States, click here.

• AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families
  The Katrina AIDS Alliance Emergency Fund was specifically set up to address the needs of the HIV/AIDS community affected by the hurricane. They say that 100% of these funds will be used to support the emergency needs of families and young people living with HIV/AIDS who are served by Ryan White CARE Act Title IV programs in Louisiana and Mississippi. They will disburse these emergency funds directly through the local programs. For more info, click here.

Housing

If you are part of an organization

that can help those displaced, the best thing to do is contact the American Red Cross to locate shelters in your area, then offer to assist anyone who identifies as HIV positive or is in need of medical help. Several shelters have indicated that their medical volunteers have run across people in need and they are looking for referral sources.

For information on how to register, go to www.redcross.org, and then go to the local chapters section. You'll probably have to go in person because their online services are bogged down with volunteers. They are looking for special needs housing -- and it will take time to find the right person given the chaos of placing refugees. You can also try to find the medical triage crew for your area and ask them if they know of anyone who needs assistance.

If you wish to register your AIDS housing program that is in an area where refugees have not yet arrived, please connect to the Houston, Jackson, Birmingham or Memphis Red Cross chapters and find the medical triage specialist. You'll need to be vigilant to get to the right person(s). Also, www.hurricanehousing.org has a link to offer housing and is coordinating the national effort.

If you are an individual willing to house HIV-positive (or HIV-negative) Katrina evacuees in your home, there are a number of organizations you can contact (though you should first contact those in the areas affected by the hurricane) and Web sites where you can post your offer -- see the listings below.

AIDS Organizations Providing Housing

This is a partial listing, for a state-by-state listing of all AIDS organizations in the United States, click here.

In Louisiana

• Acadiana C.A.R.E.S.
  Claude Martin, Executive Director
  203 W. Third St.
  Lafayette, LA 70501
  Phone: 1-337-233-2437

• Baton Rouge AIDS Society
  Arnold "A.J." Johnson, Executive Director
  4550 North Blvd., Suite 101
  Baton Rouge, LA 70806
  Phone: 1-225-923-2437

• Central Louisiana AIDS Support Services
  Ann Lowery-Briley, Executive Director
  103 Bolton Ave.
  Alexandria, LA 71301
  Phone: 1-318-442-1010

• Family Service of Greater Baton Rouge
  Mary Helen Borck, HIV/AIDS Program Manager
  4727 Revere Ave.
  Baton Rouge, LA 70808
  Phone: 1-225-927-9810
  Ryan White services (case management, medication assistance, transportation, emergency housing assistance, etc.) are also provided to displaced HIV-positive individuals.

• Greater Ouachita Coalition Providing AIDS Resources and Education
  Richard Womack, Executive Director
  2915 DeSiard
  Monroe, LA 71201
  Phone: 1-318-325-1092 or 1-800-286-1092

• Louisiana AIDS Advocacy Network

• The Philadelphia Center
  Ken Beatty, Executive Director
  2020 Centenary Blvd.
  Shreveport, LA 71104
  Phone: 1-318-222-6633

• Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council
  Marilyn Dunn, Executive Director
  1715 Common St.
  Lake Charles, LA 70601-6135
  Phone: 1-337-439-5861

• Volunteers of America, Special Services
  Angie Pitre, Division Director
  1755 Woodale Blvd.
  Baton Rouge, LA 70806
  Phone: 1-225-922-3900
  Ryan White services (case management, medication assistance, transportation, emergency housing assistance, etc.) are also provided to displaced HIV-positive individuals.

In Texas

• Montrose Clinic
  Sonna Alton, Director of Communications and Events
  P.O. Box 66308
  Houston, TX 77266
  Phone: 1-713-830-3015

Web Sites Providing Housing Assistance

• MoveOn.Org

• Nola.com

• Rainbow Relief

Resources for Physicians and Healthcare Workers

• American College of Emergency Physicians

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Corporate Citizenship

• FEMA

• Hurricane Katrina Medical Volunteer Registry

• Katrina HIV Care E-mail Listserv
  An e-mail list has been established for people who provide HIV care and supportive services in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and/or are in areas where Katrina survivors are relocating. The e-mail list is dedicated to providing HIV services and discussion to support these services, as well as to collect information to show where care is available. Many people on this list are still facing significant challenges, and restrict posting to information and queries directly associated with the provision of HIV care. This list can be used to compile and distribute a central list of places offering HIV care. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: KatrinaAIDSCare-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

• Migrant Clinicians Network
  To assist those who are concerned about the plight of migrants and the mobile underserved in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Migrant Clinicians Network has compiled some resources on their Web site. This is geared to healthcare workers with information on volunteer opportunities, clinical alerts, and resources and educational materials (English and Spanish-for emergency and disaster situations.

• Recommendations for Non-HIV-Specialized Providers Caring for Displaced HIV-Infected Residents From the Hurricane Disasters

• Recommendations for the Triage of HIV-Positive Patients
  Seven key pieces of information for clinicians who are not HIV specialists; provided by the American Academy of HIV Medicine.

• Texas Medical Association
  General Medicine and Emergency Medicine physicians ARE NEEDED in Texas. The general medical response is being coordinated by the Texas Medical Association in conjunction with the various county medical societies.

• Transgender Support
  The National Center for Transgender Equality, along with the Task Force and Lambda Legal, has released a guide on making evacuation shelters safe and welcoming for transgender evacuees. They hope that this document will assist managers of the major shelters, such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, as well as trans support groups and LGBT community centers in relevant geographic areas.