Indiana AIDS Group Suffering from Lack of Funding

The mismanagement of HIV/AIDS treatment funds by a now-defunct state agency has forced the AIDS Resource Group in Evansville, Ind., to turn away clients or put them on lengthy waiting lists. Evansville's AIDS Resource Group (ARG) targets assistance toward low-income residents with HIV/AIDS in an 11-county area in southwestern Indiana. The group also provides information about the disease, risk factors and prevention methods. "This is the most discouraging it has ever been," said Hollee Pattison, one of the group's care coordinators. "We are tired of saying no." Pattison said the Evansville group learned last week that vision and dental benefits were being eliminated, effective immediately, along with flu and pneumonia vaccines for HIV/AIDS clients. According to Pattison, eliminating the vaccines may save money initially, but could cost more in the long run if the patients become sick.

ARG lost $30,000 in anticipated funding earlier this year when AIDServe Indiana, a state agency established to distribute state and federal dollars to local care sites, went bankrupt. AIDServe closed last November because of numerous financial irregularities uncovered after service providers throughout the state complained they were not being paid. The Department of Health eventually ended its relationship with the organization.

ARG Executive Director Jeanne Melton said the funding cuts underscore the importance of raising more money during the annual AIDS Walk in Evansville this Saturday. "We'd like to raise $60,000," Melton said. "If we can double the amount we raised last year, we can provide some of the things that the state used to provide but no longer does. . . . People who think that Evansville doesn't have a problem with AIDS are very much mistaken," Melton said. "It's not your disease. It's not the gay man's disease. It's our disease and it's here to stay," care coordinator Vicky Kelly said.

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