For the last 18 years, Hoboken-based Franciscan AIDS Initiative to Help (FAITH) Services has provided support services to HIV/AIDS patients in Hudson County. The agency was founded in 1988 by Brother Bob Reinke, who began visiting AIDS patients at St. Mary Hospital when little was known about the disease.

"I would just sit and listen to them, that was my ministry at the time," Reinke recalled. "I had to show them they would not be alone, that they would not die alone, because at this point in time it was just that -- a death sentence."

Now, FAITH Services has evolved into a comprehensive agency caring for approximately 25 percent of the Hudson County's 7,000 patients. The agency receives $2.4 million in federal Ryan White funding annually. An additional $55,000 comes from United Way of Hudson County and personal and corporate donations. Services offered by FAITH include emergency housing, food vouchers, transportation and case management.

"Our goal is to provide a one-stop continuum of care so that each individual receives what they need at that point in their lives," said Executive Director John Lorenzo. "We try to meet all aspects of a person's life equally, addressing all those different areas that are essential to them."

FAITH also provides prevention programs to schools throughout the county. The agency has held classes at Hoboken, Union City and Jersey City public schools, as well as local colleges and churches. "One of our main goals is to extend our presence at local schools and become more involved with education and prevention," said Lorenzo.

According to 2004 figures from the state Department of Health and Senior Services, one out of every 140 Hudson County residents has HIV/AIDS.

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