Rhode Island: AIDS Hotline Goes Silent at Year's End

On Dec. 31, the state's AIDS hot line, in operation for 18 years, will go dead. At its peak a decade ago, the hot line received as many as 5,000 calls annually. This year, barely 500 calls came in. The state Health department decided not to seek renewal of the federal grant that funds the hot line, operated by its founder, AIDS Project Rhode Island.

Although AIDS is not under control and the spread of HIV has not stopped, information about HIV/AIDS is more readily available, and many people seek answers to their questions on the Internet.

The grant that will not be renewed paid $48,000, a small but critical component of the APRI's $1.5 million budget, according to Executive Director Christopher A. Butler. Part of the money went to the agency's speakers' bureau to pay stipends to HIV-positive people to speak to students in middle schools and high schools. The agency has decided to keep its prevention director, who was paid from the grant, and to seek other sources of funds to keep the speakers' bureau in operation.

After Dec. 31, callers who phone the hot line during business hours will reach the agency's reception desk. People answering the phone will undergo additional training to answer hot line questions, Butler said. After hours, callers will be referred to the national AIDS hot line (800-342-AIDS), run by CDC.

Back to other news for December 30, 2004