July 7.2000 * Jam out. i f
U m ili liv id i m e w s
W hat F riends A re F or
Latest In G ay Travel, Fiction G More
A kindhearted, low-profile AIDS organization
celebrates its 10th anniversary by Katy Davidson
bout 10 years ago, Corey Baker
started an organization for people
who fall through the cracks. He
founded Friends of People with
A ID S, a low-profile group that
provides patients with services that are over
looked hy larger organizations, services that
directly improve patients’ quality of life.
“[Corey] realized there were services for peo
ple with AID S that no one covered,” says Bill
Space, the current board chairman.
Leaving the medical aspects of AID S to the
professionals, Friends of PWAs is merely a team
of volunteers that, for example, foots the bill
when a patient wants to see his father in
Ethiopia before he dies, helps clean out a
patient’s apartment before mom comes into
town, or pays the veterinary hill when a patient’s
pet is sick.
According to the organization’s treasurer,
Allen Brady, the group provides services on a
case-hy-case basis. In the past, Friends of PWAs
has also helped patients’ families with the cost of
cremation services, helped people set up apart
ments, and bought Christmas gifts for clients
with kids.
“Sometimes the clients are kids,” Brady
notes.
“We try to avoid
being ‘Make a Wish’
for AIDS. We don’t
want to send people to
Disneyland,"
Space
says. “We want to help
with things people
take for granted.”
T he group runs
Tod’s Comer, a cloth
ing and household
goods "store” housed
in the donated base
ment space of the Fan
tasy for Adults Only
video store on West Burnside Street in down
town Portland. Tod’s Comer provides patients
with tangible donated goods, free of charge. For
example, the group gave away more than 80
winter coats last year.
Tod’s Comer is a crowded hut well-organized
collection of clothes, pots, pans, blankets and
teddy bears, among other household items. Jan
Rosell, the Friends of PWAs full-time volunteer
and client services person, operates the shop every
Thursday and Friday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
W hen Tod’s Com er first opened, she says,
patients needed items such as wheelchairs and
disposable undergarments. Over the last 10
years, she has watched the face of A ID S change
and those needs decrease.
“Before, people were striving to live,” she says.
“We are now providing services for the living.”
Rosell says that every time a client leaves
Tod’s Comer, she gives him or her a hug coupon,
“gcxxJ for one hug, redeemable from any partici
pating human being.”
According to Space, Friends of PWAs is able
to do so much with its funds because it has such
low overhead. The group does not have an
office and does not send out newsletters. People
with A ID S find out about the group via referrals
from larger organizations.
In fact, Baker points out that when he was
hoard chairman, 100 percent of every dollar went
to the patients. “I’m very proud of that,” he says.
These days, Friends of PWAs helps about
250 clients, and the group has still never spent
H appy Texas, Boys Don't Cry 6 More
Gai-Pied
2544 N E Broadw ay Ph 331.1125
R e n ta l6 Sales on tl»e latest titles!
* Great Discounts On Our Website: www.gaipied.com *
CH MORTGAGE
• Fast 15 to 20 day
• Instant approval at
closings
your home or office
• Good or bad credit
• 0% down programs
• Apply online at www.CH-Mortgage.com
Jan Rosell at Tod s C om er
EQ UA L HO USIN G
LENDER
Phone: (503) 294-0044
Fax: (503) 294-7115
Cell: (503) 577-1981
5125 S.W. MACADAM • SUITE 145
PORTLAND, OR 97219
Email: Cgraunitz@CH-Mortgage.com
i nrv
Loan Officer
I f Y ou ’ re L ooking F or
S omeone W ho U nderstands ,
L ook N o F urther .
more than $45,000 a year. Space says it was a big
step for the group to even get a phone line. “We
have such a cheap aesthetic." he adds.
Friends of PWAs does not receive any gov
ernment aid, hut it used to get steady donations
from Fabric of Life and Cascade AIDS Project.
For various reasons, some of the organization’s
donation sources have begun to dry up.
“There’s been some compassion fatigue over
the last few years. People aren’t as open with
their wallets,” Brady says.
Space adds: “People think the needs have
gone away because people live longer.”
Though the group still gets some money
from individual patrons and other sources, it is
currently planning a fund-raising event to cele
brate its 10th anniversary. Friends of PWAs will
host a garden party August 20. At the fund
raiser, the group will stage a silent and an oral
auction, and also provide entertainment in the
form of belly-dancing and live music. Brady and
Space expect at least 250 people to attend.
“W e’re looking to raise the profile of the
group so people can help out,” Space says.
“W e’re looking for patrons who want to help in
specific ways."
■ For more information about the upcoming fund-
raiser, FRIENDS OF PEOPLE w i t h AIDS may he
reached at (503) 283-8535.
is a Just Out staff reporter.
She may he reached at katy@jicstout.com.
K a TY D A VID SO N
Y o u ’re an individual with unique financial needs and goals. As hard as
banks and other institutions try, traditional products simply are not right
for you. Talk with Floreid Walker instead. As a Senior Financial Advisor,
she’s earned the trust o f individuals by treating them like individuals.
With more than a decade o f experience in Financial Planning, IRAs, Roth
IRAs, Insurance, College Education Planning and so much more, sh e’s
ready to help put your future in focus.
“ 200ft
Financial Services
The people with a plan fo r you.
For a personal financial plan, call:
FLOREID WALKER
Senior Financial Advisor
503. 238.6036
500 N.E. Multnomah, Suite 278. Portland, OR 97232
www.waddell.com www.floreidwalker.com
M e m b e r SI PC
Presi de n t ' s
C m M11
Member"