Most of the clients we serve live close to the national poverty level.  Many of them are forced there in order to have access to programs that pay for the very expensive anti-retroviral drugs that keep them alive.  The assistance we offer keeps them from going over the edge.  For them, the line between making it and spiraling downward is precariously narrow.  Most of us can’t imagine what it would be like to live with next to nothing just to get the medicine we need to stay alive.  KCHAF is  here to help.

This is just one of the reasons I give my time to the Kitsap County HIV AIDS Foundation.  The Foundation provides critical support to patients and their family members.  This support often includes groceries to supplement food costs and encourage proper diet; assistance with payment of rent, utilities, or medication; summer camp or school supplies for children; and sometimes funeral expense assistance for the family.

Considerable progress has been made in recent years so an HIV/AIDS diagnosis does not have to be a death sentence.  But this diagnosis usually means a complete change of life – for the patient and their family.  And that is the case for over 100 families in Kitsap County.

I need your help to empower those affected by HIV/AIDS and those at risk by providing essential services, critical support, advocacy, and education.  Working together we will see all people affected by HIV/AIDS live with dignity and hope, that the community is educated about prevention, and that no stigma is associated with this diagnosis.

Your generous donation today will help us reach every affected family in Kitsap County with the specific services and support they require.  A gift of $20 will provide a family one week of supplemental groceries.  A $50 gift will provide an individual groceries for a month or go a long way to providing essential services.  A gift of $100 or more will keep a client in their home, the heat on or their car running so they can get to work.

Thank you for your support in the past, and for helping out at this very special time of need for our organization.  These challenging economic times stretch all of us very thin, so I thank you for your generosity to our clients and friends.

Sincerely,

Paul Holzman, Board President

Kitsap County HIV AIDS Foundation