Women's Intercommunity AIDS Resource

Description

Women's Intercommunity AIDS Resource (WIAR - pronounced "we are") is a multi-service drop-in center for women living with HIV/AIDS. Women and their families can receive guidance, counseling, and a variety of services within a nurturing atmosphere of holistic support and loving concern. WIAR is the only agency in Portland specifically addressing the needs of HIV-positive women and children. The people working to carry out WIAR's mission believe that no woman or child should face HIV disease alone. WIAR currently provides services to over 180 HIV-positive women and their families. The majority of women served by WIAR are economically disadvantaged, and many are at risk of becoming homeless. Services are provided free of charge to any HIV-positive woman requesting assistance. On-site services include individual counseling, various support groups for HIV-positive women, support services for children infected and affected by HIV, outreach, information and referral, advocacy, and emergency assistance, including a food bank, clothes closet, and hygiene supplies. Case management services are provided through our cooperative agreement with the Partnership Project. In 1999, WIAR added to its services a week-long summer camp for HIV infected and affected children, as well as a peer-based support network called Women's Wisdom. WIAR also provides community education about HIV/AIDS. Educational sessions include information on HIV transmission, prevention, social and economic, and psychological issues facing HIV-positive women and their children. WIAR staff and volunteers have conducted educational sessions for colleges, universities, community groups, churches, and schools. WIAR was founded in 1994 and is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. WIAR's founders were six Catholic women's communities who recognized that a gap in services existed for HIV-positive women and children.