March 2004

New Executive Committee Elected

by The Rev. Valerie B. Thomas

board photo

The NEAC Board along with Fr. Green on the grounds of St. Paul’s in the Desert.

At the annual NEAC membership meeting, held this year at St. Paul in the Desert, Palm Springs, CA, on January 9, 2004, the following executive committee was elected:

  • Co-chairs: Chris Haley-Walden (Minneapolis, MN) and the Rev. Valerie B. Thomas (Melrose, FL)
  • Vice-chair: The Rev. Billy Alford (Augusta, GA)
  • Secretary: Canon Sue Kuebler (Fairview, PA)
  • Treasurer: Hart Roussel (Pasadena, CA)
  • Assistant Treasurer: Brother Robert L’Espérance (Cambridge, MA)

Site Visits

Integrated into each meeting of the NEAC directors are visits to local AIDS ministries. The first ministry visited in the Palm Springs Area was Episcopal Community Services, whose director is Rev. David Norgard. ECS operates Navajo Trails, a ministry to people who are homeless and living with HIV/AIDS in Riverside County. Guided by Linda Barrack, Senior Program Manager, Riverside AIDS Housing, we visited several sites and were very impressed with the mission of this group. Residents are allowed to live at the apartments for two years. By that time, after receiving education in the areas of work, finance, etc., they are ready to move out and be self-sufficient. The homes were all well-equipped, clean, and neat. Linda stated she wanted the homes to be a place where she would want to live. Kudos to Linda and the group at Navajo Trails and Episcopal Services for a job well done.

Board Gathering

From there we went on to the Desert AIDS Project. We were greeted by Doug Flater, director of resource development, who gave us a tour of the facility. The mission of Desert AIDS Project is to meet the evolving medical and social needs of people living with HIV/AIDS by providing direct services and advocacy while working to prevent new HIV infections through education and outreach. We toured their on-site food pantry and medical clinic, which provides primary medical care as well as specialty HIV and psychosocial services for the uninsured, low-income, and medically indigent populations. The facility also offers a laboratory and an on-site Walgreen’s Pharmacy. In addition, Desert AIDS provides case management, comprehensive psychiatric and psychological services, substance abuse services, transportation services, and programs for legal services, housing, dentistry, job entry and re-entry, and wellness. Our visit to DAP was both educational and reassuring in the job they are doing with people who are living with HIV/AIDS.