I hope this summer finds you safe and well. I know that many of us (including me) have experienced/are experiencing COVID infection over these past few months. Reminder to stay updated with your vaccination and booster shots and follow COVID protocols, as the numbers of infections in Pima County continue to rise.
This summer marks the 41st anniversary of the beginning of the disease that would eventually become known as AIDS, back in 1981. 41 years later we have made so much progress, but there are still increasing numbers of people for whom their HIV is a barrier to their health and wellbeing.
This summer also marks the 28th anniversary of that first meeting of caring faith communities that would soon form a new inclusive coalition that we would name TIHAN. I am grateful for all of you who have stepped up and shared your time, resources, and love to ensure that people living with HIV have support through their journey.
Your support of TIHAN and our programs provides support and sustenance to people in need, and we are grateful.
Scott Blades
Executive Director
Quick Links to This Month’s Articles
- Treasures for TIHAN A Great Success!
- Rick Shares About Staying Positive and Living with HIV
- TIHAN is Open to A New Location, Or Support for Rent Increase
- Opportunities to Serve Our Community – Volunteer Orientation
- COVID and TIHAN – July 2022
- Continuing the Call for Laundry Detergent
- $25 Can Win You a New Truck, Airline Tickets, or $5,000 CASH!
- TIHAN’s Wish List
- Monkeypox Alert
Treasures for TIHAN A Great Success!
We are so grateful to all who made our 2022 Treasures for TIHAN Benefit – “Colors of the Heart” – such a great success! It was 10 fun days of bidding via an online auction, plus a one-hour livestreaming event filled with passion and generosity!
Fantastic sponsors and donors, generous bidders, great businesses and individuals contributing auction items – it all added up to a successful event that is creating support for people living with HIV here in our community.
Because of your support, it was the most important evening of the year for our CarePartners living with HIV as you gave generously to fund vital programs and support services. Powerful testimonials from CarePartners; wonderful welcomes from Lupita Murillo and Dan Uroff and Caroline Lochner, fantastic live entertainment from recording star Billy Gilman, and amazing work from our emcee and auctioneer Bobby D!
Thank you to our event co-chairs and our great team of volunteers who pulled together our event, and to everyone who joined to make is a wonderful success!
For the list of sponsors supporting our event, click here
Rick Shares About Staying Positive and Living with HIV
“The hardest part of finding out I had HIV was trying to tell some of my family,” Rick shared. “I come from an old-fashioned Italian Catholic family. It took me a couple of years to be ready to tell them. I was most stunned by my father’s reaction. He said ‘Well, now you have a chance to straighten yourself out.’ My family hadn’t been very supportive of me because I was gay, so I wasn’t expecting much when I shared I had HIV.” Other family members directed words of hate at Rick, but fortunately, he has a couple of cousins who have been very supportive, but they live very far away, and many supportive friends.
Rick moved to Tucson in March of 2021, knowing no one, but wanting a change from living in bigger cities. Because of COVID, he hasn’t had much of a chance yet to build friendships here, but he keeps in touch with friends from California as his primary support system. Well, those friends PLUS his dog Shadow. “I adopted Shadow from a no-kill shelter. He’s a chiweenie – part Chihuahua and part dachshund. He is a wonderful support. He is very intuitive to my feeling and emotions, and very good for reducing stress.”
For more of Rick’s story, click on the following link…
TIHAN is Open to A New Location, Or Support for Rent Increase
Last year, William Scott, the owner of TIHAN’s building, passed away. Will had been very generous to TIHAN in discounting our rent. His estate now needs to sell the building, and in order for TIHAN to remain here, our monthly rent will double starting Jan 1st.
This location, on 1st Avenue, between Grant and Glenn, is very convenient for our CarePartners, as many live in this area and can easily bus, bike, or walk here, so we’d like to stay in this general vicinity.
If you or someone you know would like to make a gift to cover this cost increase, or if you have an office space or know someone who has property (ideally in this area), please contact Scott Blades, Executive Director, at 520-299-6647. If you have a commercial real estate agent you would recommend, please let us know. We hope to stay to able to stay in this building, or in this area that is so convenient for the people we serve.
Opportunities to Serve Our Community – Volunteer Orientation
Are you interested in finding out more about volunteer opportunities within TIHAN? We have direct services roles, as well as office help, and fundraising support needed, too. Additionally, we are seeking people to serve on our Board of Directors and its committees, including program evaluation, development/fundraising, finance/accounting, and human resources.
Maybe you want to help by taking photos at our monthly lunch event, or taking minutes of committee meetings, or making invitation phone calls to our CarePartners about upcoming events.
We have lots of opportunities to learn and serve, and we have a Volunteer Orientation on Tuesday, August 9 – advance registration is required. If you are interested, check out our volunteer opportunities here . Please contact us at VolunteerCoordinator@tihan.org or 520-299-6647 ext 206, and we’ll give you more info and get you started with our volunteer onboarding process!
COVID and TIHAN – July 2022
After a short week in the “Low Community Level” of COVID (Green), Pima County has returned to “Medium Community Level” (Yellow). So we’re keeping everyone safer by maintaining our protocols and continuing our programs and operations remotely for now.
We encourage everyone to get available COVID vaccinations and booster shots, continue to wear masks, and get tested when have you been exposed or are experiencing any symptoms.
Continuing the Call for Laundry Detergent
Ah, the smell and feel of freshly washed clothes and sheets! For many of TIHAN’s CarePartners living with HIV, receiving a monthly CarePackage full of toiletry and cleaning supplies helps make that a reality.
To make sure that we can continue to provide laundry detergent, we need your help. Please consider picking up a few bottles of laundry detergent during your next shopping trip.
We welcome donations of laundry detergent, preferably smaller or medium sized containers that are not too bulky/heavy for people to carry on their bike, bus, or walking.
Donations can be dropped off at the TIHAN office Monday through Friday, from 8:30am-4:30pm. Thank you!
$25 Can Win You a New Truck, Airline Tickets, or $5,000 CASH!
TIHAN is one of the nonprofits participating in this year’s Millions for Tucson raffle sponsored by Jim Click Automotive Group. Grand prize: 2022 Ford Maverick Lariat Hybrid. 2nd Prize: Two roundtrip first-class airline tickets to anywhere in the world. 3rd Prize: $5,000 cash!
100% of proceeds from our ticket sales will benefit TIHAN’s programs and services for people living with HIV. Purchase your raffle ticket for $25, or get 5 tickets for $100. A maximum of 100,000 tickets can be sold, so your odds are much better than the lottery. Tickets are available through December 9, 2022 and the drawing will be held on December 15, 2022. You must be 21 years of age to purchase. You do NOT have to be present to win.
Purchase tickets at https://tihan.ejoinme.org/win
TIHAN’s Wish List
When people donate items that we need, it helps a lot! Recently, donors contributed a new pop-up tent for our front outdoor area, a new computer monitor, a wagon for transporting items, and 6 months of a storage unit. Some people donate items that they might already have, or maybe they go out and purchase them, or go online and order them for us. We’ll provide you with a receipt for your donation of items, and as we are a nonprofit, your donations of these needed items are tax-deductible for you to the extent allowed by law.
To see the items on our current wishlist, click this link: https://tihan.org/donate/#MoreDonationOptions. Also now you can easily order many of our wishlist items through your Amazon account or AmazonSmile account (instructions and links are on our wishlist) and have it shipped directly to us!
Thank you!
Monkeypox Alert
Monkeypox has been detected in the Tucson area. The current outbreak in the US and Europe is primarily among men who have sex with men. As with HIV, we want to reduce stigma about monkeypox, and to increase awareness, prevention, testing, and treatment. Symptoms of infection are flu-like, including fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, and swollen lymph nodes. A rash or sores can also appear – either before, during, or after flu-like symptoms. Monkeypox virus can spread by: direct, skin-to-skin contact with someone else’s rash, sores, or scabs; living with an infected person and sharing their bed, towels, or unwashed clothing; respiratory droplets; sexual contact.
Please consult a health care provider if displaying symptoms such as a rash, fever, or swollen lymph nodes. Monkeypox can be treated with antiviral medicines. Most monkeypox infections get better after two to four weeks, but, rarely, cases can be fatal. No recorded deaths from monkeypox have occurred in the US. Children under 8 years old, pregnant persons, person with a history of atopic dermatitis or eczema, and immunocompromised persons including people with HIV are at increased risk for severe disease if they contract monkeypox. Monkeypox is treatable.
If you want to be considered for a vaccine, the Pima County Health Department has a survey link to help determine eligibility. Please take care of yourselves and your community. For more information, visit
