Sometimes when you’re as under-staffed and under-volunteered as we’ve been, it’s a challenge to communicate what you’re doing. For that, we apologize. So here are a few quick snapshots of some of what your support has done:
- We are on track to serve more people than ever this year, exceeding last year’s record of serving 429 people living with HIV. We focus on providing support to the portion of the HIV community most in need—seniors, long-term survivors, people living in poverty, people without strong support systems.
- The number of meals we have provided are up 22% compared to last year. We’ve distributed 10% more CarePackages filled with personal care, toiletry, and cleaning items than last year at this point. We have given out $25 gift cards for food to 9% more people than last year (distributed only to CarePartners with income below 200% of the federal poverty level).
- So far this year, we’ve doubled the number of home goods we’ve distributed (vouchers for furniture items from Goodwill, and SOS Kits [Starting Over Supplies] featuring kitchen and bedding items). We’ve helped provide emergency financial assistance to 33% more CarePartners with HIV than last year at this time.
- Since the pandemic began, we have lost more than 20 CarePartners living with HIV. With each death, we grieve and we offer support services to any surviving partner and family members.
- With your generosity, we’ve done our best to keep people safe and supported. But we’re also mindful that the isolation and depression brought on by the pandemic has had a significant toll on our CarePartners with compromised immune systems. And we’re working to address that.
- Over the past few months, we’ve re-started home deliveries of items to CarePartners who can’t get out, something that we had to put on hold during much of the COVID pandemic.
- Our Link Specialist volunteers and staff have begun having in-person, face-to-face meetings with CarePartners rather than limiting them to remote or outdoor conversations.
- We’ve re-started our classes on Living Well with HIV, and already 48 unduplicated people living with HIV have attended 8 classes (including Eating Well and Planning Well), with new partnerships in place that we developed for these programs. The classes have received great evaluations — an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 regarding level of knowledge gained from each of these classes on coping and life skills.
- And we’re gearing up this month for another major change that many of our CarePartners are very excited about: we’re adding an outdoor social hour for people to connect with their peers, to be held one hour before our Poz Café meal distribution. With more people vaccinated and boosted, with the level of COVID transmission now much, much lower in Pima County, we are able to provide the socialization opportunities that have been so important to address the isolation and depression that was an issue pre-COVID and which has increased even more over the past 2.5 years.
For most of the past year and a half, TIHAN’s been short-staffed, operating at a 75% staffing level. Significantly, the number of volunteers involved in TIHAN has decreased by 75% compared to pre-pandemic volunteer engagement. So we’ve had far fewer people helping, but those who remain are working harder and making a bigger impact.
With your support, we have carried on and developed creative ways to respond to the increasing needs we see—needs which continue to change as the COVID-19 pandemic and our economy change as well—and to the increasing numbers of people seeking our support. The people we serve are among the most vulnerable, and they are grateful for what you have made possible.
We’ve been hard at work, and apologize that we may not have kept you as updated as we should keep donors who are as important as you are.
Please know how grateful we are for what you make possible.
Scott Blades
Executive Director
Quick Links to This Month’s Articles
- Sunday Funday Benefit for TIHAN at Fraternal Order of Eagles
- Orientation Session for People Interested in Volunteering
- An Iconic Tucson Event: All Soul’s Procession – Sunday, November 6 – Walk with TIHAN to Honor and Remember
- Dining with Friends Events – You Are Invited!
- Register to Vote – Your Voice Matters – Deadline Is Tuesday, October 11
- PBS Special “Ending AIDS in America”
Sunday Funday Benefit for TIHAN at Fraternal Order of Eagles
Join us on Sunday, October 9, for a TIHAN benefit at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #180 (1530 N Stone Avenue). Longtime TIHAN volunteer Patricia Ruiz is organizing an event from 11am-5pm. It’s free and open to the public, with raffles, great music, cash bar (including the signature drink Blue Margarita), and a silent auction with baskets and more great items. From 1-3pm, Patricia will be serving up her famous tacos and chilaquiles, along with rice and beans, for only $10 a plate. All proceeds benefit TIHAN.
Patricia’s volunteer efforts supporting TIHAN are inspired by her beloved brother Steve Trujillo, who served as Board President of TIHAN and passed away in 2013. Join us for to raise some Sunday fun-day vibes as we enjoy our afternoon and raise some funds for TIHAN’s programs and services!
*The Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) is an international nonprofit fraternal (social/recreational) organization that has chapters around the world, and they have lodges for members that are also open to the public for special events. They do lots of fundraising events for community nonprofits, and give $10 million a year to charitable causes. The FOE was the group that started Mothers Day, and they were the impetus for Social Security.
Orientation Session for People Interested in Volunteering
There are lots of volunteer opportunities to help! We have some volunteer needs in the background doing administrative roles, but also volunteer opportunities meeting with people living with HIV, as well as fundraising events and community education.If you’re interested in learning about current volunteer opportunities, visit https://tihan.org/volunteer/. Our next Volunteer Orientation session is in person, and takes place on Tuesday, October 25 at 9:30am. Advance registration is required. For more information or to sign up and talk about next steps, contact Jackson at 520-299-6647 ext 204 or VolunteerCoordinator@tihan.org
An Iconic Tucson Event: All Soul’s Procession – Sunday, November 6 – Walk with TIHAN to Honor and Remember
This annual procession downtown Tucson celebrates and honors the lives of loved ones who have passed. Inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead commemorations, this 33rd annual event is scheduled for Sunday evening, November 6.
Thousands of people gather to watch or participate in the procession, providing time to remember, to grieve, to publicly mourn and celebrate the universal experience of death.
TIHAN will have a group walking together in the procession to honor and remember those we have lost, and we invite you to join us.
(If you cannot be there but want us to honor your loved one, please send their name and a photo to scott@tihan.org) If you are interested in walking with our TIHAN group, please contact Scott at scott@tihan.org or 520-299-6647.
Dining with Friends Events – You Are Invited!
We are inviting you to join in our Dining with Friends benefit by hosting a dinner party (or lunch, brunch or cocktail party) for your friends.
Gather your friends together to share good food and drink, encouraging attendees to make a donation to TIHAN. You can make your event as informal or formal as you’d like – it’s all up to you.
For more information or to sign up to host a gathering for TIHAN, contact Scott Blades at scott@tihan.org
Register to Vote – Your Voice Matters – Deadline Is Tuesday, October 11
The deadline to register to vote in Arizona is Tuesday, October 11. If you are a US citizen living in Arizona and need to register to vote, need to change your address on your voter registration, or want to sign up to vote by mail (by being on the Permanent Early Voting List or PEVL), you can do it online via this website from the state of Arizona (in both English and Spanish). You can also check your current voter registration info and your polling place too. If you want to be one of the 80% of Arizona voters who are signed up for early voting by mail (PEVL), you will receive your ballot in the mail a few weeks before Election Day, and then you send it back in a prepaid envelope. No need to travel to your polling place on Election Day. Here’s the site with all the info: https://servicearizona.com/VoterRegistration
PBS Special “Ending AIDS in America”
Our friends at POZ Magazine shared this with us:
“In the 41 years since AIDS was first identified, scientists and public health advocates have made much progress in tackling the HIV epidemic, but many hurdles remain. A new one-hour special from Nova, the documentary science series on PBS, highlights advances in HIV treatment and the obstacles that stand in the way of efforts to stamp out the virus.” Here’s the link to watch the 53-minute PBS special: https://www.pbs.org/video/ending-hiv-in-america-2cwvxp/
