San Francisco AIDS Foundation — Local services in San Francisco

It is a trivialization of an ugly, deadly illness to spell AIDS as Aids. The SF AIDS Foundation obdurately disrespects us Long-Term Survivors of this deadly disease by emblazing the identifying word, "Strut" on their Castro Street Building. I don't know anyone my age who struts. The building might have been named something respectful of the sacred ground it occupies, or of the deaths or lives of the folks who trafficked Castro Street. But no! The business is overrun with people half my age, and with career obsessed social workers who sorely lack life experience. People in their late 20s and 30s usually talk, look past and disrespect their elders and are full of themselves. Insensitivity to elders is rife at the AIDS Foundation. As a culture, they have no idea of the multiple trauma living with AIDS and growing older and closer to death it takes to live another day. Is this how you'd treat your grandfather I often ask? It is a culture in crisis at the SF AIDS Foundation, and they are all tone deaf while their practices remain abusive at worst, and insensitive at best. At the very least they are completely out of touch, though they profess otherwise. Of course! But I call it contempt. I'm just sayin'. Still, if you value hob nobbing, you can get a reasonably decent meal with the 50 Plus crowd, and occasionally attend movies or a concert with them. My personal experience states the Elizabeth Taylor Foundation has largely misspent their supportive cash on the Program Manager's hollow ideas. But don't expect management's respect. These folks are too full of themselves to offer any of that. And oh boy! They have their collective heads much too far up their employees' and the friends' of their employees asses to notice what's going on for Long-Term Survivors. That is of course unless their friend's ass belongs to another Long-Term Survivor. I remain "respectful" of my fellow Long-Term Survivors, but not at...

Somebody needs to speak with Dorris the front desk person downstairs. I've come to translife for three consecutive months and on my first visit she wouldnt explain the sign in process, but second visit she was very demeaning and harsh like she assumed this is connoc knowledge. It wasn't till a month later she gave me a second to introduce myself but only because I was the one to endure more abusive redirect about my inability to sign in correctly. I simply said hi my name is... At which point u thought we were Kool. But next visit again she acts like she don't know me treats me like I have no idea what to do. Come on, what's going on here. I've been kind and polite and raised to be respectful but I've taken all I can from this lady. She needs to be repremended. There needs to be some kind of sit down with the person and upper management because as a young trans women of color who's come up from the shelter program, I have to say this is so hurtful and heartbreaking that I need to go through this each time to attend a support group that I not only need but also really appreciate. Please can someone explain to this lady that a paycheck cannot be taken for granted, that the people that come through the front door are not for her to dehumanized and belittle, and that this is a serious abuse of power.

Update: Dorris is still rude to selected guest. Hands me name tag then retracts when I reach for it. Seriously, there's a level of professionalism and demeanor youre RESPONSIBLE for and she ignores all that when she wants to be vendictive. Bad image for building, who is her supervisor. I'd really need to put in official complaint form! Bypass her friends and go straight to corporate....

I would like share with you that my main dedication of my upcoming book "The surreal life of the eccentric uncle", are for those infected by HIV/AID. In my writing on this very sad topic, I do give tribute to those incredible people who have passed by way of this heartbreaking circumstance. They are who I call, “the original cast” and they are the ones who had transpired this fiend from hiding into darkness and shame onto placing it in the light and public awareness. This is the only way we can conquer and surpass this dirty, filthy irritant. Though, there are way too many who have passed to list, every single one are included in my tribute. May peace be with every last one of you. The few who have died of AIDS and the date they passed: Rock Hudson - October 2nd, 1985 Ricky Wilson - October 12th, 1985 Perry Ellis - May 30th, 1986 Liberace - February 4th, 1987 Tom Waddell - July 11th, 1987 Keith Haring - February 16th, 1990 Halston - March 26th, 1990 Ryan White - April 8th, 1990 Fred Mercury - November 24th, 1991 Robert Reed - May 12th, 1992 Anthony Perkins - September 12, 1992 Pedro Zamora - November 11th, 1994 May everything you’d accomplished be heard with sympathy and motivation. The strength you showed us was only the beginning of what comes next. We need to keep this fight stronger than ever and more alive and with harder kicks. We cannot allow the torture of hate to win out but to fizzle away. These people are all hero’s in the gay community edging the gaps of hate and intolerance to acceptance and open-mindedness. We can never forget these incredible...