Local Affairs

San Francisco is one of the U.S. cities hardest hit by HIV/AIDS and has been an epicenter since the earliest days of the epidemic. Since it was first established in 1982, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation has been committed to partnering with the City & County of San Francisco in adopting model policies to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation's Public Policy Department works closely with San Francisco's Mayor and Department of Public Health to maximize federal funding for San Francisco's world-renowned medical care, prevention, housing and social services programs for people living with or at risk for HIV. This includes advocacy to assure provisions of the federal Ryan White CARE Act support the strongest possible response to the epidemic in San Francisco and to secure the highest possible levels of annual federal and state appropriations for HIV/AIDS programs. Additionally, the Public Policy Department has joined with other local service providers to successfully encourage the city of San Francisco to allocate local funding to augment federal and state financing of HIV/AIDS programs.

The AIDS Foundation has also worked extensively with the City to assure the strength of San Francisco's HIV prevention efforts. In 1993, at the urging of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and other needle exchange advocates, city leaders approved the state's first government authorized syringe exchange program to reduce HIV infection among injection drug users. Since that time, the AIDS Foundation's Policy Department has provided leadership at the state level to assure the legality of syringe exchange programs as well as to permit pharmacies to sell syringes to adults without a prescription. Additionally, the Foundation has maintained a strong voice at the federal and state levels opposing efforts to restrict the content of HIV prevention messages targeting high risk groups, particularly gay men and other men who have sex with men.

Housing continues to be one of the most significant unmet needs of people living with HIV in San Francisco. The AIDS Foundation is the city's largest provider of rental support for low-income people with HIV/AIDS through funding provided by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. The AIDS Foundation actively advocates for maximum federal funding of housing programs as well as for city support to provide housing assistance to low income people living with HIV and AIDS.