17th Annual Big Night Out raises funds and awareness for HIV By Terry Miller On Saturday evening, hundreds of guests and VIPs attended the annual Big Night Out, a benefit for Pasadena’s AIDS Service Center. The gala was held on a four-acre estate in La Canada named Stratford Manor hosted by Roderick and Robin Doorman. Executive Director Anthony Guthmiller and Rebecca Haussling, Board of Directors, Chair welcomed colorfully dressed guests as they arrived on an unseasonably warm early evening. After the early evening reception, guests went off to individual private dinner parties in the area, one of which was held at a former California Assemblyman’s home. Viva Italinao! Sponsored by Anthony Portantino.
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Another was hosted by Liz Rusnak Arizmendi. Over the past 16 years the event has raised more than $3 million, directly helping those in our community dealing with HIV/AIDS. The money is raised through a series of contributions, ticket sales to the exclusive event and ofcourse auctioning off art and other valuables. For 26 years, AIDS Service Center (ASC) has been serving the HIV/AIDS community in Los Angeles County. ASC was created from a need in the community. Thier humble beginnings as an answering machine in the basement under the stairwell of All Saints Church was in response to the community’s need to seek answers to a new illness that was affecting gay men and others. The stigmas attached were rampant. ASC enlisted two women’s organizations to assist in broadening the acceptance of its work. The YWCA and Women at Work jumped in wholeheartedly. ASC grew over the years, continuing to develop ground-breaking models for the care of this ever changing disease. ASC was one of the first organizations in the United States to develop a Family & Pediatrics Case Management program in 1991. In continuing this tradition ASC has embarked upon a new change within the organization. ASC expected the federal money (Ryan White Care Act) that ASC and others have relied on for many of our programs to shift its funding model, which would mean recipients of these funds would have to directly provide medical treatment. For years we have been linked to agencies that provide this kind of service but did not provide it directly. Because of this change and the goal of continuing to improve the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County, ASC has transferred the majority of its federally funded care programs into Andrew Escajeda Comprehensive Care Services at the Pasadena Public Health Department (PPHD). This has ensured that their clients are still able to access all of the services we had provided as well as their medical treatment in one facility if needed. Importantly, this transition has reduced ASC’s overhead by up to 75%, allowing more money to go directly to the programs and services we still offer to the community. ASC has continued its oversight of the following areas: Outreach & Prevention and Basic Needs, which includes our Housing Department. The need for an expanded Outreach & Prevention program is critical because the transmission of HIV continues to this day. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, there is an estimated 60,000 persons living with HIV in Los Angeles County with over 20% unaware of their status. Educating communities and individuals about HIV/AIDS and connecting people who are HIV positive to medical care will help to reduce HIV transmission. ASC has increased its Outreach & Prevention efforts. They offer HIV 101 education, community partners professional development, a Peer-to-Peer program, community events outreach, condom distribution, and online educational interaction. In terms of Basic Needs, they offer housing services, a supplemental food card program, a food pantry (done in partnership with PPHD and AIDS Project Los Angeles [APLA]), help with getting household items for clients, and educational scholarships. It is important to remember that the medical needs of someone living with HIV can tend to take a secondary role if the basics of housing and food are not being met.. .