RHODE ISLAND:

"AIDS Hot Line Goes Silent at Year's End"

Providence Journal (12.27.04)::Felice J. Freyer

On Dec. 31, the state's AIDS hot line, in operation for 18 years, will go
dead. At its peak a decade ago, the hot line received as many as 5,000
calls annually.
This year, barely 500 calls came in.

The state Health department decided not to seek renewal of the federal
grant that funds the hot line, operated by its founder, AIDS Project Rhode
Island.
Although AIDS is not under control and the spread of HIV has not stopped,
information about HIV/AIDS is more readily available, and many people seek
answers to their questions on the Internet.

The grant that will not be renewed paid $48,000, a small but critical
component of the APRI's $1.5 million budget, according to Executive
Director Christopher A. Butler. Part of the money went to the agency's
speakers' bureau to pay stipends to HIV-positive people to speak to
students in middle schools and high schools. The agency has decided to
keep its prevention director, who was paid from the grant, and to seek
other sources of funds to keep the speakers' bureau in operation.

After Dec. 31, callers who phone the hot line during business hours will
reach the agency's reception desk. People answering the phone will undergo
additional training to answer hot line questions, Butler said. After
hours, callers will be referred to the national AIDS hot line
(800-342-AIDS), run by CDC.
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Bit by bit the 'AIDS' infrastructure falls apart. The myth is dying fast.