ALRP board member Erin Smart knew she wanted to be an attorney when she was still a child. “I understood it would mean going to law school even then,” she said, “but I wanted to love what I did for a living, and see how the law has an impact on people’s day-to-day lives. And now that I’m an attorney, I do.”

The Castro Lions Club, longtime supports of ALRP programs, presented ALRP with a check for $500.

ALRP has received the American Bar Association’s inaugural Alexander Forger Award for Excellence in HIV Legal Services and Advocacy.

When ALRP client Walter C. made his regular trip to the pharmacy to pick up his medications, the pharmacist informed him that his insurance had been cancelled. It was devastating news for a self-insured person living with HIV. But it wasn’t the first time Walter had heard this. Since 2000, his insurance company had tried to cancel his policy four times for alleged nonpayment of his premiums. “I was at the end of my meds when I found out.”