Gilead Awards Three Grants to ALRP
ALRP has been awarded three program grants by Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead) of Redwood City. The grants, totaling $175,000, will help support ALRP’s efforts to provide essential services to people living with HIV/AIDS.
“ALRP is heartened to receive this generous support from Gilead, a long-time partner and supporter,” stated Bill Hirsh, ALRP Executive Director. “These funds will go a long way towards enabling ALRP to continue to be there for the growing number of clients coming to us for legal help, especially during this new health crisis,” Hirsh continued.
The grant awards include a $35,000 grant in support of the ALRP AIDS Community Outreach Project (ACOP), a $65,000 grant in support of the ALRP HIV50+ Project, and a $75,000 general operating support grant from the recently announced Gilead CARES (COVID-19 Acute Relief and Emergency Support) $20 million Grantee Fund. Gilead has been a funding partner with ALRP since 2006, and has donated more than $600,000 to the agency. Through the years, several Gilead in-house attorneys have served as ALRP Board members. In 2013, ALRP recognized Gilead with its ALRP Community Partner Award.
“Gilead is pleased to support the AIDS Legal Referral Panel’s work to address and eliminate health disparities, especially HIV related disparities in the local Bay Area. We believe this is a critical time to continue to support local programs that are working to improve the health and wellness of those living with HIV” said Darwin Thompson, Associate Director of Public Affairs for Gilead Sciences.
ALRP has remained open throughout the COVID-19 crisis, conducting intakes and connecting people with HIV/AIDS to staff and Panel attorneys and other services to help keep clients safe, healthy and in their homes. Over half of ALRP’s clients are people of color, and over 80% are LGBTQ and considered very low income. More than 70% of ALRP clients are older adults, many with additional underlying health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney and liver disease, and respiratory illnesses.
“While there are many legal areas that directly impact the health of people living with HIV, including immigration, disability insurance, and estate planning, there is no issue of greater importance to people living with HIV than housing. We expect to handle a record number of housing cases in 2020 because of COVID-19, raising the risk of homelessness for many low-income people with HIV,” Hirsh continued. “Government funding for many service providers like ALRP will be cut dramatically. This emergency funding from Gilead is literally a lifeline for ALRP and our clients, and could not have come at a better time,” Hirsh stated.
Despite a difficult economic climate for HIV/AIDS fundraising and a 77% increase in its caseload over the last fifteen years, ALRP continues to provide free and sliding scale legal services to over 1,500 people living with HIV/AIDS each year. Last year alone, ALRP handled 2,653 legal matters for its clients – the most in its 37-year history.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The company strives to transform and simplify care for people with life-threatening illnesses around the world. Gilead has operations in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California. For more information on Gilead Sciences, please visit the company’s website at www.gilead.com.
