HR49: Commending Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services.


HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 49
Offered January 30, 2020
Commending Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services.
Patron-- Cole, J.G.

WHEREAS, Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, commemorated its 30th anniversary in 2019; and

WHEREAS, beginning in 1989 as a small support group organized to address the needs of people living with HIV and AIDS, the organization was briefly known as the Fredericksburg AIDS Support Team before establishing its first board of directors and incorporating as Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services in 1992; and

WHEREAS, with the mission to positively impact individual and community health by providing integrated wellness, prevention, and health navigation services, Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services offers compassionate and quality care in a safe environment, enabling individuals and their families to get the help they need; and

WHEREAS, initially serving the immediate Fredericksburg area, Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services has expanded service over the years to individuals in the Counties of Caroline, Culpeper, Fauquier, King George, Madison, Orange, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland; and

WHEREAS, Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services provides education, counseling, and services in the form of medical and non-medical case management, medication access and support consultations, housing assistance, employment readiness programs, mental health services, dental care referrals, medical transportation, psychosocial programs, and other specialty health services; and

WHEREAS, Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services offers free testing at its office and in a mobile unit that operates throughout Fredericksburg and the surrounding area, alleviating the barriers that prevent people from getting tested and vastly expanding the reach of its services; and

WHEREAS, to respond to technological developments enhancing the quality of treatments available to people living with HIV and AIDS, Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services is continually honing and expanding its services to provide the best possible care for its clients, becoming a model for all community health organizations to strive toward; and

WHEREAS, the efforts of Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services have greatly relieved the burden on clients, families, and medical service providers, enabling people living with HIV and AIDS to better manage their treatment and care while accessing the support services they need; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services, an organization dedicated to the health and well-being of its community, hereby be commended on the occasion of its 30th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the board of directors of Fredericksburg Area HIV/AIDS Support Services as an expression of the House of Delegates’ profound admiration and respect for the organization’s contributions to Fredericksburg and the Commonwealth.