HIV-POSITIVE RECEIVE FREE LEGAL ADVICE

A new AIDS Project Florida program offers free legal advice to people with HIV.

"I just didn't deal with legal issues before," said a 43-year-old client of the nonprofit agency who was diagnosed with HIV 13 years ago. "I want to have my wishes carried out. I have low income."

"I can die anytime; I have no money. I'm so glad they offered me this service," said another man, 63, and living with HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS, for seven years.

The project is the brainchild of attorney Norman Kent, a longtime civil rights attorney, activist and publisher of The Express Gay News.

Kent said friends and colleagues often ask how they can help, and for those in the legal profession he now has an answer.

"People living with HIV often suffer legal consequences, so I'm trying to use my connections in the legal community and create a bank of supportive lawyers who can help," said Kent, who is finishing his first year as director of AIDS Project Florida, or APFL.

The pro bono service is offered every Friday, but demand is so high that project officials hope to increase office hours as more attorneys sign on, said Toni Latino, director of APFL's community legal assistance center.

"All I can say is I'm booked every week," said Latino, a second-year law student at Nova Southeastern University who got involved in HIV issues when her best friend, Gary Angiolilli, died of AIDS in 1986. "It's really hitting a nerve in the community."

"It eases my state of mind," said a client, 44, and HIV-positive for
13 years. "I've tossed and turned many a night."

APFL offers medical treatment, and educational and preventive services to uninsured HIV-positive South Floridians. The organization, formerly under the auspices of Community Healthcare and CenterOne, is the region's largest AIDS service organization, employing 50 full-time staff members, 15 mental health interns and more than 200 volunteers.

And it needs every helping hand it can get.

Every year, about 40,000 people test positive for HIV, and Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach rank in the top five nationally in HIV-positive residents.

The face of those living with the illness has changed. More than 50 percent of all new cases are coming from the African-American community, Kent said. With its proximity to the Caribbean, South Florida is experiencing a swell of new cases involving Haitian immigrants, he said. In addition, people older than 50 and younger than 16 represent 12 percent each of new cases, he said.

The increased demand has stressed the already cash-strapped medical program, so the pro-bono legal aid is a boost for clients, Kent said.

APFL receives $45,000 a month in federal Ryan White funds, which doesn't always cover lab expenses that can total $60,000 monthly, Kent said.
That means it sometimes has to stop lab work during the month, and these expenses do not include costs for physicians, nurses, phlebotomists or technicians, he said. APFL also has recently cut substance abuse counseling, mental health care and alternative holistic therapies, he said.

In the past, clients could seek support from organizations such as the nonprofit Legal Aid Society. But that group is more oriented toward helping people with financial concerns, not what most concerns those with HIV, such as the right to privacy, living wills, power of attorney and other partnership issues, Kent said.

"This is something a lot of clients would not do for financial reasons and might not feel comfortable with a regular attorney," said another APFL client who is 53 and has been living with HIV for six years. "I don't want to explain to them why I need this."

Another benefit of the new program is that it is encouraging many APFL clients to straighten out their legal affairs while they are healthy, giving them peace of mind, Latino said.

"I think basically people were not dealing with it," Latino said. "I had a guy come in recently and say, 'Oh God, I'm in my 40s and I've got AIDS. I'm not going to live forever. I need help putting together my will.'"

Next weekend, AIDS Project Florida will stage its first 5K run and walk fund-raiser along Fort Lauderdale beach, starting and ending at South Beach Park, 600 S. State Road A1A.

Registration for the 7:30 a.m. Nov. 15 event is $25. Participants, who are encouraged to find sponsors for their efforts, will receive a commemorative T-shirt.

For more information on the race, or to make an appointment at the legal assistance center, call 954-537-4111.