Ensuring level ground in the Fight against HIV and AIDS

Catchnet was formed in response to the unacceptable housing problem experienced by those suffering with HIV and AIDS in our community.  It is our remit to be able to offer transitional and permanent housing where needed.  To offer  hospice accommodation, medical care and life skill support services to those with HIV/AIDS being denied these services after all other avenues of support have been exhausted.  It is not our aim to be the first line of defense, but the last.    We are the catch net.

According to the National Institute of Health, (NIH), Monday, June 5, 2006, marked the 25th anniversary of the first reported cases of what is now known as the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). From a handful of initial reports AIDS has grown into a global pandemic affecting men, women and children in nearly every country in the world.

According to estimates of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS, has now infected more than 65 million people worldwide, of whom 25 million have died. AIDS is the deadliest pandemic of our generation and one of the worst in history. In the year 2005 alone, approximately 4.1 million people worldwide, half of them women, became infected with HIV, and about 2.8 million individuals with HIV/AIDS died. More than 95 percent of these infections and deaths occurred in developing countries, most of which are also burdened by other significant health challenges. In these nations, HIV/AIDS threatens not only human welfare, but social, political and economic stability.

In the United States, an estimated one million people are living with HIV infection, and 40,000 new infections occur each year. HIV infection rates continue to climb among women, racial and ethnic minorities, young Gay men, individuals with certain addictive disorders and people over 50 years of age. To date, HIV/AIDS has killed more than half a million people in our country.

What can we do? We can start here, in Washington County, to help those who are affected. Much good is already done, with HIV medication and food programs, housing and financial help, family and social support networks, all available locally.

However, there are those who fall through the gaps. John* is living with AIDS at the mission shelter where he has to risk contracting potentially fatal illnesses sharing a room with many others. Mary* is struggling with AIDS whilst she supports her four children with a full time job. The family are all living together in a motel room because she just can’t afford an apartment. Tony* is just out of prison and desperate to make a new life. Living with aids whilst he walks the streets looking for daily work. How can you keep to a med-regime, or eat healthy food, or get proper rest, living like this?

How can we ignore this? Catchnet is being formed so we can help. We want to help people face the worst with dignity. We want to do more than help people survive, we want to create an environment where they are able to live. An apartment to call their own, or a room in a house that is safe. These simple things are often all that are needed to make all the difference in the world. Please help. Please email info@catchnet.org or Rev. Michael Hydes on 301 797 5698.

* not their real name

If you wish to contact us please e-mail info@catchnet.org