AIDS in America
By Catherina Hurlburt
July/August 2001 Family Voice

In America, “there’s not a child under age 20 [who] remembers life without HIV/AIDS,” said Anita Smith, president of Children’s AIDS Fund (CAF). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 1998 HIV was the fifth leading cause of death for Americans aged 25 to 44. By 1999, 30,000 youth aged 13 to 24 had contracted AIDS. Sadly, the fallout affects the whole family.

CAF “was founded in 1988 with the sole purpose of helping limit the suffering of children and families who are impacted by HIV,” Mrs. Smith told Family Voice.

CAF’s activities:

• Technical assistance—CAF links caregivers to share experience and knowledge.
• Education—It mails current research on AIDS treatment, and provides schools and churches information to develop AIDS policies.
• Programming—It helps communitybased organizations and hospitals devise programs to support families who are dealing with HIV/AIDS, as well as providing resources.
• Helping Families—CAF provides emergency financial assistance to families. “We’ve bought medicine, taken care of rent and utilities,” Mrs. Smith said, “and helped pay for funerals.” It also helps dying parents with adoption services.
• Counseling—CAF helps families find day care for infected children and disclose their status to loved ones, church members and employers, and informs patients of health care options.

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