Bay Area HIV Support and Education Services.

Organizational History

Bay Area HIV Support and Education Services (BAHSES) provided counseling, education, and advocacy to a multicultural population at risk of, or having, HIV infection. BAHSES was located at 625 O'Farrell, and though some clients came from elsewhere in the city, they were primarily residents of the nearby Tenderloin and Polk districts and the lower Nob Hill area. Most were people of color with limited incomes.

The roots of BAHSES go back to 1985. That year the San Francisco chapter of Black and White Men Together, a social and political organization dealing with racism and interracial relationships among gay men, formed an AIDS Task Force (BWMT/ATF) to address the AIDS epidemic and its impact on people of color. In 1989 the BWMT/ATF name was changed to BAHSES and an effort began to secure a non-profit status. The first paid staff and structured educational programs began that same year.

Other chapters of BWMT were also active or interested in AIDS. The National BWMT recognized the important work the San Francisco chapter was performing and wanted to use that model to help other chapters. In 1988, it formed the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention (NTFAP) to accomplish this goal. BAHSES helped NTFAP get started by providing office space and lending staff and administrative support. NTFAP grew rapidly, moved into a larger suite apart from BAHSES, and began seeking its own funding contracts. Competition between the sibling groups ensued. In 1992 the AIDS Office of the San Francisco Department of Public Health pulled a major contract away from BAHSES and gave it to NTFAP. BAHSES eventually folded in early 1993.