Why We Walk

Saturday, May 18, 2013

We were alone in a hostile world with no answers and a deadly, new disease. We needed compassion, understanding and resources. We found all three by starting a support group in the basement of a local church. In 1988, other community leaders volunteered their support and the Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, Inc. was established. In 1989, Hope and Help Center was approved as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.

As the epidemic has changed and affected minority communities, the Hope and Help Center has evolved and become a diverse, minority agency able to address the needs of all people who require our services.

As long as there is a need in our community, we pledge to step forward and lead the way to a better, happier and healthier tomorrow.

  • 90 cents of every dollar the Hope and Help Center raises goes directly to client services.
  • There are 12,000 of our Central Florida neighbors living with HIV/AIDS.
  • Hope and Help Center is the largest AIDS Service Organization in Central Florida, with 8 locations throughout Seminole, Lake, Orange and Osceola counties.
  • Hope and Help served 4,692 clients last year. We provide 12 different services, with many of our clients requiring more than one service.
  • Hope and Help Center has a mobile testing unit that travels to underserved, high risk areas.
  • In 2009, Hope and Help Center administered 2,276 HIV tests to our Central Florida neighbors.
  • 1 in every 476 women in Florida is HIV positive.
  • In the U.S. 1 women is infected with HIV every 35 minutes.
  • In the United States, Two teenagers between the ages of 14-24 are infected with HIV every hour.
  • HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death in African Americans between the ages of 25-34.
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