Bay Area HIV Support and Education Services

The roots of Bay Area HIV Support and Education Services (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 was probably inevitable. As rivalry developed and differences in administrative styles became more pronounced, tensions arose and relations between the two agencies became strained. In 1992, partially due to a continuing problem of low units of service reported by BAHSES, the AIDS Office of the San Francisco Department of Public Health pulled a major contract away from BAHSES and gave it to NTFAP. This was the final blow for BAHSES, which folded in early 1993. An East Bay component survived the collapse of the San Francisco agency; this small venture continues to operate as BAHSES - East Bay as of late 1994.

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 very limited incomes.

BAHSES utilized a centralized filing system that employed a numeric structure. Each potential file topic was assigned a specific number, from 111000 to 793000. Internal documents were assigned file code numbers upon creation, and external documents were marked upon arrival with a designated number. Although the result is idiosyncratic and divisions are often rather arbitrary, this arrangement was retained by AHP. All retained files are labeled with original file numbers and descriptions. A five page general guide and a forty page detailed guide were used by BAHSES for filing. Copies of these guides are in the first folder of the collection, and researchers are urged to examine them in order to understand this collection and its unusual arrangement.

Planning processes and meeting minutes are particularly well-documented. Other notable files include those describing SWAT (Sex With A Twist) Teams, the Client Survey file, Facilitator's Manuals addressing women and transgendered people, and Activity Reports. BAHSES ran numerous safe sex workshops at the Steamworks in Berkeley, the nearest gay bathhouse to San Francisco. The file labeled Steamworks contains correspondence, an MOU, and reports of workshops.

Carton 1 111000 General Administration (Policy & Procedure Manual) 112080 Origins (History) 112015 Organizational Charts 112025 NABWMT 112040 Planning 112045 Retreat Notes 112060 Planning Report 112085 Operations Manual 113005 Board of Directors 114015 Steamworks (Gay Bathhouse in Berkeley) 115000 BAHSES Policy & Procedure Manual [1 of 3] 115000 BAHSES Policy & Procedure Manual [2 of 3] 115000 BAHSES Policy & Procedure Manual [3 of 3] 116000 Incorporation Papers, Bylaws, MOUs 117025 Board Minutes and Other Documents 117030 Board Reports 117035 Board Correspondence and Memoranda 117055+ Board Pledge, Fundraising, Organization, Board Packet 251015+ Awards 323165 Staff Appointments 324060 Staff Assignments 441020 Fundraising

511000 General Program, Operations 511005 Retreat, Management, & Staff Meetings Minutes (5/89-1/93) 511010 Program Planning 511030 Training 511040 Regional Operations - Reports 511120 Correspondence (7/90 - 2/93) 511125+ Program Operations (Media Relations) 511175 "BAHSES News" (12/91 - 2/93) 512005 Education Meeting Minutes 512010 Program Information 512050 SWAT Training Manual 512050 SWAT Team: Playshop Facilitator's Manual 512080 Program Miscellany 512090 Program Correspondence 513005 Meeting Minutes - Support Services 513010 Program Planning - Support Services 513030 HIV Negative Support Services 513040 Contract Reports - Support Services 513050 HIV+ Program 513080 Support Groups 513095 Support Services - Correspondence 513100 Transportation 513110 Client Survey (Demographics) 514010 Planning (Volunteers) 514070 Correspondence - Support Staff and Volunteers 514080 BAHSES Athletic Club 515040 Media Events - Reports 515070 Media Events - Correspondence 516040 Reports (Train the Trainer, OMB Grant) 516095 KAB Survey on Men of Color 517000 Quality Assurance and Training 521010 Staff Meeting Minutes 521015 Program/Planning 521040 Personnel (Job Openings) 521045 Reports (Booth, 1992 Gay Freedom Day Parade) 521045 Evaluations, Safe Sex Presentation 521105 Correspondence

Box 1 522005 Education Minutes 522010 Program/Planning 522020 MOUs 522030 Training of Volunteer Facilitators 522040 Education - Reports 522050 Workshop Format, Manuals 522050 Manuals (For Transgendered, Women, Mixed Groups) 522060 Workshop Evaluations 522080 Education: Corresponce 523005 Support Services: Meetings/Minutes 523010 Support Services: Non-Paid Staff, Program/Planning 523020 Support Services: MOUs & Contracts 523030 Support Services: Training 523040 Support Services: Reports 523040 Support Services: Activity Reports (2/91 - 2/93, incomplete) 523055 Support Services: Consent Forms 523075 Support Services: Telecare 523080 Support Services: Support Groups 523095 Support Services: Correspondence 523100 Support Services: Transportation