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Many of us have been called to this work having
lost family and friends to AIDS-related complications.
The San Antonio AIDS Foundation (SAAF) has a dual mission —
to provide compassionate medical care and social services to people with Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS),
and to help prevent the spread of HIV through education and testing.
We are guided by the belief that HIV/AIDS is a disease and those
affected by this disease should receive compassion and understanding.
We are committed to providing medical care for persons with HIV/AIDS,
and education and testing to help prevent the spread of HIV. SAAF
advocates a harm reduction philosophy believing that all individuals
with HIV need compassionate services, including food and shelter,
irrespective of their individual services and practices.
The San Antonio AIDS Foundation began in 1986 as a volunteer staffed
hospice in the back room of a Broadway-area bar. Local bar owner
Robert Edwards, a.k.a. “Papa Bear,” opened his storeroom
and his heart to seven souls dying of AIDS-related complications.
Word spread quickly and soon “Papa Bear” transformed
his bar into the “Casa de Care” AIDS hospice.
SAAF has since relocated to a larger building on East Grayson able
to house up to 33 residents. “Papa Bear” retired in
1991 but his mission and philosophy carry on. Licensed by the
State
of Texas as a Special Care Facility and Residential AIDS Hospice,
SAAF currently provides compassionate medical care and social services to nearly
1,000 individuals annually.
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