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Bay Area HIV Support and Education Services records

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 93-18

Scope and Content of Collection

Planning processes and meeting minutes are particularly well-documented in this collection. 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.

All 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 folder 1/24, and researchers are urged to examine them in order to understand the original arrangement of this collection.

Dates

  • Creation: 1989-1993

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manager of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Copyright restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials.

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.

Extent

1 carton, 1 box (1.75)

Abstract

Planning processes, meeting minutes, client survey files, facilitators manuals, activity reports, correspondence, and other materials produced by this nonprofit AIDS education organization.

Physical Location

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog: http://www.library.ucsf.edu/.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated by Lee Woo to the UCSF Library in March 1993.

Alternate Forms Available

There are no alternate forms of this collection.

Related Collections

AIDS Service Providers Association Records, MSS 93-36 [finding aid to the collection]

Multicultural AIDS Resource Center Records, MSS 94-19 [finding aid to the collection]

National Task Force on AIDS Prevention Records, MSS 94-59 [finding aid to the collection]

General

Finding Aid Written By:
Nancy Zinn and Josue Hurtado
Date Completed:
October 2007

Processing Information

Processed by Nancy Zinn and Josue Hurtado

Title
Finding Aid to the Bay Area HIV Support and Education Services Records, 1989-1993
Author
Finding Aid written by Nancy Zinn and Josue Hurtado
Date
© 2007
Description rules
Finding Aid Prepared Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English

Repository Details

Part of the UCSF Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
UCSF Kalmanovitz Library
530 Parnassus Avenue
San Francisco CA 94143-0840 USA