HIV/AIDS Related Programs

A Stable Life For Rosa and Her Family

Four years ago, 53-year old Rosa, whose HIV was a legacy of drug abuse 20 years earlier, went into a coma as the result of alcohol, which had further compromised her immune system. When she came out of the coma she was determined to stay sober and take care of her children, both under 10 at the time.

"But I was renting from a slum landlord and the house was falling apart, infested with roaches, slugs in the basement. I wanted to stay better but couldn't in those conditions. With HIV I could have stayed in a box, who cared?

"Then my Options’ guardian angel came. Two years ago I saw the house and knew it would be the turnaround in my life, my stability.

"It's my castle. It's so different coming home, to a safe haven, a place I can't wait to get home to, where you know your life is not in danger but essentially getting structured. Once you get into a routine everything falls in place. I learned my priorities, I know how to budget, how to manage money and take care of it right.

"Life has become more and more easy. The kids are very comfortable. We have a functioning family now. My daughter and I learned to bond and she isn't depressed all the time like she used to be. Her friends come over. My son is doing better in school. My family comes to visit a lot now. Before, no one wanted to visit.

"It all starts with having the house. But it's not just that I'm renting a house. When I'm down, I pick up the phone and call my case manager. I go to the peer group meetings every month and learned there how to stay healthy and how to advocate for myself and the kids. I tell the others don't be afraid to open up and reach out to others—that's the way of getting better.

"With people to reach out to, people who care, I in turn learned how to care. I see people who still need a lot of work, and I'd like to get to a point where I can talk to them like a friend and tell them they don't know what they're missing."