There was a time when a person with AIDS might be able to count the services and friends available on the fingers of one hand. Today, a person in the southwest suburbs who is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS can call on a strong base of professional support and a growing circle of friends through the staff and volunteers of AIDS Ministry of Illinois (AMI), a non-denominational social service agency.
Founded by two Franciscan sisters, AIDS Ministry of Illinois started in 1991 with a Joliet home in which to treat the sick and dying. The nuns involved in the project enlisted the assistance of a few doctors willing to treat their clients and funeral directors and clergy who would provide final services.
As treatment options expanded and the needs of patients changed, AMI’s services evolved from a hospice to caring for patients in all stages of the disease. From the initial diagnosis through the management of the disease, a client’s need for AMI services now might span a decade or more, says Jill Skole, AMI’s executive director.
“The whole object of AIDS ministry is to get people to go to the doctor, to take preventative measures that will make them live longer and healthier lives,” she says. “When people are mentally and spiritually stressed, it has an impact on their (physical) health. They need to see how (others) are handling the situation.”
The agency’s mission, she explains, is to provide non-judgmental support and guidance and to help people maintain a life of dignity while meeting their needs. AMI’s services include transitional housing, case management, connection to support groups for patients and their families and friends, and social opportunities.
The agency targeted Will, Grundy, Kankakee and South Cook Counties, areas where the needs of AIDS clients were underserved, Skole says. In Will County, Skole notes, there are 2,000 HIV/AIDS cases documented by agencies and medical professionals.
Governed by a board of directors and managed by an executive director, the staff of five full-time and one part-time employees has served 742 clients and provided transitional housing for 80 clients since 1991. The budget of $268,000 comes from state and federal funding, foundations, private donations and fundraising.
“In the beginning, families were afraid. They didn’t want much to do with a relative with AIDS,” recalls Sister Luke Sondgeroth, one of the founding nuns who remains on staff as a case manager and pastoral care provider. “We still have some clients who experience difficulties with their families accepting them and their illness. But more families are taking care of their own.”
With increased family support, the need for housing has lessened. But help finding a place to live is still necessary in some instances, Skole says. For these, AMI maintains two transitional homes, each accommodating six residents with private bedrooms and telephones and a common kitchen, living room and bathroom.
Another aspect of AMI’s work involves the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS program, operated in conjunction with Cornerstone Services Inc. of Joliet, a not-for-profit agency that helps people with developmental disabilities or mental illness. Housing clients, who have AIDS or HIV as well as mental disabilities, require more intensive assistance, and they are served by Sondgeroth and Cornerstone staff.
The uniqueness of each client’s situation dictates the type of case management. Some clients will have insurance, a job, the disease in check and a good support network. They require a minimal amount of assistance and might be connected to resources and support groups, Sondgeroth explains.
When a client has no financial resources, the case manager helps him apply for Public Aid or Social Security benefits, special grants or rent subsidies. The staffer also can link a client to medical services for treatment or drug trials and to support services that will enable the client to stay at home, Sondgeroth notes.
When it comes to reading the attitude barometer, David Bryant, a part-time employee of AMI, has some personal experience. Diagnosed HIV-positive nine years ago, he says that attitudes have improved since then, but there’s still a need for education and a greater openness, he says.
Support services have improved, he says. “My diagnosis was, `Sorry, you test positive. Thank you and have a nice day.’ It was accompanied by the telephone number of a medical facility. Nowadays, there’s immediate counseling available when an individual tests positive,” he says, adding that he was trained and certified as an AIDS counselor by the State of Illinois.
Bryant puts together client mailings that include the latest medical and nutrition news as well as an update of AMI’s event calendar. He also works in the agency’s resource/referral center, which is open to the public and offers up-to-date information in books, videos and magazines for students doing research or individuals interested in learning more about HIV/AIDS.
Pastoral care is another element of AMI’s services. Sondgeroth said that she and Sister Rosalie Noder (also a case manager and one of the founding nuns) don’t promote a specific denomination but help people discover where God is in their lives. One of the elements of pastoral care is the weekly People Like Us spiritual support group.
“I like to call it a spirituality night,” Sondgeroth says. “It’s a time to lift their spirits, make sense of the situation in their life and to help them grow. If someone needs more assistance dealing with the issues in their life, we help them make the connection to the proper professional.
“I have seen people grow emotionally and spiritually through the illness,” she says. “The best preparation for dying is to live life to the fullest. That’s what we’re doing here at AMI, helping them to live with the disease.”
Duties of AMI’s 50 regular volunteers range from maintaining the agency’s two residences and offices to cooking and serving a meal at the support group meeting.
“Our volunteers have to be open, to be able to work with diversity, with gay people and with people who use drugs even after their diagnosis,” Skole says. “A volunteer cannot be judgmental.”
According to Mark Frost, vice president of the board of directors, 10 percent of the annual budget comes from fundraisers. The three primary fundraising events include a bowlathon, a holiday dinner/silent auction and a cabaret (slated for Aug. 23), which will feature area celebrities and entertainers.
“When the epidemic first started, it didn’t touch many people,” Frost says. “AIDS is so far-reaching now, it’s everyone’s problem. We’re receiving more help from individuals and groups for raising funds.”
Volunteer Jeff Naber of Palos Heights became involved after losing a friend to AIDS. He took volunteer training through AMI and participated in the Buddy program, linking up with several different clients for phone calls, visits, just being a friend.
“Often, the volunteers have had friends or family die of AIDS,” Naber says. “We are wounded healers in a sense, working through our own grief, bringing the presence of God to life when we help another. It is humbling to realize that we receive more than we give.”
There’s also help for family and friends through the Circle of Friends, a support group that meets at Columbia Olympia Fields Osteopathic Hospital and Medical Center on the third Monday of every month. Liz Wisnasky of Tinley Park saw the need for a group three years ago when a friend’s son died of AIDS. A volunteer at the hospital, Wisnasky laid the groundwork and made the connection to AMI. The new location offered an alternative for families who had previously traveled farther west and toward the city for support groups.
Wisnasky is still involved with the group, bringing refreshments and “just being a friend. There’s hope here. We have moms who have been through it, lost a child to AIDS and now they want to help others. People have to know there is someone else who has been there.”
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For more information on AMI, call 815-723-1548.
