Does The Actors Fund help persons with AIDS?
A. The Actors Fund has a comprehensive AIDS Initiative to help entertainment professionals who are infected with HIV/AIDS learn how to live with and manage the disease. Services include counseling, support groups, supportive housing, a resource library and financial assistance. Through the AIDS Training and Education Project (ATEP), an Actors’ Fund social worker, in conjunction with an Actors Work Program career counselor, assists colleagues who are living with AIDS to deal with an important implication of their “suddenly increased” life expectancies – the possibility of returning to the workplace. ATEP addresses a critical need among entertainment professionals who are living with AIDS by providing training, education and counseling to help them achieve this return-to-work goal – a goal which was out of reach until recent medical developments.
