During the early to mid-80’s, residents of the city of Worcester and its surrounding suburbs began to be infected with HIV in increasing numbers. With few government or community services available at the time, those early individuals and families found comfort and support particularly in Pakachoag Community Church in Auburn. As the numbers grew through the mid-80’s the complexity of needs expanded. As a result, the need for more services became clearly evident. Out of community discussions concerning how best to meet those needs AIDS Project Worcester, Inc. was born.
APW was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation in 1987 to provide education to the community about HIV/AIDS and services to individuals and families infected with HIV disease. APW has grown from a narrowly focused, case management AIDS service organization into the primary provider of non-medical HIV/AIDS support services in Central Massachusetts. The agency has expanded from a small Shrewsbury Street store-front office into three strategic locations, Worcester (Main office), Leominster and Southbridge. During this same period APW enhanced service provision by increasing the professionalism of service-delivery staff, white strengthening the organizations volunteer base. By the mid-90’s, APW’s community profile had been raised significantly and signature fundraising activities had been well established, including the annual Walk For Life.
APW has been an industry leader in the design and implementation of customer oriented service delivery systems. Two major examples can be found in APW’s case management system and in the agency’s creative unique prevention/education programs. The model of delivering client services through a “triage” evaluation system is now being implemented by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in the Boston-Cambridge-Sommerville area (with plans for future implementation statewise). APW’s clinical-services-based prevention and education program targeting men who have sex with men is unique in the New England area. Its success is being viewed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as a model for implementation of similar programs outside the Boston metropolitan area. Because of the quality and diversity of its services, APW experienced growth in the number of consumers of greater than 15% per year.
In the late 90’s, APW began a restructuring of its programs and administration to respond to the dramatically changing needs of consumers resulting from improvement in medical treatments. These changes can be expressed in two basic concepts. 1). Moving from an organization focused on helping people die, to one which assists people to live. 2). Moving organizationally and programmatically from crisis, short-term responses, to long-term strategic planning. These changes formed the foundation that would ensure the continued delivery of relevant, caring and comprehensive HIV/AIDS services to individuals and families in Central Massachusetts through the end of the millennium.
APW’s mission statement is centralized around three core values; education, advocacy and service. These core values are achieved through comprehensive client service programs, prevention and education services and the staff are strong advocates for people living with HIV. Services extend to those who are at risk for HIV disease as well as those who are living with HIV/AIDS.