In 1992 Walnut Creek's Max's Opera Cafe, The Cantina and Changes Full Service Salon held unsolicited benefits on behalf of a new non-profit known as The Steven A. Genard AIDS Assistance Foundation. Why did they do this? Because they believed in the Foundation's Mission and in it's founders, Marsha Genard and Vera Ginsburg.
The Foundation was originated by a Mother and a friend of a 25 year old man who died in 1992 of AIDS. That man was Steve A. Genard. Some weeks before his death he was admitted to the ICU isolation unit of a hospital. he was later transferred to the hospital's hospice unit for emergency and respite care with the expectation that he would ultimately return home. But the hospital staff soon decided that he was imminently terminal.
When he seemed to stabilize and it appeared that death might take days or weeks, the hospital attempted to release him. The family was reluctant to take him home because his mental condition was unstable and he needed IV's and 24-hour attendant care. When they tried to find a nursing home or convalescent home or hospice that would admit him, they discovered that there were no facilites in all of Central Contra Costa County that would accept people with AIDS and that most of the facilities in the surrounding counties limited access to residents.
Although the family was able to pressure the hospital into keeping the patient until his death two weeks later, the uncertainty from day to day was an enormous strain on all parties. Everyone involved was anxious and distraught. Hospital staff threatened every day to insist that the young man go elsewhere, even if it meant going out of the area (too far away for friends to visit) to a place where he would not find the peace to die with dignity.
During these troubled weeks, his mother and her friend were determined to find a way to prevent other people with AIDS and their families from experiencing this pain. The Founders were determined to provide the missing link between the hospital and the home, and conceived the Steven A. Genard AIDS Assistance Foundation as a means to achieving that goal.
The Foundation began, and for nearly twenty years, operated as a fund raising group that solicited grants, donations and sponsored fund-raising events. The Foundation's signature event was their Annual Red Ribbon Auction held each fall at the Claremont Resort. The goal of the Foundation was to provide the shortfall funding not covered by private insurance, Social Security, Medi-cal or private pay for those affected with HIV/AIDS.
Two years ago the Foundation decided to stop soliciting new donations; however they still continue to provide an annual grant to the the Contra Costa Health Department's AIDS Services Program. For 20 years, The Steven A. Genard AIDS Assistance Foundation has made a tremendous difference. This blog site has been created to capture the legacy of the Foundation and to honor our Founder's Marsha Genard and Vera Ginsburg. It is also our way of saying THANK YOU to the hundreds of volunteers, board members, corporate sponsors, donors, and friends of the Foundation. Together we have made a difference!
