20TH ANNUAL KILE OZIER FOUNDER'S AWARD

In honor of the founder of Academy of Friends, the Kile Ozier Founder's Award is presented annually to pay tribute to those who exemplify the spirit of volunteerism in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Each year, the winner is asked to designate a Bay Area HIV/AIDS service agency to receive a $5,000 Academy of Friends grant.

The Board of Directors of Academy of Friendsis proud to present the 2009 Kile Ozier Founder Award to Donna Sachet.

As a live singer and tireless fundraiser, Donna has received many awards over the years, starting with the 1995 AIDS Emergency Fund Darrell Yee Award up to the 2007 Heritage of Pride Award from the LGBT Pride Committee. She is most proud of her annual Songs of the Season musical variety show benefiting the AIDS Emergency Fund for the past 15 years. Gary Virginia and Donna Sachet created the annual Pride Brunch, now in its 10th year, honoring the Grand Marshals of the Pride Parade and benefiting Positive Resource Center.

Donna has designated a $5,000 unrestricted cash grant to the AIDS Housing Alliance, a San Francisco organization dedicated to providing housing and/or support services that prevent homelessness among people with AIDS or HIV related illnesses in a way that enhances the dignity and independence of all participants.

About AIDS Housing Alliance
AIDS Housing Alliance/SF believes in a world where all people have a safe, decent, and affordable home. Toward this vision, we prevent homelessness for people with HIV/AIDS by protecting the housing we already have, providing resources to secure new housing, and promoting public policy to increase opportunity for all.

According to the San Francisco Board of Supervisor's Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Housing Plan, there are up to 2,500 homeless people with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco and 13,000 with an unmet housing need. We are disproportionately impacted by homelessness. 14% of people with HIV/AIDS are homeless at any given time.

The National AIDS Housing Coalition reports that up to 60% of people with HIV/AIDS will experience housing instability at least once during the course of their illness. Those who lose their housing are 5 times as likely to perish and are much higher users of expensive emergency care.

The provision of housing assistance leads to a 50% reduction in behavior that can lead to viral transmission making housing resources one of the most cost-effective HIV prevention tools available.

It is in this context that the AIDS Housing Alliance/SF was born. We are a strong, independent and authentic voice for the needs of people with HIV/AIDS, founded and run by disabled people with HIV/AIDS.