Community AIDS Resource, Inc., d.b.a./ CARE RESOURCE is a 501[c](3) non-profit, multi-cultural, community based AIDS service organization, which “Through education, prevention, research, care & treatment, and support service, Care Resource improves upon the health and overall quality of life of our diverse South Florida communities in need.” Rooted in the 1998 merger of Health Crisis Network (1983) and Community Research Initiative (1989), Care Resource is now South Florida’s oldest and largest HIV/AIDS service organization and a true leader in the community.

Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in South Florida and for more than 20 years, Care Resource has been dedicated to serving those suffering with or affected by HIV/AIDS and to meeting the changing demographics of the epidemic. The former Health Crisis Network (HCN), founded in 1983 by a group of dedicated volunteers, focused on providing a response to the epidemic with crisis intervention, social support and educational programs. Community Research Initiative (CRI), founded in 1989 pioneered the implementation of community-based clinical trials through its network of physicians across Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. Virtually all of the popular anti-retroviral drugs widely used today have been studied by the agency through its clinical research program.

Since merging, the agency has expanded and new services have been added in response to the needs of the epidemic. In 1999 primary medical care was implemented, creating a system to rapidly and effectively triage those identified as HIV positive into a comprehensive system for medical care and supportive services. Today, clients have access at a “one-stop” location to primary medical care, clinical trials and research studies, information and referrals, case management, mental health and substance abuse counseling, temporary assistance to needy families (TANF), transportation vouchers, and counseling and testing.

Furthermore, the agency’s many prevention and education programs go out into the community and engage populations at high risk, affected and/or infected by HIV/AIDS, by disseminating prevention information and connecting those in need to the healthcare system. Prevention programs target youth, men who have sex with men, the incarcerated, African American, Haitian, and Hispanic men and women believed to be HIV positive or at risk of contracting the virus.

Care Resource has demonstrated excellence in the field of HIV/AIDS as it works to fulfill its mission and have a positive impact on Broward and Miami-Dade communities. Our work in the community has earned us the confidence of our clients and funding sources at local, state and federal levels. The agency currently has about 3,000 unduplicated clients and conducts more than 7,000 HIV tests annually, and fundraising activities and hundreds of invaluable volunteers help raise awareness, bring hope and build a sense of community.

The changing face of AIDS in this nation reflects a devastating number of people in South Florida. Fort Lauderdale ranks first and Miami ranks second in AIDS rates among metropolitan areas in the nation (followed by New York). As of 2005, more than 40,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS through out Miami-Dade and Broward Counties combined. A high percentage of HIV positive residents in South Florida are not in care and hundreds more do not even know their HIV status. The state of the epidemic continues to grow and change; therefore, the support of the community for HIV education, prevention, research and treatment is crucial.