AIDS Pandemic - The Untold Story (ePub)

"Dorothy writes her book at a critical time. COVID-19 and AIDS are different viruses - but pandemics lay bare the inequities and problems in our social order and the programs we create to solve problems." -Tom Sheridan, Author of Helping the Good Do Better

In the mid-1990's, HIV/AIDS was a new and unknown disease requiring a revolution in attitude, approach, and funding. Dorothy Keville helped facilitate the first Federally funded program for HIV/AIDS drugs by bringing together an unlikely alliance of angry activists, conservative politicians and unwilling drug manufacturers. Their work evolved into the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Working Group, an initiative which provided medicine and care for HIV positive people in all U.S. States and Territories.

In Part One, we meet many of the former ADAP managers and directors who share their own experiences and efforts of working tirelessly to get the pandemic under control when there was no manual and no procedures to follow. HIV/AIDS was different from any other national health crisis to that point and these are the stories of some of the unsung heroes.

In Part Two, Dorothy shares the pieces of her own experience, from early volunteer work through to positions with federal agencies and multinational corporations, and even acting. Her memories reveal a life of compassion, dedicated to those with HIV, to the homeless, and to many others.

As an added bonus, the book features a practical guide on the Nuts & Bolts of Government for those interested in getting involved in the political process at the local, state, and national levels.

Note: A portion from the sale of this book will be donated to Africa Bridge, the non-profit Dorothy founded dedicated to the care of children whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS.