AIDS service organizations are community based organizations that provide support for people with HIV and AIDS. While their primary function is to provide needed services to individuals with HIV, they also provide support services for their families and friends as well as conduct prevention efforts. These services may include family or individual counseling as well as HIV testing and referral resources.
In the United States of America, many AIDS service organizations provide services through federal Ryan White funding programs. Additional support usually comes from private individual and corporate donors, fundraisers (such as AIDS Walk) as well as foundations.
Volunteers
A 1994 study conducted on a South London-based AIDS service organization in 1994 found an unusually high number of male volunteers, which was explained by the high presence of gay men volunteering for such organizations following personal contact with the AIDS epidemic. The study notes a high turnover rate (40% leaving within the first year) among volunteers due to personal problems or problems related to volunteering—subsequent studies in Australia have backed up these issues.