Five Questions With: Paul Fitzgerald

THE FIRST RECIPIENT of the Hope Harris Memorial Award talks about the nature of the AIDS/HIV situation in Rhode Island, which he says still requires greater outreach to reduce new infection rates. / COURTESY PAUL FITZGERALD
THE FIRST RECIPIENT of the Hope Harris Memorial Award talks about the nature of the AIDS/HIV situation in Rhode Island, which he says still requires greater outreach to reduce new infection rates. / COURTESY PAUL FITZGERALD

Paul Fitzgerald, president and CEO of AIDS Care Ocean State, has a history as a settlement worker rooted in grassroots organizing, local nonprofits and housing service program building. He is this month’s recipient of the inaugural “Hope Harris Memorial Award,” which recognizes a person or organization for dedication to the fight against HIV/AIDS. The award was named for the late Hope Harris, a member of the AIDS Project RI board for the last part of her life. Here he talks about the significance of the award and efforts to combat the disease.

PBN: You received the first annual Hope Harris Award on Sept. 13. What does this award mean to you personally and to the state’s fight to combat HIV/AIDS?

FITZGERALD: The Harris Family has helped many folks in the community and has carried on the influence and legacy of “Ma” Harris throughout the past decade. Mrs. Harris knew that AIDS work needed to be inclusive and reach out into the minority community with awareness, prevention and services.
For me, the Hope Harris Memorial Award is acknowledgment of the work AIDS Care Ocean State does in the minority community. ACOS has been an inner city agency from the very beginning with the founding of FACTS House for babies with AIDS in the south side of Providence.

PBN: How has partnering between AIDS Care Ocean State and AIDS Project Rhode Island on the annual AIDS Walk RI helped?

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FITZGERALD: Partnering with the project has been an ongoing relationship from the very early years of the pandemic. This 30th year, we demonstrated the commitment to join forces in raising awareness of the walk and combining fund raising together in a very strategic way. Donors will realize one dollar to the cause goes a longer way for both agencies.

PBN: Is HIV/AIDS as prevalent a problem as it was a decade ago, and if not what has changed?

FITZGERALD: The numbers did go down in 2011, which has been a trend over the past decade. But in 2012-13, the incidence spiked, particularly with men having sex with men and in minority populations. The burden of care for people living with AIDS has never lessened and, in fact, increased in severity given co-morbidity of other related illnesses.

PBN: Today, more than 3,000 people in Rhode Island are infected with HIV/AIDS. Is that number shrinking or growing and what efforts are in place to reduce it?

FITZGERALD: In recent years, Dr. Michael Fine, past director of R.I. Department of Health, initiated a community campaign to eliminate new HIV infections in Rhode Island. Both the project and AIDS Care Ocean State as well as other clinical partners worked to achieve this goal. We are not there yet. We have achieved significant results with viral suppression across all patients in care.

PBN: With 21 percent of the population with these diseases in the U.S. living undiagnosed, how does your organization get the word out about free testing?

FITZGERALD: ACOS has provided a street outreach program in downtown and South Providence, and free HIV testing with flexible scheduling and sites. The agency has managed and expanded its ENCORE harm reduction program, a needle exchange program that the state helps fund, into Newport and Woonsocket. ACOS provides free provider education workshops regarding issues of HIV risk and addressing harm/risk reduction with consumers.
ACOS has a strong history in providing these services. The nonprofit has created innovative prevention programming that has reached high-risk individuals that were not previously receiving prevention/education services. ACOS has an extensive infrastructure to support HIV testing, prevention/harm reduction services, and has an established reputation of being able to service high-risk individuals.

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