Detroit agency serving HIV-positive women, children may close

Children's Immune Disorder, Detroit's oldest agency serving HIV-positive women and children, may close unless new operating funds are quickly found, officials from the agency told the Detroit Free Press. The organization, founded in 1985, has received funding from Detroit's Planning and Development Department since 1999, but was turned down in 2002 for a $107,000 grant after the grant application was turned in late. The agency had offered several support groups, transportation to medical appointments, and a preschool counseling program, but scaled back its efforts after the grant money was lost to operate just a once-a-week support group and a program that distributes food and infant supplies to HIV-positive mothers. The organization's board says it needs financial commitments of at least $50,000 by January 1 to avoid permanently closing.