Alabama AIDS organization to close in July

East Alabama AIDS Outreach, an AIDS service organization serving five Alabama counties, will close when its operating funds run out in July, leaving 146 agency clients with no regional source of HIV care services. The group has federal and state funds to cover medicine distribution, transportation, and free HIV testing, but it lacks the cash for daily expenses, including rent, insurance, and payroll costs. These services run $4,800 a month and must come from local government and private contributors. This year's fund-raisers generated only $20,000 of the center's $50,000 goal. The only local government to provide funding is the city of Auburn, which provides $3,500 per year for administrative salaries as well as $3,500 through the Community Development Block Grant, which goes toward housing and utility assistance for AIDS patients. "It's going to take $20,000 to keep the doors open this month, and we have to find a steady means of income to run our infrastructure," said executive director Marilyn Swyers. "If we're not able to do this, we cannot continue."