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people in New York who wanted to help do something in the face of HIV/AIDS, but did not want
to become activists or full-time volunteers. They also formed inroads into new areas of
government support for community groups.
Organizers and caregivers identified new needs daily, and volunteers scrambled to fill the
gaps. Pastoral organizations, such as the Momentum Project, opened additional food and clothing
distribution sites specifically for people living with AIDS. The Momentum project began in 1985
as a collaboration of GMHC’s recreation program and St. Peter’s Church in Harlem. Organized
by Peter Avitabile, a GMHC volunteer, the group provided food, counseling (including both
entitlements assistance and pastoral counseling), and a supportive place for poor and homeless
people with AIDS to congregate. Momentum was defined around social service delivery to
“underserved” populations. Momentum brought food to those who had no homes. They operated
out of the poorest neighborhoods, and sought out the least visible people living with HIV/AIDS.
“The gay community is really on top of things,” an informant explained. “Other groups were not;
so we go there.
…
[The fact] that this population is not anyone’s constituency is a real problem.”
Despite vocal opposition from organizations of the religious right, which had been
politically ascendent during these years, church-based organizations in New York successfully
mobilized new resources in support of the rising number of destitute HIV/AIDS patients. In the
wake of considerable lobbying, ARC took over a dilapidated building in 1985, and began to
construct Bailey House to provide temporary safe housing for homeless people with HIV/AIDS.
As soon as it was viable, Bailey House incorporated as an independent nonprofit agency, co-
funded by ARC and the City, for the most part sharing its board of directors with ARC.
Approved by the City only to develop a shelter for homeless people living with HIV/AIDS,
Convention