The Pacific Pride Foundation is ending its HIV case management and food pantry program and will soon transfer its 200 clients to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.

The county has subcontracted with the Pacific Pride Foundation for years, but Public Health won’t be renewing the current contracts that end in March and April, executive director Colette Schabram.

There are new HIV/AIDS health care priorities from state and federal offices including quick connections to care for people who test positive for HIV, and data management of HIV-positive populations, Schabram said.

The county will be doing that care internally, so funding to Pacific Pride Foundation was cut, she said. Public Health and Pacific Pride will work closely in the next few months to transition clients.

Two Pacific Pride Foundation employees will be transferred to another program and a handful will be laid off with the program cuts.

Schabram said the nonprofit organization continues to provide free mental health services, HIV prevention and education, anonymous STD testing, and youth services.

Pacific Pride Foundation will also focus on its prevention and testing programs and using its new “health utility vehicle,” a van with two temperature-controlled areas for mobile HIV and Hepatitis B testing.  

These recent cuts come as the organization is “not currently on solid ground” financially and is asking for $350,000 in community donations to close out the current fiscal year, Schabram said.

HIV service organizations are financially struggling all over the country as funding gets cut, she said.

“Basically what’s been happening over the course of the last eight years is our costs to run programs exceeds the amount of contracts that we receive.” 

— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.