Quality or Quantity?: Quality of Life Issues
Among Aging Adults with HIV/AIDS

By Candice Comisi

When people were first being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, many thought that their lives were sure to end quickly. As more is known about the condition and people are living longer, there appears an obvious shortage of resources for people living with HIV/AIDS. Affordable housing, adequate health care, and stable employment or income are among many things crucial to the long-term survival of people aging with HIV/AIDS.

An article published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine reports that among a control group of 478 people living with HIV/AIDS, the loss of employment due to their HIV status was highest among women and those who lacked a secondary education. Of the study participants, 149 had lost their jobs and one out of three cited their health was a catalyst. One in five had been fired. Although people living with HIV/AIDS are protected under the Americans with Disability Act (1990) under federal law, this only applies to businesses with 14 or more workers. Laws for smaller businesses vary from state to state, subjecting many people with HIV/AIDS to potential discrimination and lack of employment.

As discussed in the New York Times, the Center for Diseases Control reports that the number of people age 50 and older living with HIV has increased 77 percent from 2001 to 2005. People living with HIV/AIDS years after a diagnosis are facing previously unexpected problems in an array of chronic co-morbid diseases and conditions, and face high rates of depression. Furthermore, those who were diagnosed assumed their lives would come to an end within a couple of years. As quoted in an article from the Medical College of Wisconsin's website HealthLink, "There were a lot of people [living with HIV/AIDS] maxing out their credit cards and giving away things. They really thought that they weren't going to be here for longer than a year or so." Those living with HIV/AIDS much longer than expected are in dire need of options and support as many need to start their lives over from scratch, as many quit their jobs or would not seek employment after the discovery of their status.

One organization in New York City was formed to address this quality of life issue. Started by decorative artist Ken Wampler in 1995, Alpha Workshops was designed "to improve the quality of life for people living longer – and healthier – with HIV/AIDS." He began to see that many of his friends who were living with HIV/AIDS were surviving much longer than originally predicted and lacked both creative outlets and venues for employment.

As a recipient of the 2007 Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Awards, Alpha Workshops is a one-of a kind organization. With a focus on job training in the decorative arts, their focus has not yet been replicated elsewhere. Wallpaper, lamp decorating, sculpture, restoration, and woodworking are among some of the areas in which their students may concentrate and eventually find employment. Full-time artists with Alpha Workshops earn an average of $15-18 per hour and part-time artists $11 per hour. This is particularly impressive for New York City as 4.7% of its population, - which amount to 1 in 70 New Yorkers - is unemployed and it has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the United States.

Organizations like Alpha Workshops have taken part in filling a much needed gap for people living with HIV/AIDS who are unemployed. Because the lives of the first generation of people with HIV/AIDS ended quickly after their diagnosis, there was no proof that people would be living for a longer time. Now that years have been added to their lives, quality must be added, too.