by Robyn Maguire
News Writer
Every morning Gwendolyn Morgan wakes up and thanks God for another day. She and her husband, Terrence, start the day by taking a variety of medicines, swallowing pill after pill, as treatment for HIV.
Although weakened by the side affects, Gwendolyn struggles to help her energetic 5-year-old daughter get ready for daycare. Terrence is frantically calling to reschedule their doctor's appointment, which had been scheduled three weeks prior, but had been canceled at the last minute because the doctor was out of town.
Gwendolyn is exhausted by mid-morning, and, although Terrence has scheduled an appointment for the afternoon, he is frustrated. Once again, at someone else's convenience, their lives have been placed in limbo. Both are thankful their daughter is able to go to the Loving Arms Foundation, but the threat of its possible closing could be devastating to their family.
The LAF, the only daycare in Houston that attends specifically to the needs of children whose parents or siblings suffer from HIV or AIDS, may have to close its doors after not receiving funding from Harris County.
The foundation offers an on-staff nurse to deal with the medical needs of children diagnosed with the virus, as well as nutritional services, transportation, counseling and support groups. It serves more than 30 children per day, at a cost of $65 daily for each child. Providing staff, paying bills and other operating expenses costs LAF an average of $200,000 a year.
Unlike traditional daycares, where HIV-infected children are often quarantined, unable to play with their peers, LAF encourages the children to interact with each other. The foundation also maintains a low teacher-child ratio to better detect the special needs of each child.
UH Associate Professor of anthropology Janice Hutchinson said, because of the social stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, the LAF is a necessary service to fight discrimination in daycares.
"Some parents won't enter their children in a daycare where there are HIV-infected children," Hutchinson said.
Why the foundation lost its funding is unclear. According to LAF founder and UH graduate Audry Gassama, there's not enough belief in the need for medical staffing at the daycare, and personal politics are preventing support.
"We're the only ones in Houston who provide this service, and one of six in the nation. You'd think we would have a whole lot of funding," Gassama said.
Barbara Joseph, vice-chair of the Ryan White Council, which determines how federal money for AIDS-related projects will be spent in Harris County, said LAF is a necessary resource that does good work for the community, but was not specific as to why the program is not receiving funding from the county.
"They do a great job," Joseph said. "I have nothing bad to say about LAF. The full picture is really complex."
The LAF agreed to provide Harris County with an "acceptable" audit every 13 months. According to Sue Cooper, manager of HIV services for Harris County, LAF's failure to do so in 1993 and 1994, not politics, caused them to lose funding.
"It's a contractual requirement to provide Harris County with an acceptable audit," Cooper said. "We don't participate in the auditing."
Gassama said a family disease such as HIV or AIDS requires family members to stay together. She said they should not be separated according to who is HIV-positive and who is HIV-negative. Some siblings are forced to attend separate daycares because they are not considered "special needs" children.
After the Morgans had experienced the inadequate attention their child received at other daycares, they said they knew first-hand that LAF's flexibility and understanding is a necessity for families dealing with the virus.
"There's not proper training for dealing with these kids," Terrence said. "It's a good thing we have the daycare. We can sustain our lives."
Although Gassama said she has not been able to organize a major fundraiser for the foundation, she has had many volunteers helping to keep the doors open. Her struggle, she said, is worth the fight.
"This is a challenge, but I see the children's faces and I know I need to do what I'm doing," she said.