History
SAVE, Inc. was founded 1986 by a group of altruistic volunteers who recognized the dire need for housing for those dying from HIV/AIDS. They established SAVE Home in Midtown Kansas City, the first 24-hour hospice in the state of Missouri specifically for AIDS patients. From this humble act, SAVE has since grown into the leading social service housing agency in Kansas City for those living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS, helping nearly 700 individuals and families every single month find safe, stable, and affordable place to call home. SAVE, Inc. services a 15-county radius and offers assisted living, referral services, rent and utility assistance, emergency assistance funds, and transitional and permanent housing.
For more details on HIV/AIDS milestones, visit the
Kaiser Family Foundation's Timeline.
| 1981 | US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports first cases of rare pneumonia in young gay men, later determined to be AIDS. This marks the official beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. New York Times publishes its first news story on AIDS. |
| 1983 | HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is identified by Dr. Luc Montagneir of the Pasteur Institute in Paris. A year later, Dr. Robert Gallo of the US would discover the same virus. |
| 1985 | First International AIDS Conference held in Atlanta, GA. Ryan White, an Indiana teenager with AIDS, is barred from school and goes to speak out publicly against AIDS discrimination. Rock Hudson dies of AIDS. |
| 1986 | SAVE Foundation (later becomes SAVE, Inc.) is established by concerned community volunteers to manage and support first AIDS-specific hospice in the state of Missouri (SAVE Home). President Reagan first mentions the word 'AIDS' in public. First panel of AIDS Memorial Quilt is created. |
| 1987 | First anti-retroviral drug to treat AIDS - AZT - approved by the Federal Drug Administration. Liberace dies of AIDS. "And the Band Played On" by Randy Shilts published. |
| 1988 | Pink Floyd, in town for a concert, is moved by KC Star article and donates $10,000 in support of SAVE Home. First World AIDS Day held on December 1. US Department of Justice declares HIV/AIDS patients can no longer be discriminated against. |
| 1989 | Foreigners with AIDS banned from entering United States. SAVE no longer stands for Saving AIDS Victims Endowment, agency is referred to only as SAVE Foundation. Alvin Alley dies of AIDS. |
| 1990 | Ellen King is hired as first Executive Director of SAVE Foundation. Ryan White dies of AIDS at age 18. Ryan White CARE Act enacted by Congress, provides $220.5 million in its first year. |
| 1991 | Two new SAVE properties open to provide a total of 10 units of housing. McCarty Place and Gilligan Home, both named after founding board members and advocates James (Jay) McCarty and Gerald (Jerry) Gilligan, are available to house individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS. Magic Johnson announces he has HIV. The red ribbon is introduced as the international symbol of AIDS awareness. HOPWA (housing options for people living with AIDS) ACT enacted by US Congress. |
| 1992 | SAVE Home is renovated and expanded to an eight-bedroom house. Arthur Ashe announces he has AIDS. AIDS becomes number one cause of death for men ages 25-44 in the US. |
| 1994 | SAVE Foundation receives HOPWA funds and begins a rental/utility assistance program to assist low income individuals living with AIDS. This funding enables to SAVE to expand services to a bi-state, 11-county radius in the Kansas City region. Pedro Zamora, a young gay man living with HIV, appears on the cast of MTV's reality tv show, 'The Real World'. First Corroboree fundraiser for SAVE is held at the Kansas City Zoo. |
| 1995 | SAVE Foundation changes its name and becomes SAVE, Inc. SAVE, Inc. receives Section 811 funds from HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) and builds its third property - Prairie Home - to provide permanent housing to families affected by HIV/AIDS. First White House Conference on HIV/AIDS. First protease inhibitor approved by FDA to treat AIDS, ushering in a new era of highly active of anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). |
| 1996 | SAVE, Inc. builds Cropsey Place, a 24-unit permanent housing complex, named after founding SAVE board member and retired Army Col. Karl Cropsey. The number of new AIDS cases diagnosed in the US declines for the first time in the history of the epidemic. Heavyweight boxer Tommy Morrison announces he is HIV positive. TIME Magazine's Man of the Year is AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho. |
| 1998 | Cropsey Terrace, SAVE's fifth property, is built to house 12-units of permanent housing for those living with HIV/AIDS. SAVE, Inc. begins providing transitional housing and emergency assistance funds. After being awarded a funding grant, SAVE is able to provide rental assistance for prevention purposes to those who are homeless and suffer from dual diagnosis, such as mental illness and HIV/AIDS. This innovative approach to prevention proves to be one of the most effective interventions in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative created in the United States. First large scale human trials (Phase III) for an HIV vaccine begin. |
| 1999 | SAVE renovates Mitchell House, a three-story stone house to serve as the administrative offices. The house is named after SAVE, Inc.'s founding board treasurer, Loyed Mitchell. McCarty II, SAVE's sixth property, is constructed to provide housing for low income families affected by HIV/AIDS. With support from the MO Housing Development Commission, SAVE establishes Stepping Stones, an eight-unit studio apartment complex to provide transitional housing for those living with HIV/AIDS. SAVE, Inc. receives the Missouri Governor's Award for Excellence in Affordable Housing. |
| 2000 | Millennium Development Goals announced; reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS one of the eight goals. First International AIDS Conference held in a developing nation (South Africa). SAVE, Inc. receives the Housing and Urban Development's National Top 100 "Best of the Best" Award. CDC reports that, among men who have sex with men in the US, African American and Latino HIV/AIDS cases exceeds that of white men. SAVE constructs King's Court, named after first Executive Director Ellen King, to house families affected by HIV/AIDS. |
| 2001 | First Annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day held in the United States. Generic drug manufacturers offer to produce discounted, generic forms of HIV/AIDS drugs. June 5, 2001 marks 20 years since first AIDS case reported. |
| 2002 | Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria begins operations and approves first grants. HIV is leading cause of death worldwide among those aged 15-59. UNAIDS reports that women comprise about half of all adults living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Approval of OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test by US FDA, which is the first rapid test to use finger prick. |
| 2003 | President Bush announces PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to address HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria primarily in hard hit countries. First Annual National Latino HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the United States. |
| 2004 | Keith Cylar, long time AIDS activist and Founder and Co-President of Housing Works, Inc. in New York City, dies of AIDS at age 45. First International AIDS Conference held in Southeast Asia (Bangkok, Thailand). |
| 2005 | First No Place Like Home event (breakfast) held in May to enhance SAVE's efforts in educating Kansas City community on the importance of housing for those living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS, as well as raise funds for the agency. First Annual National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the United States. |
| 2006 | CDC revises HIV testing recommendations, suggesting routine HIV screenings for all adults ages 13-64 and yearly screening for those at high risk. First Annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the US. US Congress reauthorizes Ryan White CARE Act for third time. |
| 2008 | September marks the 15th year of SAVE's fundraiser, Corroboree, an energetic and casual party held at the Kansas City Zoo. |
| 2009 | Newly elected President Obama calls for the first ever National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States. President Obama launches the Global Health Initiative, a six-year, $63 billion effort to develop a comprehensive approach to addressing global health in low and middle income countries, with PEPFAR as a core component. U.S. Congress eliminates long-standing statutory ban on the use of federal funding for needle exchange in the United States. The Obama Administration officially lifts HIV travel and immigration ban by removing the final regulatory barriers to entry, to take effect in January 2010. Leads to announcemnet that the International AIDS Conference will return to the United States for the first time in more than 20 years, and be held in Washington, DC in 2012. |
| 2010 | Removal of U.S. HIV travel and immigration ban officially begins. The XVIII International AIDS Conference held in Vienna, Austria. The theme is "Rights Here, Right Now," with an emphasis on human rights as a central part of the HIV response. United Nations to convene summit to accelerate progress toward the 2015 UN Millennium Development Goals.
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