Pitt County AIDS Service Organization Incorporated (PiCASO) in Greenville, North Carolina, may be forced to close its doors because of financial difficulties, leaving about 180 of its HIV-positive clients without services, local ABC affiliate WNCT reports. PiCASO is seeking community donations over the next eight weeks so it can continue offering HIV testing, counseling and drug assistance.
Earlier this year, The United Way—PiCASO’s largest donor—cut about $25,000 in grant funding, said Aaron Lucier, president of the center’s board of directors. According to the article, other agencies followed, leaving the 18-year-old organization $40,000 in debt.
PiCASO might close this fall unless the community donations prove beneficial. But Lucier told WNCT he isn’t optimistic.
“We sent over a thousand fund-raiser letters out to folks in the community,” he explained. “We got two back for a total of $50, which didn’t even pay for the postage to send out the letters. So with that kind of reaction, we have to ask ourselves—is this financially going to be feasible to keep this agency in the community?”
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