“This is a milestone to celebrate for Project Transitions and all our partners in the battle to end the HIV epidemic in Central Texas,” says President of the Board of Directors Tony West. 

“Project Transitions was founded as a hospice program for people living with HIV and AIDS in 1988, and it’s a service we have provided every day since then,” explains West. “Back then, there were no effective treatments, and getting HIV was almost always a death sentence. People with the virus were unwelcome in hospitals and hospice programs, a result of overwhelming fear and stigma.”

The facility was named “Doug’s House” in honor of William Douglas Key, a former secretary of the Board of Directors who died of AIDS in 1991. Since its founding, Doug’s House has provided care to more than 700 People Living With HIV. 481 people with the virus have died there.

But since those early days, treatment has improved, and today, HIV is a manageable condition with effective treatments. “We responded to this reduction in need for end-of-life care by developing a recuperative care program at Doug’s House in 2014,” says West. “This program helped People Living with HIV recover their health after a significant medical crisis. In the past 11 years, this program has primarily served people who are unhoused and without access to medical care."

“Long ago, our work shifted from helping people die with HIV to helping them live with HIV. Closing Doug’s House is the final step in that transition.”

There's still a need in Central Texas for supportive and recuperative care for People Living With HIV, says PT Executive Director Annette Cooper. "But it’s more cost-effective for us to outsource this care than to maintain a separate facility to provide it directly,” she explains.

Current Doug's House clients will move into PT's Transitional Housing Program. PT has provided Transitional Housing since 1995; the agency has built two new facilities in the past five years that have more than tripled the program’s capacity, from 30 units to 101 units of housing.

“We are looking forward to continuing to fulfill our mission to provide compassionate care to People Living with HIV,” explains West. “With these expansions, we’ll be serving more people than ever before in our 37-year history.”

We are grateful for the hard work, generosity, and dedication of everyone who made this dream a reality. We're especially grateful for Lew Aldridge and Charlotte Hale, the co-chairs of our HIV: Housing Is Vital Capital Campaign, pictured here.

The next step is moving in new residents, a process that has already begun. This is truly a new era for HIV care in Austin, allowing us to serve and house more people and help connect them to treatment and support. What a great development for our community!

The Austin American-Statesman wrote a fantastic piece about Top Drawer’s upcoming move. Here’s one small snippet:

Unlike some thrift stores where a percentage of sales go to charity, all sales from Top Drawer go directly into the Project Transitions fund. While the move is bittersweet, it will reduce store overhead and put more money toward the nonprofit’s core mission.

The hospice facility Doug’s House receives 45% of its funding through grants. Top Drawer sales account for a lion’s share of the remaining 55% of operating expenses, says Todd Logan, Project Transitions’ director of grants and compliance. While Project Transitions has received housing grants from the city and state to help with Burnet Place, “adding 61 new apartments is going to take a lot of new staff to support,” he says. “We need Top Drawer to continue humming along in its wondrous style following this move.”

Big thanks to writer Deborah Sengupta Stith and photographer Jay Janner for capturing the mission of Top Drawer … along with its love and spirit!

After 30 years on the corner of 49th and Burnet Road, we’re packing up our iconic drawers and moving on. Top Drawer will relocate to 5312 Airport Blvd. at the end of August.

“Our store supports housing and services for people living with HIV, and the rent in our current location is taking too big a bite out of that mission,” says Sales Manager Ben Zimmerman. “Plus, that little section of Airport & North Loop needs some Top Drawer Love. And who am I to argue with that?”

The final day at the Burnet Road location will be August 26, and existing store merchandise will be discounted heavily until then. “A different department goes on sale starting every Tuesday in August,” says Ben. “What department you ask? You'll have to come and see for yourself!”

The question on everyone’s mind: what about TD’s iconic chest of drawers on top of the current location?

You can rest assured: they’re coming with us.

”We wouldn’t be Top Drawer without them,” says Ben. “Don’t you think they’ll look great over on Airport? Lammes Candies has their candy cane, and we’ll have our drawers.”

The store will open at the new location sometime in mid-September. Ben isn’t saying much about his plans for the Grand Opening, except that he promises “it will be in true Top Drawer Style. Watch the Skies and Stay Tuned.”  

A huge THANK YOU to our community for voting for us in this year's Austin Chronicle Best of Austin poll. You got us this win!

We are touched beyond belief.  What an amazing gift to receive for our Big 3-0!

The Hot Top Drawer Summer festivities continue ... please stay tuned ....

We were honored to receive the 2023 Community Vision Award from the Austin chapter of the American Institute of Architects in recognition of our Roosevelt Gardens project.

This annual award recognizes an organization that "has been instrumental in moving forward an affordable housing initiative in the Austin area," specifically noting our "ambitious vision and admirable perseverance" in building new affordable housing.

Thank you, AIA Austin! 

We're building again! This morning we broke ground on  Burnet Place, a 61-unit housing facility that will provide home and support to people with HIV in Austin for generations to come. 

"This is a huge step for Austin and for our small nonprofit," said Board Chair Tony West. "In this one facility, we'll serve more than twice as many people as we've been able to reach in the past. This will change the landscape of HIV service in Austin."

We're in the final stages of the HIV: Housing is Vital campaign, which is making these new facilities a reality. Please let us know if you'd like to get involved in this exciting community project!

The new Roosevelt Gardens is here! Today we cut the ribbon on this new community with 40 units of supportive housing for people living with HIV. 

Mayor Adler, TDHCA head Bobby Wilkinson and City of Austin Housing Director Rosie Truelove joined us and spoke about the importance of this project to our entire community.

"These projects address the intersection of HIV and homelessness," explained the Mayor.

Campaign co-chair and lead donor Lew Aldridge reminded the audience that this is just the first step -- we'll break ground later this year on the Burnet Place project, providing 61 more units for people who are in desperate need of stable housing. 

"Once they're built and paid for, these facilities provide permanent solutions to some of the most intractable issues we face – homelessness, isolation, extreme poverty. I'm so grateful for the generosity of the donors who are coming together to make this dream a reality."

“This is a historic moment in Austin,” says Executive Director Scurry Miller. “For the first time since 1998, we are expanding our community’s capacity for supportive housing for people in desperate need of help.”

The $3.5 million HIV: Housing Is Vital campaign will supplement more than $25 million in public funding to construct the two facilities. “Every dollar raised will be matched by more than $11 in public investment,” explains Miller. 

Funding will be allocated between two facilities in Northwest Austin: the 40-unit Roosevelt Gardens will welcome new clients in July 2022; the 61-unit Burnet Place will begin construction later this year and is scheduled to open in December 2023. Each facility will offer on-site clinic, telehealth, and supportive services like mental health counseling and life skills. 

“The response to the campaign has been overwhelming,” explains co-chair and lead donor Lawrence Aldridge. “Before we can even get into the details, people have been jumping in to make pledges. They understand that these facilities will serve Central Texas for generations to come — and who doesn’t want to be a part of that?”

The campaign is co-chaired by longtime Project Transitions Executive Director Charlotte Hale. “When people with HIV don’t have stable housing, they often aren’t able to sustain their daily medication, which suppresses the virus,” she explains. “An explosion of homelessness among people with HIV — which is what is happening right now — will lead to the further spread of HIV. These two facilities are the best possible news, and I’ve been so gratified by the response we’ve had so far.”

The Federal Home Loan Banks of Atlanta and Dallas have contributed a combined $1.25 million. In addition to a generous lead gift from Aldridge, the campaign has received six-figure gifts from the estate of ACC professor Frank Garrahan, Bill Dickson, Jim Lommori, Steven Frantz, and the Moody Foundation. Several generous community members have also made gifts and pledges of $10,000 - $50,000.  

The total amount raised to date is $3,161,559, or more than 90% of the $3.5 million goal. Thanks to a generous $400,000 challenge grant from the Mabee Foundation, every remaining dollar donated to the campaign will be matched. 

Board President Craig Davis praised the committee for their results. “When we first considered developing these new facilities, we never dreamed we could raise this kind of funding in support. As a lean social service nonprofit, we don’t have the resources to invest in projects like these. But thanks to Lew, Charlotte, and their volunteer committee, we’re more than 90 percent of the way there already. What they have accomplished is remarkable.”

ABOUT PROJECT TRANSITIONS: Founded in 1988, Project Transitions is dedicated to serving people with HIV/AIDS by providing supportive living, housing, recuperative care and hospice in compassionate and caring environments. PT is the only organization in Austin’s continuum of HIV care to provide housing.

To support the campaign and learn more about the new facilities,
visit www.projecttransitions.org/housing-is-vital

We were asked that question recently, and our Director of Client Services Todd Logan weighed in:

Supportive Services and Life Skills training are important components of PT’s housing program. Many clients have never had a place of their own, have not had many close role models for consistent bill payment, and possess skills - while important for survival on the street - do not lend themselves well to apartment community living. 

For street survival, making oneself seem larger than life and more intimidating is an important conflict resolution skill. In an apartment setting, this important street skill can turn the simple act of asking a neighbor to turn down their stereo into a physical altercation. Therefore, conflict resolution, relationship building, anger management, and managing relationships are all part of PT life skills training program. 

Budgeting is included in the program, to include how to manage a household budget, income vs. expenses, and the prioritization of bills such as rent. One PT client decided to forego rent payment in order to pay for her daughter’s high school graduation – the first to graduate in many years – cap/gown and senior trip.  

Both scenarios described here are real and are just two of the many other situations like this that have occurred in the PT housing program - that were they to occur with the client living in the community – would lead to eviction and homelessness. 

PT rather, looks at scenarios as teachable moments, part of the long process of skill-building, problem-solving, and the shedding of those attributes that no longer serve the client in their current life. Holding the client accountable for these behaviors is also part of the process, for if PT did not, this would not adequately prepare the client for life beyond the agency. This is homelessness prevention – for the client to be fully prepared to maintain housing over the long term once they leave the program.  

A portion of the grant will support the development of a vibrant on-site Wellness Center with services provided through collaboration with partners. These services will address physical and behavioral health, social justice, social connection, cultural identity, skill-building, nutrition, and quality of life for people with HIV.

And to ensure that we have the financial capacity to serve more clients, a portion of the grant will be used to expand our successful social enterprise, Top Drawer, which provides unrestricted funds to support our programs. There’s a large online market for high-quality secondhand merchandise … why limit our customer base to only those who can walk into one of our stores or know about our website? 

“This transformative investment will help Project Transitions grow to meet the needs of more people with HIV who are experiencing housing instability,” says CEO Cynthia Y. Herrera. 

“As we're expanding our physical infrastructure with new facilities, we must invest in our staff and financial infrastructures as well. The timing of this grant couldn't be more perfect.”

We’re very grateful to the Gilead COMPASS Initiative for this investment in HIV care in Central Texas! Thank you to everyone who is working to #EndSouthernHIV.

First, your support made it possible for us to bring on a new weekend caretaker at Doug’s House. This caretaker not only provides more support to our staff and residents, but has also implemented COVID-19 protocols, ensuring that everyone at Doug’s House stays safe during the pandemic. 

Second, your support funded a new Life Skills Coordinator. Housing is a crucial stepping stone to health and well-being, but many of our residents need more support. Whether it’s pursuing education, getting a job, connecting with family, or working toward self-improvement, our Life Skills Coordinator is there to help each of our residents gain the skills they seek to live their life to the fullest. 

Third, because of your support, our residents were able to safely move from Roosevelt Gardens to newly renovated apartments in Central Austin, where they will live while Roosevelt Gardens is being rebuilt and expanded. This is a critical step in increasing our ability to house even more our our homeless neighbors living with HIV in Central Texas. 

The year 2020 was a difficult one, but we made it through...because of you.  Nothing we did this year would have been possible without you! 

We have so many exciting things to look forward to in 2021. Our progress on rebuilding and expanding the new Roosevelt Gardens continues, and we plan on breaking ground on a brand-new building to house even more people with HIV.  

Your support in 2021 means more folks in need will have the home, health, and hope that every person deserves. As this pandemic continues to hit those on the margins the hardest, we are proud to stand by you to have real impact on the lives of some of the most vulnerable amongst us. Thank you for stepping up for our community through these uncertain times. I’m so happy that you’re on this journey with us. It’s because of you that people with HIV are getting the help they need. If you’d like to talk about your impact or if you have any questions, I invite you to call or email me. Thank you so much! 

Thanks to everyone who came out or watched the livestream. And thanks to the Austin Chronicle for their terrific coverage of the event!

In developing my concept for the challenge of representing and honoring the 600 souls who passed through Doug’s House, I drilled down to the most fundamental, unifying image I could think of. I know that energy never dies, so all of those 600 souls are now assimilated in the whole of Universal Consciousness. Their individual energies have merged with the whole. What more perfect symbol could there be? The living Mercaba. While I researched images to describe the shape of the Mercaba, I had vision of depicting 600 points of light that came together in the Cosmos to form one cohesive shape of the collective Mercaba. I then created a Mercaba using exactly 600 dots, with some being outside of the whole, in a pattern to create movement, sweeping in toward the main shape. I found a spectacular image of deep space taken by the Hubble Telescope. I mapped out small circles (which were the same diameter as the light bulbs) where each light would go, and overlaid the dots onto the Hubble image. I had that image printed out on a vinyl canvas, which was stretched over an 8’ X 4’ convex frame. Then I needed to decide what kind of lights to use. Eliminating many options, I decided the most simple execution would be to use readily-available Christmas lights, which come already strung together. I cut each circle through the vinyl, making an X with an exact knife. One by one, the lights were pushed through from the back side to expose only the tiny bulb. These were glued into place.

When I lit the piece for the fist time, it was a very emotional moment for me. I felt the energy of those 600 souls, glowing before me. My hope is that all who look at this piece will feel the bright light of each of the souls who chose Doug’s House as their safe and sacred place of transition.

-Cindy Goldman, Artist & PT Board Member

Project Transitions, a local nonprofit with a 30-year history of providing hospice care, housing, and support to people with HIV, has named Cynthia Herrera Executive Director. 

Prior to joining PT, Cynthia served as an attorney for the Texas Advocacy Project, advocating for survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. While there, she spearheaded an initiative to partner with local health providers to identify and prevent ongoing intimate partner violence against their patients.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Project Transitions, an organization with deep local roots and a history of providing compassionate care to people with HIV. The services provided don’t just improve the health of our clients — they’re also critical in our community’s battle against the virus. I’m looking forward to working with our partners as we strive to improve the health of our entire community,” she said.

Cynthia holds a JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a BA from the University of Michigan. She has served on the Access to Quality Health Care Committee of the Travis County Adolescent Health Collaborative to ensure youth-centered, quality healthcare for all young people in Travis County, and as Co-Chair of the Public Awareness Committee for the Austin Travis County Family Violence Task Force.

“Cynthia is a driven, creative, and compassionate leader, who utilizes her legal skills as an attorney to advocate for whole person and whole community wellness," said Project Transitions Board Chair Craig Davis. “We’re so fortunate to have her at the helm of Project Transitions.”

Click here to view the full report.

Content trigger warning: sexual assault/rape

As you prepare to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, I want to tell you a story about one man whose life was transformed because of your generosity this year.

Ron* grew up in rural Texas, in a place where “gay pride” is still more of a hope than a reality. Everywhere he turned as a kid, he got the message that something about him was bad and shameful.

He absorbed that message. It sank all the way into his bones. He was bullied, taunted, and hated. His parents threw him out of the house as a teenager. Not long after that, he was raped.

The HIV diagnosis was the final blow. Ron didn’t just believe — he knew — that he was unworthy of love or happiness. He self-medicated his pain with narcotics as his mental health grew steadily worse. Life on the streets brought more violence and trauma. Years of homelessness stretched into decades. He was … lost.

And then he fell off his HIV meds and started catching every infection that blew through. He lost weight. He got sicker and sicker. Ron was 53 years old. He had PTSD as a result of the rape. He had no income, no career, no family, friends, home, or savings.

But thanks to you, he wasn’t alone. He came to Doug’s House and began to get regular rest, good nutrition and daily care. He got back on his HIV meds — for good this time. Ron’s health was restored. We call it the “Doug’s House Miracle” when that happens. Our social work staff helped him apply for Social Security, which gave him an income and access to insurance for the first time in his adult life.

When Ron had recovered his strength, he moved into one of our transitional housing units. And thanks to one of our community partners, he began talking regularly with a counselor to examine his feelings of anger and grief. 

Kids like Ron grew up believing that their families would never be proud of them — that they could never live “regular” family lives themselves. They grew up being told that being gay was something to hide. Or to change, if you could.

Have we ever faced up to the damage those messages did to generations of kids? I don’t think so. But thanks to you, people like Ron — whose life was so damaged by those hurtful beliefs — have a place and an opportunity to heal.

Today, Ron has been sober for almost nine months. He’s dating someone, which is a brand new experience. He says he’s getting used to living in a community of people who accept and like him exactly as he is. Slowly but surely, he’s recovering from a lifetime of shame and rejection.

That wouldn’t have been possible without your financial support. There is no line item in the county’s budget to help homeless people with HIV regain their health — we couldn’t provide even one day of care to people like Ron without you.

But your investment also has a significant impact on our entire community’s response to the HIV crisis. People like Ron — who stayed off his HIV meds for years while still engaging in high-risk behavior — are very likely to spread the infection to others. Making that lasting connection to HIV care lowers that risk by a remarkable 96% — about as sure a thing as you can get.

Your generosity saves and transforms individual lives like Ron’s — and continue to fight the front-line battle against new HIV infections in our community. Thank you.

The international Fast-Track Cities initiative was introduced on World AIDS Day in 2014. It challenges communities to meet the following goals by 2020:

90% of individuals with HIV know their status,

90% are connected to care, and

90% have achieved “viral suppression,” that is, the virus is undetectable in their system.

So far this year, 90% of the people who have begun Project Transitions’ short-term recuperative care program — intended to connected high-risk patients to HIV care — have completed it successfully. 100% are still medication-adherent 30 days after leaving the program. And 96% of the individuals in our housing programs have remained on their medications.

That’s how we stamp out HIV in Austin — by connecting those who are the highest risk of spreading the virus to care. You help make it happen every day.

We are grateful to you, the partners who have recognized the importance of this work all along. And we’re excited to welcome new partners and strategies as part of the Fast-Track Cities Initiative! Together, we can make ZERO deaths, ZERO infections, and ZERO stigma a reality in Austin.