West House Inc

West House Personal Care Home is a non-profit, fully licensed 18-bed assisted living facility with the mission of creating a homelike environment dedicated to enriching quality of life and upholding personal dignity by providing compassionate resident-centered care.

Founded by a staff member of a small AIDS service organization (AIDS Resource), West House was created after AIDS Resource (AR) clients were repeatedly denied placement in assisted living facilities owing to their HIV status.  Years of discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS culminated in AR filing complaints with the PA Department of Public Welfare (the licensing body for assisted living facilities), the Federal Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Fair Housing Equal Opportunity.  Although AR was eventually victorious, the victory was a shallow one as the result was a mandate requiring the discriminating assisted living facility to grant admittance to the client. Unwilling to house the client in a facility where he was guaranteed substandard care, AR staff continued to fight for appropriate placement for the client who ultimately died.

Determined to ensure that no HIV+ person will again face the life-threatening fear and discrimination that persists in pockets of our rural community, the AR Director founded a new and separate non-profit, West House, Inc.

Immediately after incorporating, West House, Inc. (named for the client who was denied housing) began the licensing procedure and bought the very facility against which the discrimination suit was filed.

Because client confidentiality is of utmost concern, the decision was made not to make West House an AIDS-specific home, but rather a home for all people.

In 2010, 94% of our expenses went directly to support our programs. (65% is the Wise Giving Alliance's Standard for Non-Profit Responsibility; more than 85% is generally considered extraordinary performance.

Our Administrator was recognized at the National Conference on AIDS with the "5 Years/5 Heroes" award, recognizing 5 people nationwide who have made an extraordinary contribution to those living with HIV/AIDS.  Our Administrator was the only award recipient from a rural community and is featured in the not-yet-released documentary, "Heroes in the Fight," by Academy Award-winning Director, Cynthia Wade.