AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod (ASGCC) saves lives through prevention, education, and life-sustaining services that address public health crises to build healthy communities across the Cape and Islands.
History
ASGCC’s roots are in Provincetown, where in the early 1980’s community members joined together to respond to the emerging AIDS epidemic. For years this was a fight for the civil rights of people living with HIV, and equally so a fight for the lives of people living with HIV. Starting in the late 1990s, following the introduction of effective medication interventions which changed the lives of so many living with HIV, the agency’s services evolved (and expanded to include all of the Cape and Islands) to focus on helping clients live longer and healthier lives, ensuring they had access to healthcare, financial resources, and other vital support systems. Currently, ASGCC serves over 400 clients living with HIV, across all of the Cape and Islands with offices in Provincetown, Hyannis, Falmouth and Martha’s Vineyard.
There is another public health crisis where our staff’s expertise and skillset is needed: the opioid epidemic. On Cape Cod opioid deaths now represent the fastest growing cause of death in Massachusetts since the initial AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s. Throughout the opioid epidemic, ASGCC has continued its key role fighting to save lives.
Some may ask, why is an AIDS organization fighting a drug epidemic? The answer lies in our belief in the principles of Harm Reduction, and the agency’s commitment to prevent the transmission of HIV and other STIs. Through community outreach, testing and prevention services, ASGCC connects with people who inject drugs to ensure they receive access to healthcare and the help available to avoid acquiring HIV (as well as HCV). ASGCC led the charge in making Narcan (the medication which reverses opioid overdoses) available Cape-wide, and today provides Narcan training and distribution throughout the Cape and Islands to prevent opioid overdose deaths.
ASGCC has trained thousands of community members in the use of Narcan and is responsible for saving over 2,000 lives via our Narcan program.
ASGCC is committed to making a difference in the lives of our residents of Cape Cod, treating all with dignity and respect. We believe in the dignity of all, inclusive of all races, genders, orientations and identities.