Maui AIDS Foundation speakers describe testing, harm‑reduction and correctional facility work; request continued county support
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Summary
Multiple Maui AIDS Foundation staff and clients described free HIV/Hep C/STI testing, syringe exchange, Narcan distribution, insurance navigation and correctional‑facility education/testing. Speakers asked the council to continue funding the nonprofit's county line items that support these public‑health services.
Linda Popolo, executive director of the Maui AIDS Foundation (MAF), and several MAF staff and volunteers told the committee county funding enables free HIV, hepatitis C and STI testing, harm‑reduction services, a free clinic for uninsured patients, syringe exchange, Narcan distribution and a food pantry.
Popolo described the foundation’s outreach and the health consequences of untreated STIs, noting that vaccination and testing programs are a public‑health priority. Nurse practitioner Brian Chin described running the free clinic, offering pre‑exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post‑exposure prophylaxis (PEP), no‑cost HIV medication samples and treatment navigation; Chin said the clinic keeps the county’s new HIV incidence near zero in the last year.
Mona Shaw Rodriguez (prevention and education director) and Krishna Tarok (prevention staff) described weekly education and testing at the Maui Correctional Community Center; they said MAF provides rapid tests on site and referrals for confirmatory care and treatment while incarcerated. Gertrude Holder (health insurance navigator) described enrolling uninsured clients into MedQuest and other plans and doing outreach through mobile and resilience‑center sites.
Multiple speakers emphasized the foundation’s role as a confidential, low‑barrier care provider for uninsured and underinsured residents and for people displaced by last year’s fires. They asked the council to continue prior grant levels so clinics and outreach can continue uninterrupted.
Ending: No formal vote was taken. Committee members heard multiple operational descriptions and requests to maintain county funding for MAF programs that serve houseless, uninsured and medically vulnerable residents.