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Guide to the AIDS Resources, Information & Services (ARIS) Records
MSS-2004-23-03  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Processing Information
  • Organizational History
  • Related Material
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: AIDS Resources, Information & Services (ARIS) Records
    Dates: 1986-2003
    Bulk Dates: 1990-2001
    Collection number: MSS-2004-23-03
    Collector: San José State University
    Collection Size: 17 boxes, 21.5 linear feet
    Repository: San José State University. Library.
    San José, California 95192-0028
    Abstract: The AIDS Resources, Information & Services (ARIS) Records, 1986-2003 (1990-2001), document the services, publicity efforts and internal functioning of the ARIS volunteer foundation which provided information, resources and support for AIDS & HIV positive patients in Santa Clara County. ARIS offered practical assistance to patients through a monthly food basket program that provided nutritional supplements, a 24-hour residential care facility, transportation services, and weekly emotional support groups. ARIS also provided public programs that informed the public about AIDS & HIV prevention as well as humanizing often stigmatized HIV-positive people. The records consist of materials documenting many different facets of the organization such as manuals and guides for volunteers, clippings documenting the impact of ARIS in the community, an archive of the monthly and quarterly newsletter the ARIS Pages, plaques and commendations given to the organization over the years, banners carried by ARIS volunteers in local parades, posters, t-shirts and stickers from AIDS prevention campaigns, and VHS tapes and documentaries related to the organization itself and AIDS awareness in genernal on both local and national levels. This collection is arranged into five series: Series I. Administrative Materials, 1989-2001 (1990-2001); Series II. Photographs, 1989-2002 (1991-2001); Series III. Newsletter, 1986-2002 (1988-2000); Series IV. Media, 1987-2000 (1989-1996); and Ephemera, 1987-2001 (1987-2001).
    Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

    Access

    The collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives. Copyright restrictions may apply to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

    Preferred Citation

    AIDS Resources, Information & Services (ARIS) Records, MSS-2004-23-03, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.

    Processing Information

    Collection processed by Stephanie Waslohn. Finding aid EAD encoded by Stephanie Waslohn. Reviewed by Danelle Moon.

    Organizational History

    ARIS (AIDS Resources, Information & Services), a now defunct organization, was a volunteer non-profit organization founded in 1986 with the mission "to provide HIV/AIDS prevention and support services to the people of Santa Clara County." ARIS focused on the practical realities of the day-to-day needs of persons living with HIV or AIDS, as well as their emotional health and wellness. ARIS provided a variety of services that included weekly emotional support groups, transportation services, practical assistance through a monthly food basket program that included nutritional supplements, housing assistance including a 24-hour residential care facility and multiple housing locations throughout the county, and HIV prevention and community education through community outreach. These services were available to persons with AIDS or HIV-positive status residing in Santa Clara County as well as their families and loved ones. The services and programs of ARIS were not limited to the HIV-positive community, but they also provided Santa Clara County with public outreach, preventative-oriented educatoinal sessions to the public about the realities of HIV & AIDS during a period rife with misinformation.
    ARIS voluntarily dissolved in 2003 after difficulties with budget cuts, decreasing individual and commercial donations, as well as the sudden death of ARIS Founder, Bob Clayton, in September of that year.

    Related Material

    Billy DeFrank LGBT Silicon Valley Community Center Records. MSS-2010-25. San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
    Gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender periodicals collection, MSS-2005-05, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
    Janet Gray Hayes papers, MSS-2002-01, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
    Mark Porsche papers, MSS-2003-04, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
    Ted Sahl Collection, MSS-2001-01-01, San José State University Library, Special Collections & Archives.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The AIDS Resources, Information & Services (ARIS) Collection, 1986-2003 (1990-2001), document the services, publicity efforts and internal functioning of the ARIS volunteer foundation which provided information, resources and support for AIDS & HIV positive patients in Santa Clara County. ARIS offered practical assistance to patients through a monthly food basket program that provided nutritional supplements, a 24-hour residential care facility, transportation services, and weekly emotional support groups. ARIS also provided public programs that informed the public about AIDS & HIV prevention as well as humanizing often stigmatized HIV-positive people.
    The records consist of materials documenting many different facets of the organization such as manuals and guides for volunteers, clippings documenting the impact of ARIS in the community, an archive of the monthly and quarterly newsletter the ARIS Pages, plaques and commendations given to the organization over the years, banners carried by ARIS volunteers in local parades, posters, t-shirts and stickers from AIDS prevention campaigns, and VHS tapes and documentaries related to the organization itself and AIDS awareness in general on both local and national levels.
    The records consist of the administrative records of the organization, which include a variety of formats, banners, CD-ROMs, framed images, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, plaques, photographs, printed materials, newsletters, a sign-in book, textiles and VHS tapes.

    Arrangement

    This collection is arranged into five series: Series I. Administrative Materials, 1989-2001 (1990-2001); Series II. Photographs, 1989-2002 (1991-2001); Series III. Newsletter, 1986-2002 (1988-2000); Series IV. Media, 1987-2000 (1989-1996); and Ephemera, 1987-2001 (1987-2001).

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    AIDS (Disease) -- California -- Santa Clara County.
    AIDS (Disease) -- Prevention.
    Gays -- California -- Santa Clara County -- History.
    Gay pride parades -- California -- San José.
    Nonprofit organization -- California -- San José.