LAGUNA BEACH : AIDS Service Group Opens New Branch

The county’s largest AIDS service group held an open house here this week to mark the official opening of its new South County branch office.

“Our goal is to bring ourselves and our programs to those that need them, rather than having them have to come to us,” said Patrick Jager, director of development for AIDS Service Foundation. “We do not want to have to make people who are ill go any more out of their way than they have to.”

Laguna Beach, which has the county’s highest per capita incidence of AIDS, makes up almost 12% of ASF’s clients, Jager said. The Irvine-based group received “an incredible amount of support from Laguna Beach” regarding opening an office in the city, he said.

However, Jager stressed that the branch will be an outreach center for clients throughout south Orange County.

“This regional center is exactly that,” he said. “This is not a center for Laguna Beach. It’s a center that enables people who live in the south part of Orange County closer access to services.”

The office, at 1929 S. Coast Highway, will be staffed with four employees: two nursing case managers to help clients with medical services; a social service case manager to assist them with such things as financial matters, transportation or housing; and a social worker. They will meet with clients in the office or at the client’s home.

To take advantage of some of the group’s other services, such as counseling sessions and the food bank, clients must still travel to the Irvine office, which is at 17982 Sky Park Circle, Suite J. Jager said ASF hopes to eventually provide those services in Laguna Beach also.

“The goal definitely is to bring our program comprehensively to that area,” he said.

Judith Doyle, director of Laguna Shanti, the city’s other AIDS service organization, said that some of Shanti’s clients will also benefit from having an ASF branch nearby since the two groups share “crossover clients.”

“Laguna Shanti welcomes ASF to Laguna Beach,” Doyle said.