The Damien Center, the largest HIV and AIDS service organization in Indiana, expanded its HIV services with a new three-floor headquarters located in the Near Eastside of Indianapolis.

 

The Damien Center was established in 1987 in response to the local AIDS crisis. Today, the center continues to offer quality health care for thousands of Indiana residents affected by HIV and their families. 

 

“Last year, our staff across all our programs served more than 11,000 people. It’s crazy that we had that many people come in and out of that small building. So in this building, we will be able to serve 25,000 people,” Damien Center president and CEO Alan Witchey said at a press conference, according to WFYI.org. “That is extraordinary.”

 

Known as the Mosaic building, the headquarters spans nearly a whole city block in the Near Eastside. The Mosaic building will help expand the Damien Center’s supportive services, including HIV prevention and testing, mental health services, pharmacy and medical clinic access, housing assistance, legal services and more.

 

Approximately 12,781 people were living with HIV in Indiana in 2022, according to AIDSVu data. That same year, more than 600 people were diagnosed with HIV, and 100 people were diagnosed with AIDS.

 

Witchey said the center represents the progress made to ensure people living with HIV can live long lives.

 

Like many other leaders of HIV health care centers and nonprofits in the United States, Witchey and his colleagues are concerned about the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s proposed funding cuts for HIV research, prevention and intervention services.

 

Witchey expressed gratitude for the donors, funders, crews and board and committee members who made the new facility possible.

 

“We are not backing down. We are going forward. We are expanding the work we’re doing. We are here for the community to support and prop up, to end HIV and to eliminate health disparities for LGBTQ communities,” Witchey said.