Housing Works: Housing Prevents AIDS. Housing Improves Health.

Housing Works has received lots of attention for opening two new stores in New York this year. What you probably don’t know is that we helped open our first partner thrift shop in Saint-Marc, Haiti.

Haiti is the country hardest hit by HIV/AIDS in the Western Hemisphere. With a population of roughly eight million, there are an estimated 271,000 people living with HIV and over 150,000 AIDS orphans. Stigma is widespread and there is little political or financial support for those who get infected. In order to help, Housing Works presented a $10,000 Keith D. Cylar Award to Esther Boucicault and her organization FEBS in 2008.

The more we learned about FEBS the more we wanted to do. We joined in their advocacy efforts. And we sent a shipping container filled with extra clothing from our warehouse to Haiti along with staff to do start-up trainings in order to establish “FEBS Boutik,” a thrift store on the Housing Works model.

Despite logistical challenges, on the first day we raised $1,100 in a country where the average person makes less than $2 a day. Today, the store is selling clothes faster then we can ship them, and the profits are helping FEBS expand its operations to include a full-service AIDS clinic and housing facility that mirror our own operations.

When you donate to Housing Works you can be sure it’s going to good use!

Donate at one of our nine locations during regular business hours, or call 1-888-HW-DONATE for a free furniture pick-up.

You can also make an cash gift and support our work at home and abroad.

Check out some shots we took on our last trip down there in August.