HIV/AIDS Agency Expands Services with Move to Midtown

Positive Impact, a nonprofit organization that offers mental health and other services to those affected by HIV/AIDS, soon will serve more people.

On Oct. 3, Positive Impact plans to open a new office in Midtown. The organization is relocating to 60 11th Street, between Peachtree and West Peachtree streets.

"This will be a great opportunity for us and for the community to be involved in our work," Michael Baker, director of advancement, said in an email.

Positive Impact was founded in 1993 and has been in its current location on Ralph McGill Boulevard since 2003.

It’s moving now due to the large number of people who need the HIV/AIDS services they offer — many times for free to those who qualify.

Baker said he is beginning to see a troubling trend of more and more people needing services who don’t have insurance. At the same time, a decreasing amount of funding is available for these services. Plus, Baker believes the amount of people seeking services the nonprofit offers is likely to grow.

Parking has always been an issue for the 5,000 clients Positive Impact serves each year, Baker said. The new location, however, should make getting to their services easier. It offers a large parking lot, and the Midtown MARTA station is less than a block away on 10th Street.

The organization is proud of its comprehensive services, which bring a useful combination of HIV/AIDS programs and services.

“To the best of our knowledge, there isn’t another organization in the country that provides the services that we provide in one location,” Baker said.

“We will be keeping all of the current services we have, which include mental health counseling, a licensed intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment program and risk-reduction programs for the HIV-affected, as well as HIV and STD screening.”

In the future, he said, the organization hopes to increase its risk-reduction services.

“We hope someday to be put out of business by a cure, but until then, we’ll keep providing the services our clients need, day after day,” Baker said.

Positive Impact will not offer any services between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3 during the move. When it reopens its doors, the hours will stay the same.

Check the website for more information or call 404-589-9040. The organization is seeking people with clinical and counseling experience for their clinical volunteer program.

Note: Midtown Patch profiled the in June. Positive Impact collaborates with the clinic by offering Spanish-speaking counseling services. However, the two serve different communiites. Positive Impact can provide services to someone with HIV regardless of their T-cell levels, whereas the Ponce clinic can only provide services to those with less than 200 T-cells.