COLUMNIST CORRECTED

Tom Winterhoff's column in last Friday's paper provides an excellent
portrayal of the challenges AIDS Vancouver Island faces in working
to address the impacts that the needle exchange has on the
surrounding neighbourhood.

He accurately points out that the Vancouver Island Health Authority
and the provincial government urgently need to attend to the effects
of addiction, poverty and homelessness on our community.

There are also two small, but significant, errors in Mr.
Winterhoff's column that it is important to correct.

First, he says that "VIHA wants to reduce its annual contribution to
AVI's three south Island facilities by 37.5 per cent," which is
inaccurate. AVI does not have three facilities in Victoria. VIHA has
proposed a 37.5 per cent cut to three separate AIDS
service organizations in the south Island: AIDS Vancouver Island,
the Vancouver Island Persons With AIDS Society and the Victoria AIDS
Resource and Community Service Society.

Second, Mr. Winterhoff suggests that VIHA's funding to AVI will be
cut by $468,000. This is incorrect. The three agencies mentioned
above are collectively facing cuts of $450,000, effective April 1,
2008 - cuts which will mean significant reductions in services for
people with HIV/AIDS in our community.

Miki Hansen,

executive director,

AIDS Vancouver Island, Victoria