Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center was formed in 1997 by the merger of the two leading Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS service organizations in San Francisco: Asian AIDS Project (AAP) and Living Well Project (LWP).
Formed in 1987 as a project of the Asian American Recovery Services, Inc., Asian AIDS Project was the first program in the United States to provide HIV/STD health education risk reduction services targeting the Asian and Pacific Islander community.
The Living Well Project -- formed in 1987 and incorporated in 1989 as the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance Community HIV Project (GCHP) -- was the first gay-identified Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS program in the United States and the first Asian and Pacific Islander program to provide volunteer support, case management and mental health services to Asians and Pacific Islanders living with HIV/AIDS.
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center has been repeatedly recognized for the quality of its work. A&PIWC has received commendable (the highest) ratings from the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) for its Integrated CARE Services for people living with HIV and for its HIV prevention services.
A&PIWC was also highlighted at the Mayor's 1996 Health Summit as a Center of Excellence, the only AIDS organization selected. A&PIWC's Treatment Case Mangement (TCM) model was highlighted by the federal Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) and SFDPH to support the reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act.
The agency's AQU25A program received a 1997 Cable Car Award for outstanding program for gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender youth. The Board of Directors received a 1997 Citibank Community Stewardship Award for excellence in strategic management, and was a finalist for the 1997 Chevron Award of Excellence for nonprofit management.
