Birmingham AIDS Outreach - Birmingham AIDS Outreach 1986

Birmingham AIDS Outreach grew out of Lambda, INC, the first LGBTQ center in Alabama. The first planning meetings for BAO were held in the Lambda center in the early 1980s. In May 1985, BAO became an incorporated organization focusing on AIDS services and supports. During the early years, BAO worked closely with the Jefferson County Health Department who sponsored the AIDS hotline for $35 a month ran through BAO. BAO also partnered heavily with the AIDS Task Force of Alabama.

Today BAO provides free services to over 800 HIV positive individuals and touches thousands of lives through community events, HIV testing, and prevention outreach.

The mission of BAO is to enhance the quality of life for people living with HIV / AIDS, at-risk, affected individuals, and the LGBTQ community through outreach, age-appropriate prevention education, and supportive services.

Birmingham AIDS Outreach Newsletter
Credit: Rick Adams
Spring 1987 Birmingham AIDS Outreach newsletter detailing BAO receiving 501(c)3 status in February of that year, the helpline, and so much more.
Adams_BAO Newsletter Spr87

The work of the Invisible Histories Project is made possible by our amazing partners, our financial supporters, and individuals like you. Special thanks go out to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their continued support for the preservation of LGBTQ Deep South history and this project and AIDS Alabama for being the home of the IHP office in Birmingham.