Council Grant to Fund AIDS Hot Line to Assist Spanish-Speaking Callers

A 24-hour Spanish-language hot line will be installed this year at the AIDS Project with a $10,000 grant from the Los Angeles City Council, according to Councilman Michael Woo, who made the motion to approve the six-month grant.

The hot line is designed to assist the estimated 10% of the callers to the AIDS Project English-language hot line who identify themselves as Latinos. Woo said that 13% of the AIDS cases reported in the county are Latinos.

“Since most AIDS information networks so far are principally targetted to the English-speaking population,” Woo said, “it is imperative that information and referral services be provided to non-English-speaking persons to counter misconceptions about the disease.”

The English-language hot line was established in October, 1983. AIDS cases reported in Hollywood and Silver Lake outnumbered those in other areas of the city, said John Mortimer, a project official.