ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : A Reprieve That’s a Relief

Two new grants apparently will keep Laguna Shanti, the controversial and financially troubled AIDS group in Laguna Beach, going until at least the end of the year. Amid the controversy over its funding, one thing has been made clear: The organization must get its act together. As the only AIDS group in Laguna Beach, where there is a high incidence of people with the AIDS virus, its services are badly needed.

AIDS Walk Orange County, after denying a Laguna Shanti request for at least $35,000 earlier this year, announced this week that it will give $10,000 to the group.

In addition, Irvine Health Foundation offered $15,000 to help get the 5-year-old group back on its feet. Money has come in from the community also.

Laguna Shanti is unlike most AIDS groups in that its services are focused on the personal needs of AIDS patients, including meal delivery, massages and classes aimed at giving clients a creative outlet and a way to handle their grief.

But for several years there have been many complaints about Laguna Shanti, including that its volunteers were disorganized and insensitive. AIDS Walk Orange County had said that, although it had granted Laguna Shanti money in previous years, it would deny the group’s request this year in part because the application wasn’t complete. If that was the case, there can be no excuse for that.

In recent months, Laguna Shanti has acquired a new executive director, Judith Doyle, who is trying to improve the group’s track record and win back community support.

Among other things, Doyle has instituted a new training program for volunteers and has beefed up programs. Also, the group’s board of directors has been expanded to include people active in the HIV community.

Those improvements, along with the new grants, should help stabilize things so that Laguna Shanti’s services can be continued. There is plenty of room in Orange County for Laguna Shanti’s unique brand of caring for those who are victims of this horrendous epidemic.