150 Gather to Mark Opening of New Home for Patients With AIDS

After four years of hard work by family, friends and volunteers, Betty Jean Dye was able to open the door to her son’s dream.

Christopher Dye, who had hoped to build a home for people with AIDS in Ventura County, succumbed to the disease in 1990 before he could achieve his goal.

But Saturday, more than 150 people gathered outside a 100-year-old renovated Victorian on East Thompson Boulevard in Ventura to celebrate the grand opening of Christopher House.

“It’s beautiful,” Dye said, gesturing to the home. “You know he’s watching over all of this.

“The kid upstairs made us all work.”

Listening to the band Rux Reid and the High Society Men perform jazzy renditions of Cole Porter songs, the crowd took quick tours of the two-story house.

“I saw this place when no paint was on the walls,” Dye said, standing in the freshly painted entryway of the home. “This is beautiful. How can you not be impressed?”

The six-bedroom house and two cottages behind it will function as a home for 12 AIDS-infected and HIV-positive residents. The residents will have keys to come and go, and each will pay a minimal rent, about 30% of their Social Security payment.

“This is what he wanted,” Dye said. “This is for people who are being kicked out of their homes because they have AIDS, or who might not have anywhere else to go but a fleabag hotel. This will be their home.”

The residents--including one couple and their young daughter who are all HIV-positive--will move into the house and cottages beginning June 1.

David, a 39-year-old Ojai resident suffering from the disease, will be one of the first people to move in. He asked that his last name not be used.

“I feel lucky,” he said as he walked gingerly to an armchair in the living room. “I’ve been out of circulation since I first went into the hospital last February. It’s nice to know all these people care about me.”

*

David said he believed that the three meals a day and care from local volunteers would help him focus on staying healthy. He said he felt weak from losing more than 50 pounds after a recent illness but hoped his new surroundings would put him back on his feet.

The event included a silent auction of donated items, including an autographed poster from the movie “Philadelphia” with signatures from stars Tom Hanks and Mary Steenburgen, a print signed by artist David Hockney and a poster signed by Whoopi Goldberg.

The money raised from the auction will help pay the $200,000 a year needed to operate the facility.

Trisha Davis, Christopher Dye’s sister and vice president of the Christopher House Foundation, said all the hard work over the last four years by her family and her brother’s friends, as well as dozens of volunteers, was well worth it.

“Seeing the people you’re helping gets you through all the tough times,” she said. “This is what it’s all about, a real home for people. It’s what Christopher wanted.”