Our Work at AIDSLaw Louisiana

American University Washington College of Law students with their supervisor at AIDSLaw

By: Julie Dabrowski


Today was our second day working at AIDSLaw Louisiana, a nonprofit that works in partnership with the NO/AIDS Task Force to provide free assistance to people with HIV-related legal problems.  Many of AIDSLaw’s clients are low income, and all deal with many challenges in their daily lives.  The lawyers who work here also face challenges in their work, as they are required to be familiar with many areas of law – everything from discrimination to custody issues to end-of-life planning.  As is the case with many nonprofits, AIDSLaw’ employees have a great deal of work to do with very limited resources.  


The Gulf Coast region suffers from an AIDS epidemic.  Louisiana ranked 4th nationally in AIDS case rates and 11th in number of AIDS cases diagnosed in 2008, and the years following have seen thousands of new cases.  The health care needs of people with HIV/AIDS have been compounded by the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the recent growth of HIV rates in the state.   Many of New Orleans’ poor were dependent on the State’s Charity Hospital System, which closed its doors after the hurricane.  This has left the uninsured without necessary medical treatment and preventative services, which in turn has contributed to the city’s culture of reactive medicine and to the growth in AIDS rates.

The most interesting part of our time at AIDSLaw has been spent doing intake (a fancy way of saying that we took down client information).  The clients we have spoken with are truly courageous people. One of the women I met today has been HIV-positive for several years, is currently unemployed, and has four children to provide for.  Yet when I asked her how her day was going, she told me it was wonderful, that it was a beautiful day and that she was very blessed.  Meeting her made me realize that many of the things we stress out about as a law students – grades, internships, whether we’re doing all the things we should be doing to prepare for our careers – are really trivial in comparison to some of the hardships that others deal with on a daily basis. 

This positive attitude is inherent in the people of New Orleans.  Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, but it did not destroy its spirit.  I have seen this spirit in many of the amazing people I’ve met here, including Ms. Sandy, the woman whose house we helped to rebuild on Monday with the St. Bernard Project.  She lost her home during Hurricane Katrina and lost her husband several years later, but is still fighting to rebuild her life.  Despite being knocked down again and again, the people of New Orleans continue to press forward.  Whether they’re fighting illness or working to rebuild their homes, their love for their city and for their families keeps them going, and they serve as an inspiration for us all.