- Stories & Testimonials
- People with Disabilities
Joe Amaroso will be the first to tell you that he is as surprised as anyone that he is still alive and kicking. He wasn’t supposed to be.
HIV-positive for decades, Joe, now 68, was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS in 1993, a few years before the development of effective life-prolonging drug therapies.
- Joe Amoroso
“I was in the hospital with a temperature of 104 – 105,” Joe says. “They packed me on ice. I’d made a will, bought a tombstone, and took care of my funeral arrangements.”
As his health has waxed and waned over the past two decades, JFCS has been an enormous support, helping Joe to remain vitally interested in life and involved with friends and his community. For many years, he participated in a weekly group for people with HIV and AIDS. One of approximately 10 core members—all Jewish gay men—Joe found emotional sustenance, practical support, and a whole new set of friends. “It was wonderful,” he says.
Sadly, the four close friends he made from the group have all since died.
Today, Joe continues to receive nourishment from JFCS through Chicken Soupers, a group of volunteers who prepare and deliver delicious meals for people with disabilities and chronic conditions. Health permitting, Joe also attends holiday events, including Passover seders, at the agency.