Harm Reduction Center of Southern Oregon

Protests in 1991 & 1992 represented a response by an outraged rural population robbed of vital tax dollars necesary to maintain services in the countryside. As a result of these protests, rural AIDS service organizations prospered through the 1990s. Through the first half of this decade, Portland bureacrats eager to promote their careers co-opted the Statewide Planning Groups responsible for distribution of these tax dollars.

The AIDS/ARC Vigil on United Nations Plaza at the Civic Center first drew attention to the interrelated problems of poverty, homelessness and AIDS in 1985. Protestors chained themselves to the Federal Building to publicize the need for increased federal response to the crisis. Billy Russo, Harm Reduction Center of Southern Oregon founder, participated in the Vigil for three weeks in the spring of 1986. His participation influenced the evolution of the organization over its 20 year history.

Under Construction

JCC Memorial Park is named for the first person to publicly acknowledge living with HIV/AIDS in rural Southern Oregon. Trees are planted for the people who died in Southwest Oregon. The Park serves as a silent witness to how we addressed the epidemic through the dying years. THIS ALBUM IS UNDER CONTRUCTION.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The HIV Resource Center. the precursor to HRCSO served Douglas, Coos and Curry Counties. In 2006 it merged with AIDS Support And Prevention (ASAP) in Grants Pass. The two AIDS Service Organizations reorganized as HRCSO