AIDS

Round 1982, the first reports of large numbers of AIDS victims in New York's gay and drug scene emerge. How long will it be before AIDS reaches our country? Surely we cannot passively wait and see what the consequences are here? However, nothing more than internal meetings about these questions came for the first few years. Until Pastor Douwe Wouters is approached by a visitor he has known for years. He tells him that he has AIDS and asks the pastor if he would like to visit him in the hospital. Now something has to happen, Wouters realizes immediately. According to him, the Regenboog cannot ignore this new social problem. A large proportion of the addicts in Amsterdam will become infected, he is convinced. If they become ill, they will usually not be able to fall back on a social network. There will be a working group that will submit a policy plan to the government, ask for support from church supporters and seek support from the community.

The success of syringe exchange
The new disease AIDS is transmitted in part by intravenous drug use (syringe exchange). The Regenboog introduced free syringe exchange in 1984, spearheading harm reduction, an internationally embraced approach that puts the health of drug users first. The municipality responds skeptically to the various projects proposed by The Regenboog. Only the syringe exchange project fits into their policy. In addition to the syringe exchange spot in the Tabe Rienkshuis, there will now be an exchange van where drug users can get clean syringes. This project by De Regenboog later proved to be one of Amsterdam's most effective AIDS prevention tools, which also managed to greatly reduce nuisance.

Buddy project for AIDS support
More support comes from the churches. In early 1988, De Regenboog received an invitation to join a delegation from the Council of Churches visiting relief projects for people with AIDS in the United States. In San Francisco this delegation met a group of fathers. They have set up a system with volunteers who offer practical and emotional support to drug users with AIDS. De Regenboog adopts that idea. So on August 15, 1988, the buddy project begins in Amsterdam with two staff members and a growing number of trained volunteers. At first, funding comes from the churches. After research by the Dutch Center for Mental Health in 1991 shows the positive results of the buddy project, the national government starts providing subsidies.

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