Discrimination, drug addiction among struggles at Light House By Marina Esplin-Jones More than half the residents of STAR's home for people with AIDS are also struggling with drug addiction, says the charity's director.

Mrs. Carolyn Armstrong also revealed workplace discrimination against people with the disease had reached the point where some had decided to turn to the Human Rights Commission.

One such person was a blue collar worker who recently found out he was HIV-positive. His colleagues were now refusing to work with him, Mrs.

Armstrong said. And there were other such cases, she said.

Human Rights Commission boss Canon James Francis refused to discuss the issue.

Mrs. Armstrong said counselling for the roughly half a dozen residents of the Light House with drug problems was an additional expense for the already cash-strapped volunteer group.

She revealed that STAR (Supportive Therapy for AIDS Persons and their Relatives) would be looking at approaching the Council Partners anti-drugs coalition regarding finances.

Drugs were a factor in the spread of AIDS in two ways, she said. There were the intravenous drug users who contracted HIV by sharing needles. Others were those whose judgment was impaired by substance abuse.

When asked if she would have liked STAR to have been included in the Partners' upcoming $5-million cash drive, she said she was not informed enough on the coalition and its aims to say.

But, she said, "Funds are very limited. We need money in every area. Right now, I could do with a $100,000 and that's only for now.'' She said it was important that people understood STAR's role was one of hands-on community support. Agape House catered to those who were terminally ill and the Allan Vincent Smith Foundation's main aim was AIDS education.

STAR director says home needs funds for nutrition From Page 1 Mrs. Armstrong said nutrition costs were one of STAR's major expenses.

Eating right, taking vitamins, other supplements and the proper medications were critical to the health and comfort of people with AIDS, she said. "It's so vital to how they weather the daily stresses.'' Cash was also needed to pay the rent for the Light House, STAR's seven-bedroom home for people with AIDS, and for their medical care.

This summer was the one-year anniversary of the Light House, which currently provides shelter to eight otherwise homeless people with AIDS.

Volunteers were vital to keeping the home going by bringing in home-cooked meal, caring for the weaker residents and helping groom them. However, due to stressful nature of the job, especially when close relationships were formed with dying residents, many good volunteers were lost, she said. As a result, volunteers were always needed.

Mrs. Armstrong, who lives in the house with her husband, added she was seeing more people who had contracted HIV through heterosexual relations joining the "family.'' Latest AIDS statistics show 18.5 percent of all AIDS cases are a result of heterosexual sex.

The Smith's Parish home is rented from the Housing Corporation but its exact location is kept a secret to avoid "not-in-my-backyard'' syndrome.

Mrs. Armstrong said a worrying factor was that even after STAR's eight years of being, there was still a great deal of discrimination and stigma attached to having AIDS.

In the private sector especially, she said people did not want people with AIDS working with them. "This includes employers and employees,'' she said.

"The discrimination is not from lack of education,'' she said. "I think the Health Department has been very astute in that regard. The problem is people are not processing the information correctly.'' Mrs. Armstrong felt more involvement from the community was needed to combat the discrimination and slow the spread of HIV.

"Society needs to sit up an pay attention,'' she said. "AIDS is not going to go away. People need to get involved in every way from volunteering to forming support groups such as mothers of people with AIDS.'' STAR DIRECTOR Mrs. Carolyn Armstrong counsels at Light House. More than half the residents are addicts.

HOME FOR THE HOMELESS -- STAR director Mrs. Carolyn Armstrong and husband the Rev. Henry Armstrong, at Light House, a home for AIDS victims.