Finding Aid to the Healing Alternatives Foundation Records, 1986-1994
Finding Aid written by Robin Chandler and Josue Hurtado, 1994
UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management, Archives and Special Collections
University of California, San Francisco
530 Parnassus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94143-0840
Phone: (415) 476-8112
Fax: (415) 476-4653
Email: http://www.library.ucsf.edu/collres/archives/contactform.html
URL: http://www.library.ucsf.edu/collres/archives/
© 2007
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid to the Healing Alternatives Foundation Records, 1986-1994
Collection Number: MSS 94-55
UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management, Archives and Special Collections
- Finding Aid Written By:
- Robin Chandler and Josue Hurtado, 1994
- Date Completed:
-
October 2007
© 2007 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Healing Alternatives Foundation records
Date (inclusive): 1986-1994
Collection Number: MSS 94-55
Creators :
Healing Alternatives Foundation Records
Extent:
Number of containers: 1 box
Linear feet: .3
Repository: The UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management,
Archives and Special Collections
University of California, San Francisco
530 Parnassus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94143-0840
Phone: (415) 476-8112
Fax: (415) 476-4653
Email: http://www.library.ucsf.edu/collres/archives/contactform.html
URL: http://www.library.ucsf.edu/collres/archives/
Abstract: Records of the Healing Alternatives Foundation, including meeting minutes,
correspondence, planning documents, publicity, newsletters, design/artwork files, funding sources and
strategies.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the
library's online catalog:
http://www.library.ucsf.edu/ .
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management. All requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manager of Archives and
Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the UCSF Library and Center for
Knowledge Management as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of
the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Copyright restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Healing Alternatives Foundation Records, MSS 94-55, The UCSF Library and Center for
Knowledge Management, Archives and Special Collections, University of California, San Francisco.
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Related Collections
Guerilla Clinic Records, MSS 90-12
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public
access catalog.
AIDS (Disease)--United States--History
Community Foundations
AIDS activists--United States
Healing Alternatives Foundation
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Healing Alternatives Foundation Records were donated to the UCSF Library 1994.
System of Arrangement
Arranged to the folder level.
Processing Information
Processed by Bill Walker, Robin Chandler, and Josue Hurtado.
Organizational History
Healing Alternatives Foundation (HAF) was formed as a "buyer's club" in April of 1987 in direct response to the
need for access to treatment information and products. It was founded with the belief that HIV/AIDS can be a
treatable, chronic disease requiring both early preventative measures and aggressive treatment of opportunistic
infections. That philosophy is accompanied by the conviction that people with HIV should become informed about
and involved with their own program of treatment and that treatment options should be both available and
affordable.
By pooling resources, founders were able to develop direct services to people with AIDS, who join HAF in order
to purchase materials at bulk prices. By 1993, membership was around 6,000 and was growing steadily. Members
come to HAF for information about treatments, access to various low-cost products, and the opportunity to share
with other members. HAF also maintains an extensive library on HIV, human immunity, and alternative healing
practices and therapeutics.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection documents both this particular organization and the phenomena of buyer's clubs, which have been
a major source of unapproved medications and other treatment modalities since the mid-1980s. Among the documents
in the first folder of the collection is one from 1986 titled "Federally Unapproved Medications for the
Treatment of AIDS and ARC; How to Get Them, How to Bring Them Home, and How to Use Them." This is an overview of
how these substances were originally obtained, with a description of how to buy drugs in Mexico and deal with
border crossings ("...look as ordinary as possible; consider it a new type of drag").
The folder titled "Photographs" contains eight snapshots of unidentified HAF members from about 1986 displaying
products recently obtained on a run to Mexico. The folder labeled "FDA and 1992 ddC Incident" contains
documentation of a 1992 FDA sampling and testing of ddC tablets purchased from HAF. These document a particular
investigation and HAF's response to it, but they also reveal the attitude and approach of the FDA and its
relationship with buyer's clubs in general. The final two folders indicate the range of products available in
1992 and how particular products were ordered.
Container List
Box 1, Folder 1
Description and History
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Articles & Bylaws
undated
Box 1, Folder 3
Board of Directors: Lists, Correspondence
undated
Box 1, Folder 8
Operations Committee
1991-1992
Box 1, Folder 9
Staff: Policies, Procedures, Memos, etc
undated
Box 1, Folder 10
Board & Staff Retreat
1993
Box 1, Folder 13
Publicity, Press Releases
undated
Box 1, Folder 14
Volunteer Program, Memos
undated
Box 1, Folder 15
Annual Reports
1987,
1988,
1990
Box 1, Folder 16
Reports, Miscellaneous
1989
Box 1, Folder 17
"HAF Gets Aggressive"
1989
Box 1, Folder 18
Library Development
undated
Box 1, Folder 21
National Buyers Club
undated
Box 1, Folder 22
Passive Immunotherapy Foundation; Correspondence
1989-1994
Box 1, Folder 23
Local Independent Agencies and Combined Charities
undated
Box 1, Folder 24
FDA and 1992 ddC Incident
1992
Box 1, Folder 25
Ordering, Product Notes, Price List
undated
