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Houston Area Community Services, Inc. records

 Collection
Identifier: MS 670
Finding aid note: Stored offsite at the Library Service Center. Please contact Woodson Research Center woodson@rice.edu or 713-348-2586 to access records.

Scope and Contents

The Houston Area Community Services records document the merged efforts of Bering Memorial United Methodist Church and Omega House to serve indigent and underserved patients of HIV/AIDS who could no longer be helped by the traditional medical community. The records are a comprehensive, but not all-inclusive, accounting for the functions of the administrative, financial, committee, business- and service-oriented areas for HACS primarily for the period 1998-2014 as overseen by President Ann Read.

Dates

  • 1986 - 2014

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open to the public.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.”

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish from the Houston Area Community Services, Inc. must be obtained from Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Biographical / Historical

HACS was established in 1998 as a minority-based AIDS service to African American and Hispanic/Latino people living with HIV/AIDS. Objectives were to provide affordable, quality medical care, a pharmacy, behavioral health services and living assistance to individuals and families residing in Harris County and the surrounding areas. In 1997 the founder Joe Fuentes realized the need for an expanded health organization that would provide essential and specialty health services to patients living with chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS. Mr. Fuentes was then able to extend the approach to all eligible residents of Harris County who were faced with the same social determinants that contributed to poor health.

In 1986 volunteers from Christ Church Cathedral and Bering Memorial United Methodist Church established Bering Community Service Foundation to provide compassionate care to people living with challenges posed by the new epidemic of HIV/AIDS. The same year, Eleanor Munger, founded a residential hospice, Omega House to provide a safe and caring environment for those living through the final stages of HIV/AIDS. Omega House joined with Bering to offer a holistic approach to care for those with HIV/AIDS and formed Bering Omega Community Services to offer a wide range of healthcare and social services for indigent, under-served clients in the greater Houston area.

In November 2016, Houston Area Community Services and Bering Omega merged as a Federally Qualified Health Center under the name Avenue 360 Health & Wellness.

Extent

3.5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

The Houston Area Community Services records document the merged efforts of Bering Memorial United Methodist Church and Omega House to serve indigent and underserved patients of HIV/AIDS who could no longer be helped by the traditional medical community. The records are a comprehensive, but not all-inclusive, accounting for the functions of the administrative, financial, committee, business- and service-oriented areas for HACS primarily for the period 1998-2014 as overseen by President Ann Read.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in four series, with subseries as appropriate: Series I Administrative/operational; Series II Committees; Series III Financial/budget/insurance; Series IV Organizations/business- and service-related

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated by Avenue 360, formerly Houston Area Community Services, Inc., Joe Fuentes, Executive Director, on Oct. 26, 2016.

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Source

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Houston Area Community Services, Inc. records, 1986-2014
Status
Completed
Author
Lee Pecht
Date
2017
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892