Spokane AIDS Network (SAN) began as an informal network of friends, medical caregivers, and concerned citizens in 1985. The first known case of AIDS in Spokane County was diagnosed in 1984. Dr. Jeff Collins, Dr. Dan Coulston, and Tom Crowe of the Spokane County Health District met to discuss creating an AIDS support group which would include Community Mental Health, Department of Social and Health Services, members of the gay community, and other volunteers to coordinate services for people with AIDS.
In the beginning, SAN concentrated primarily on coordinating end-of-life services and encouraging "safe sex" practices. Our focus expanded in the mid 1990s as client needs changed with advancements in drug treatments that extended lives and redefined the disease.
Articles of incorporation were filed in June 1987, and members of SAN's first board of directors were elected. Jerry Watts was chosen to chair the board. Our first part-time staff person, Diane Jeffers, was hired that summer to provide education, volunteer training, and referral services. Our first full-time staff person joined us the following winter, and SAN soon opened its first office at Broadway and Ash. The Washington State Legislature passed the Omnibus AIDS Act of 1988, which mandated AIDS education for health care providers and allocated some funding for AIDS-related services. SAN offered some of the first AIDS education programs in Spokane in the spring of 1989. A full-time caseworker was hired through a grant from the Spokane County Health District and Ginger Goble became our first executive director.
SAN offices moved to 10th and Perry in the fall of 1989, around which time SAN was awarded its first Community Development Block Grant. Holiday Baskets were introduced that year as well, and delivered to 25 clients; the program now serves 85 families. SAN also began receiving Ryan White Care Act funding.
The offices moved again, to a house on Gardner, before SAN bought the building at 9th and Monroe in the spring of 1996. The purchase was made possible through the generous contributions of the Comstock Foundation and a successful Capital Campaign.
SAN staffing has changed too. Anne Stuyvesant was executive director from 1997 to 2002. Susan Fabrikant served from 2002 to June of 2009. Katie Coker took the helm in July 2009.
SAN's current staff includes 9 professionals and more than 50 committed volunteers and interns.