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Treatment Information Network / Boston Buyer's Club History
The Treatment Information Network ("TIN"), a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational organization, was founded in 1995 in response to a demand for greater access to treatment information, strategies and non-pharmaceutical products for people living with HIV/AIDS.
TIN operates the Boston Buyer's Club ("BBC"), which was also founded as a not-for-profit entity in 1995. (Boston was one of only a few larger cities in the United States without a Buyer's Club.) The primary objective of TIN and BBC is to identify promising natural, alternative, and complementary therapies and make them available for people with HIV. Even though TIN/BBC was formed to help people with HIV, EVERYONE is welcome to join and buy natural products and nutritional supplements.
One of the first activities of the BBC was the coordination of a natural informal study of SPV-30, an all-natural herbal extract from France, which was being formally studied in clinical trials in France for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. David Stokes secured free products from the French manufacturer to give to 400 study participants in exchange for specific laboratory blood tests over a six-month period. The BBC conducted the study on SPV-30 and began to identify other promising alternative therapies and gather research information.
Soon after the BBC was incorporated, it became apparent that Boston needed an HIV treatment education agency much broader than a buyer's club. In the past several years, the availability of exciting new pharmaceutical treatment options for those suffering from HIV/AIDS has led to an increased need for information gathering to understand these new treatments and how to deal with their many side effects. Gaining access to non-pharmaceutical therapies, information and research is often difficult. The role of the TIN is to provide information regarding treatment strategies, the availability of drugs and natural products, and to educate people living with HIV/AIDS and others of their potential uses and effects.
TIN has provided treatment information and referrals to many individuals over the past several years. To date, TIN has referred members to health care professionals and other organizations in the United States to obtain information and to find pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products and therapies for HIV/AIDS.
Research indicates that vitamins, minerals and other supplements play an important role in maintaining a healthy immune system. Many people living with HIV/AIDS spend significant sums of money on vitamins and other food supplements as part of their regular treatment regimen. Because natural products are not covered by health insurance and because the financial resources of many of our members are limited, the BBC sells products to members at prices considerably lower than local health food stores, drug stores and supermarkets. And again, TIN/BBC is open to EVERYONE regardless of HIV or financial status.
We hope our website offers you both the information and products you seek. Our goal is to keep the website updated with the most current information we have to offer. Please take a look at our resource links below and feel free to offer any suggestions on how we may serve you and your needs better.
Thank you!
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AIDS Housing Corporation is a not-for-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts that facilitates the creation of housing programs for people living with HIV disease and AIDS.
www.ahc.org
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The Boston Living Center is a non-profit community and resource center dedicated to serving all people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. With more than 1,750 HIV positive members, it is the largest member-led organization for people with HIV in New England. Through peer support and direct services, the BLC gives people the tools to live with HIV and AIDS.
www.bostonlivingcenter.org
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The Multicultural AIDS Coalition, Inc. is a non-profit community-based organization committed to the delivery of HIV/AIDS related prevention, education and intervention services for communities of color. The MAC emphasizes intervention strategies to promote individual and community empowerment and institutional capacity building. The MAC is committed to these strategies for the effective prevention, advocacy and public policy development in the fight against HIV/AIDS disease.
www.mac-boston.org
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