Residents, former residents, volunteers, counselors and members of the board of trustees gathered on a blazing hot Saturday, July 24, in the backyard of Tabor House I for the AIDS residence program's first "Men's Day."

The brainchild of Tabor House case manager Dave Kelly, Men's Day provided an opportunity for men inside and outside the program to share experiences and get to know one another better. The day included an hour of chit-chat and munchies, followed by about 90 minutes in the refreshingly cool living room and dining area for an Alcoholics Anonymous-style meeting, after which everyone dined on barbecued ribs and chicken back outside.

Kelly said he was so pleased with the way things went that he hopes to host more Men's Days in the future.

The speakers at the meeting were Chris, a former resident of Tabor House who now helps others living with drug addiction and HIV, and Fred, a recovering alcoholic who is on the staff of Open Hearth Mission. Their stories and observations inspired four others to share as well.

Tabor House's annual Giant Tag Sale July 15-17 netted a record $20,000, about $4,000 more than last year's sale. The Thursday evening wine-and-cheese Preview accounted for $4,600 of eht total, up from $3,000 last year. A long line had formed well before the doors opened.

All proceeds benefit Tabor House, a home for people with HIV/AIDS who would otherwise be homel

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Seth Kalichman, author of “Denying AIDS: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience and Human Tragedy,” to speak, sign copies on April 14

     You would think that people who claim the HIV virus does not cause AIDS, and that HIV drugs are actually poisonous, would be so scarce and discredited that no one would listen to them.

     But it doesn't take many listeners for AIDS denialism to cause great harm.

     In South Africa, an estimated 350,000 have died of AIDS because then-President Thabo Mbeki barred the import of drugs that have reduced AIDS mortality elsewhere by 80 percent.

     And in America, AIDS denialists are advising HIV-positive people to refuse medical treatment in favor of useless herbs and vitamins.

     So, though it may pain the experts to acknowledge the denialists by refuting their claims, that is what must be done, argues Seth Kalichman, author of "Denying AIDS: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience and Human Tragedy" (Springer/Copernicus Books, 2009).

     "We have learned the hard way that denialism will be not be defeated by ignoring it," he writes in his point-by-point demolition of AIDS denialism and its perpetrators.  

     Kalichman, a professor of social psychology at the University of Connecticut, will speak and sign copies of "Denying AIDS" on April 14 at 7 p.m. at the Sisters of St. Joseph convent, 27 Park Road, West Hartford. His appearance is sponsored by Tabor House, a Hartford AIDS residence program operated by the Sisters that is marking its 20^th anniversary. All book royalties go to buy HIV treatments for people in Africa.

     In the book, Kalichman explains and refutes the claims of prominent AIDS denialists, who range from a once highly respected cancer research scientist, the movement's most important figure, to medical quacks selling worthless "cures" and inept journalists hungry for a sensational story.

     Among the denialists' assertions are that HIV is a harmless virus; that AIDS actually is caused by environmental problems such as poverty, malnutrition and drug abuse; that AIDS does not exist as a discrete disease, but was invented by the medical establishment to open a new spigot of government funding and to create a new market for drug companies; and that it's the HIV drugs, not the virus, that make people sick.

     The ability of denialists to win converts, especially among vulnerable populations, should not be underestimated. Kalichman says a recent study found almost half of gay men in four cities agreed with the statement, "HIV does not cause AIDS."

     It's hard to believe denialists would have any credibility in the wake of huge advances in the treatment of HIV and AIDS. Tabor House in Hartford has borne witness to this success as it evolved from a final destination in 1990 to a halfway house between homelessness and independent living for men who are HIV-positive.

     Seth Kalichman is a professor in the Psychology Department at UConn in Storrs, and director of the Southeast HIV/AIDS Research & Evaluation (SHARE) Project. His research focuses on social and behavioral aspects of AIDS. He received the Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology in Health from the American Psychological Association, and the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society for Behavioral Medicine. He is the editor of the journal AIDS and Behavior, and publishes a blog on AIDS denial (denyingaids.blogspot.com).

     His appearance will be in the auditorium of the Convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph, 27 Park Road, West Hartford. Refreshments will be served. Copies of "Denying AIDS" will be available for sale for $20, one fifth off the cover price.

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Tabor House is participating in this fundraiser – please click here to learn more and to make a pledge.

For more information, please contact
Nancy Taylor
Development Director
nancyataylor@comcast.net
860-693-0899

May 10, 1996

By MATTHEW HAY BROWN

 Courant Staff Writer

Hartford Courant, © 1996. Reprinted with Permission.

Loretta Dyson says she gets her energy from God. It's clear she draws her inspiration from her son, William.

"He was such a humanitarian -- his life was about helping others," says Dyson of Rocky Hill. "After he left us, I just felt I had to carry on where he left off. I'm running around, but he's pulling the strings."

It has been seven years since Wiliam Dyson died in London of complications from AIDS, and six since Loretta Dyson began working with people who have contracted the disease. For her work with Tabor House, Mercy House and AIDS Project/Hartford, the Rocky Hill Junior Women's Club has named her the 1996 Colleen Rice Volunteer of the Year.

"Her work has had a direct effect on so many people," says Diane Lublin, chairwoman of the award committee. "She is truly a wonderful woman, and what she has done is amazing."

"I couldn't not do it," says Dyson, a retired high school guidance counselor. "If you're doing what you think you should be doing, and working with great people, it's not so hard. It's possible."

Dyson waded into AIDS volunteer work about a year after William's death.

"I thought, 'There are people here who need my help,'" she says. "'Let me do for them what people in London did for Bill.'"

She began at Mercy House, a residence for people with AIDS in Hartford, where she house-sat during the weekly staff meeting. When Sister Laura Herold started Tabor House, another such residence, she asked Dyson to join its board of directors.

"She's an innovator," Herold says. "She sees what has to be done and goes right ahead and does it. Once she takes on a cause, there's no end to what she will do."

Herold says Dyson's personal warmth and humor are an asset at Tabor House, where she does whatever is needed -- preparing food, clerical work, driving residents around on errands.

Dyson also coordinates monthly interfaith AIDS healing services at churches throughout Greater Hartford for AIDS Project/Hartford. At some churches, she says, hosting a service has been a first step toward addressing the disease.

At her own church, St. Elizabeth Seton in Rocky Hill, she organizes a Christmas gift drive for residents of Tabor and Mercy houses. She appears before community organizations and on television to promote awareness and solicit volunteers to work on AIDS-related efforts.

"I'm thankful I'm able to do it," says Dyson. "As long as I'm running, I'll be running here."

Dec. 2, 1994

By PAMELA MITCHELL, Courant Staff Writer

Hartford Courant © 1994. Reprinted with Permission.

Cornelius pets the sleeping dog at his feet. He strokes Job's black coat as he talks about his life.

Job's stomach jumps.

"Look!" Cornelius says. "He has the hiccups."

It jumps again, bringing a smile to the middle-aged man's face.

In his dream world, Job is oblivious to the attention. The 5-month-old puppy brings joy to the men at Tabor House, even in his sleep.

Tabor House is home to six men with AIDS. The brightly colored two-story house in Frog Hollow is owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph and run by Sister Laura Herold.

Both Cornelius and Job came to Tabor House about three months ago.

Cornelius, whose last name is being withheld for reasons of privacy, had been living in his father's house in Hartford.

"My family was scared of the virus," he said. "They would put my food on plastic plates. They didn't understand. It hurt me so much."

The longer he stayed, the more his relationship with his father suffered.

"To see your father, who raised you, turn against you. It hurts," he said.

After a month at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and another month of being bounced around, Cornelius arrived at Tabor House.

"They don't discriminate. When I came here, it felt so good. Everybody here has the same problem," he said.

The home is named after Mount Tabor, where, according to the Bible, the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ took place.

"The disciples looked up and saw only Jesus. That's our goal, to bring these men to a happy ending," said Sister Laura.

Sister Laura is spending her retirement at Tabor House. She taught biology at St. Joseph College in West Hartford for 20 years and retired in 1989.

The Sisters of St. Joseph purchased the house in October 1990. Twenty days later, on Halloween, the house next door caught fire. Winds pushed the fire to their roof.

"It was empty. So, that was a blessing," Sister Laura said. "But there was extensive water damage."

Their insurance company was quick to help. A new roof and new walls went up. Every room was painted, along with the exterior.

"We got a whole brand-new house out of it," Sister Laura said.

In April 1991, the repairs were finished and the first resident moved in.

"He came from the Department of Correction. All he had was a plastic bag of belongings. When he walked through the door, he dropped the bag and began to cry," Sister Laura said. "He said, 'I always dreamed of someday living in a house like this.'"

His words are printed on the Tabor House brochure.

Soon the house was at full capacity, with six men.

Sister Laura runs the home with a staff of 10 and many volunteers.

Loretta Dyson of Rocky Hill decided to volunteer after her son died of AIDS.

"If my son had to be in a house, I would want it to be a house like this one," she said.

Agencies and individuals help provide meals.

"If you bring a meal, you have to stay and eat with us," Sister Laura said. "There are usually about 12 to 14 people for dinner."

Tabor House receives funding from the state and private donations. Residents, who pay a small fee, are referred to Tabor House by social workers, infectious disease clinics, hospitals, the Department of Correction and word of mouth. Before a man moves in, Sister Laura interviews him to make sure it's a good match.

To live in the house, residents must be drug- and alcohol-free and must be ambulatory when they move in. There is a 7:30 p.m. curfew.

"They come in here not having had a good life. This is a loving, caring atmosphere. They feel it. It works miracles on them," Sister Laura said.

Forty-seven men have lived at the home, before dying or moving on. Twenty-four have died while living there.

"Most who have died, died in the house. But they were not alone. People are always with them in the room," Sister Laura said.

In the Bible, Job is an upright man whose faith in God survived the test of repeated calamities. At Tabor House, Job lifts the spirits of his family, reminding them that there is much joy in their lives.

May 24, 1998.

By JOE DUFFY, Special to the Hartford Courant

Hartford Courant © 1998 Reprinted with Permission.

The very first resident at Hartford's Tabor House was a gaunt-looking Latino man who arrived on our doorstep with all his worldly belongings wrapped in a plastic bag," recalls Sister Laura Herold of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

In 1991, she founded Tabor House (named for the New Testament place of Christ's transfiguration) in the South End for men with AIDS. Last December the 76-year-old nun, who is retired from a college teaching career, opened a second facility in the South End, named Tabor House II, for women who are HIV-positive.

"When that first resident came inside the house, he dropped his bag and began to cry. He said, 'I always dreamed of someday living in a house like this,'" Herold said. "I knew then that Tabor House would be my most fulfilling life's work."

Herold said the man died within the year, but not before setting a tone that Tabor House was 'his home' and a real home to everyone coming after. His joy-filled words are on the front page of Tabor House's informational brochure as a lasting tribute.

"I will never forget him," she said. "I was with him when he died."

A Norwalk native, Herold was nearing retirement from the academic life. "I wanted something where I could still do some good," she said.

Herold has a doctorate in biology from Fordham University and has taught high school. She joined St. Joseph College in West Hartford, where she became an academic dean. While studying for a master's degree in counseling, she interviewed people with AIDS. When she learned from AIDS Project Hartford that housing was a major need, she went into action.

For her, the work at Tabor House represents a life coming full circle in the city she had served much earlier. More than four decades ago in the Parkville neighborhood, Herold taught algebra to kids at the parish school of Our Lady of Sorrows.

"I loved that, too," she said, recalling factory whistles and men carrying lunch pails to the Underwood and Royal typewriter factories.

To many who remember her as their teacher, her pilgrimage from the academic world to the rambling Victorian home that is Tabor House is no surprise.

"When she was teaching us, she already had a master's degree in biology and one in chemistry," recalled Joseph S. Ploszay, a retired systems analyst from United Technologies. "She was brilliant and gave lots of homework. But more important, she was a person who cared deeply for all of us."

Former student Errol Thomas, who teaches engineering and applied science in New Hampshire, said, "Sister Laura had too much love and energy in her heart not to keep using her remarkable skills. She'd scrub a floor if the job needed doing."

At both Tabor houses, she's done that and lots more. "I really thought my knowledge of science would come in especially handy for my important new work," Herold said. Before committing to serve those with AIDS and HIV, she read every piece of scientific literature on the disease she could find.

"Sister Laura is truly a mother to all men, sometimes the only one they ever knew," said Sister Joan O'Connor, a high school principal in Bristol and Tabor House volunteer assistant. O'Connor said 30 residents have died of AIDS since Tabor House I opened.

"To a man, they asked to remain here rather than go to a hospital to die. And Laura stayed with them all to the end. Sometimes she'd be up all night."

The reasons for those final requests -- all of which were honored -- rest in the Tabor House philosophy and its founder.

"We never ask how anybody got the disease," Herold said. "A person learns to throw away the past and its pain and in return finds some respect and dignity at last. Believe it or not, these men have lost their fear of dying and are moving forward in peace.

"Nobody hesitates to talk about dying, either. There's no hiding from it. In this honest atmosphere, counseling gets done, too, without it ever seeming to be so."

How has the suffering and death affected her, the staff and volunteer friends of Tabor House?

"You can't help but be glad when you see people feeling their freedom to get rid of their past and its pain," said Herold. "We love them certainly not for pity, but because they have shown us much that is likable in themselves.

"I see so many acts of unselfishness from the residents, for example, somebody giving up a downstairs bed so that a sicker resident won't have to walk upstairs."

Tabor House I accommodates six men and has one bed for respite care. Residents pay a modest program fee.

"Because that fee is theirs, residents feel good about themselves that they can pay their own way here and truly take ownership. It's part of restoring the dignity of having choice over one's life," Herold said.

Referrals to the Tabor Houses are made by city and state social workers and professionals serving clinics at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and its Mount Sinai campus and Hartford Hospital. Candidates for Tabor House I must be ambulatory, drug- and alcohol-free and AIDS-symptomatic.

Herold's "little clusters" of volunteers from area towns regularly prepare meals.

"They eat with us and are part of our family here," said Herold.

The programs have earned the support of Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance, whose member Trinity College is spearheading the Learning Corridor project.

"They sent us horticulturists to do our garden," said Herold, "and we've become part of the proposed Learning Corridor, too."

Tabor House II, in a building the organization rents, houses six women whose stay will be transitional and includes training in personal and vocational skills. As at Tabor House I, "self-help" is the theme of personal goal-setting.

Herold credits Kevin Kinsella for the expansion of facilities to serve women. He is vice chairman of Tabor House's board of directors.

"He asked me the question, 'What are we doing for women living with an HIV diagnosis? Now we've got to do something,'" said Herold.

Tabor House I was purchased by the Sisters of St. Joseph for its current purpose. Funding comes from federal, state and city sources administered by the state Department of Social Services; contributions from the Archbishop's Annual Appeal; Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford; and some areawide Christian denominations.

"Our support," said Herold, "is truly interfaith."

Postscript: Sister Laura died in 2007.

Dec. 12, 1997.

By MELISSA PIONZIO

Courant Staff Writer

Hartford Courant © 1997.  Reprinted with Permission.

 Through Tabor House II, sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph, women with AIDS or the HIV virus will have a temporary place to live and obtain emotional and medical support.

Located in a three-family building at 511 Maple Ave. in Hartford, the second Tabor House will serve nine previously homeless women. Residents will live together in shared apartments and work with an on-site program director or case manager to assess needs and develop long- and short-term goals.

Training programs also will be provided, such as helping the women obtain a GED, training in life skills and computer classes.

"The programs will include whatever the residents may need to help them get back into the work force," said Sister Laura Herold, founder and director of Tabor House.

These skills are particularly needed for women who are returning to the working world because of welfare reforms, she said.

Similar to Tabor House I, a home for men with HIV/AIDS on Brownell Avenue, the women's program will offer a supportive environment, home-cooked meals, social activities, access to medical and nursing care, and 24-hour coverage by staff members. An office wing to accommodate staff members will be included.

Women will be referred to Tabor House II by social workers; through an interview by staff members, a decision will be made as to their eligibility, Herold said. Residents are expected to move in by the end of the year.

Unlike Tabor House I residents, the women accepted to the program are not required to have a definite AIDS diagnosis, but they must be HIV positive, Herold said.

Tabor House II cannot accommodate children. Some of the mothers staying at the house will not have custody of their children, but may be working toward the unification of their families. Counseling on improving parenting and communication skills, especially on HIV and AIDS issues, will be provided.

Although Tabor House II is a transitional housing program, the residents will be permitted to stay up to two years and will receive assistance in relocating to permanent housing.

Postscript: Tabor House II became a men's facility in the summer of 2009.