APLA Health
A Los Angeles nonprofit health organization providing HIV-related care, prevention, advocacy, and broader health and social services for LGBTQ+ communities and people living with HIV.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
APLA Health is a nonprofit health and social-service organization based in Los Angeles, California. It was established in 1983 under the name AIDS Project Los Angeles during the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, when community organizations were filling major gaps in medical care, prevention, education, bereavement support, housing assistance, and public advocacy. The organization was founded by Max Drew, Nancy Cole Sawaya, Matt Redman, and Erv Munro, and developed from a volunteer-driven AIDS service effort into one of the larger HIV service organizations in the United States. The organization’s work extends beyond HIV treatment alone. APLA Health operates as a Federally Qualified Health Center and focuses particularly on people who are uninsured, underinsured, economically vulnerable, or otherwise encounter barriers to comprehensive medical care. Its services include primary care, dental care, behavioral health, HIV testing and prevention, case management, housing support, nutritional health, treatment-adherence assistance, and home-health services. The organization also operates Vance North Necessities of Life Program food pantries in the Los Angeles area and participates in broader food-access partnerships. APLA’s early public identity was closely associated with community fundraising and mass education. In December 1982, before the formal 1983 founding, an initial fundraiser generated more than $7,000. Fundraising events in gay bars and discos helped sustain the emerging AIDS-service movement. A March 1984 event at West Hollywood’s Studio One, featuring Joan Rivers, raised $45,000 for APLA and other newly formed AIDS organizations. In July 1985, APLA organized what is described as the world’s first AIDS Walk. The event attracted increased attention after actor Rock Hudson disclosed that he had AIDS shortly beforehand and raised more than $673,000. The organization’s public fundraising tradition also intersected with the entertainment industry’s response to the epidemic, including the first Commitment to Life event, which was supported by Elizabeth Taylor and raised $1.3 million. APLA later broadened its institutional structure and service reach. In 2011, it created APLA Health & Wellness as a separate 501(c)(3) organization focused on HIV prevention, economic-development programs, and social activities for gay and bisexual men and transgender people of color. APLA Health opened the Gleicher/Chen Health Center in Baldwin Hills in 2013, followed by a Long Beach Health Center in 2016 and APLA Health–Olympic in 2018. In 2016, AIDS Project Los Angeles and APLA Health & Wellness began operating collectively under the APLA Health name, reflecting a wider health-and-wellness mission while retaining the organization’s HIV-service heritage. The organization also participates in national and international HIV and LGBTQ+ advocacy. APLA was among the activist organizations involved in founding M-Pact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights in 2006. M-Pact advocates equitable access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support for gay and bisexual men, including those living with HIV. APLA’s community-based research program studies HIV and LGBTQ+ health issues, with findings used to shape services, improve programs, and identify emerging needs. Its present-day positioning combines direct clinical care with prevention, social support, food and housing assistance, research, and policy advocacy, with particular attention to LGBTQ+ communities and populations disproportionately affected by HIV.
History
APLA Health emerged from the community response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Los Angeles. Its initial fundraising activity began in December 1982, when an event generated more than $7,000 for AIDS-related work. The organization was formally founded in 1983 as AIDS Project Los Angeles by Max Drew, Nancy Cole Sawaya, Matt Redman, and Erv Munro. Like many early AIDS-service organizations, it relied on community organizing, volunteer labor, public education, and fundraising in LGBTQ+ social venues at a time when government, medical, and social-service systems were not adequately addressing the epidemic. Fundraising became a central part of APLA’s early public role. Events at gay bars and discos connected the organization to the communities most directly affected by HIV/AIDS. A March 1984 fundraiser at Studio One in West Hollywood, featuring Joan Rivers, raised $45,000 for APLA and other newly created AIDS organizations. These events helped build both financial support and public visibility during a period when AIDS was widely stigmatized and misinformation was common. On July 28, 1985, APLA organized what is described as the world’s first AIDS Walk. The walk took place shortly after actor Rock Hudson disclosed that he had AIDS, an announcement that brought exceptional national attention to the epidemic and increased participation in the event. The walk raised more than $673,000. The organization’s fundraising activity also formed part of a wider entertainment-industry response. Actress Elizabeth Taylor helped lead a campaign that resulted in the first Commitment to Life event at the Bonaventure Hotel. The event honored former First Lady Betty Ford and raised $1.3 million for AIDS-related work. Over subsequent decades, APLA developed from an AIDS-focused community organization into a broader health provider. Its services came to include HIV prevention and access programs, primary medical care, dental care, behavioral health, housing assistance, case management, nutritional support, treatment adherence, and home health. The organization operates as a Federally Qualified Health Center, with an emphasis on people who lack insurance or face difficulty obtaining comprehensive care. It also established the Vance North Necessities of Life Program, a network of food pantries serving people affected by HIV and economic hardship. In 2006, APLA participated in the formation of M-Pact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights at the Toronto International AIDS Conference. The international advocacy network works to improve HIV prevention, care, treatment, and support for gay and bisexual men, including those living with HIV. This involvement reflected APLA’s movement from local service delivery toward broader national and international health advocacy. The organization expanded its institutional structure in 2011 by opening APLA Health & Wellness as a separate 501(c)(3) organization. That entity focused on HIV prevention, economic-development programs, and social activities for gay and bisexual men and transgender individuals of color. In 2013, APLA Health established the Gleicher/Chen Health Center in Baldwin Hills. A Long Beach Health Center followed in 2016, and APLA Health–Olympic opened in 2018. Also in 2016, AIDS Project Los Angeles and APLA Health & Wellness began doing business collectively as APLA Health. APLA Health’s contemporary model combines clinical and supportive services with prevention, research, education, and advocacy. Its community-based research work examines HIV and LGBTQ+ health topics and uses findings to design services, improve existing programs, and identify trends. The organization continues to focus on LGBTQ+ communities and people living with HIV, while targeting outreach toward groups that experience disproportionate barriers or risk, including men who have sex with men, men of color, and transgender women.
- 2018
APLA Health–Olympic opens
[1]The Olympic facility expanded APLA Health’s local access to clinical and supportive services.
- 2016
Collective APLA Health identity adopted
[1]AIDS Project Los Angeles and APLA Health & Wellness began doing business collectively as APLA Health.
- 2016
Long Beach Health Center opens
[1]The organization expanded its health-center network to Long Beach.
- 2013
Gleicher/Chen Health Center opens
[1]APLA Health opened a medical center in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles.
- 2011
APLA Health & Wellness is established
[1]A separate 501(c)(3) organization was created for prevention, economic-development, and social programs.
- 2006
Participation in the founding of M-Pact
[1]APLA joined international activists in establishing M-Pact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights.
- 1985
First AIDS Walk
[1]APLA organized the first AIDS Walk on July 28, raising more than $673,000.
- 1983
AIDS Project Los Angeles is founded
[1]Max Drew, Nancy Cole Sawaya, Matt Redman, and Erv Munro founded AIDS Project Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California.
- 1982
First documented APLA fundraiser
[1]A December fundraiser raised more than $7,000 for the emerging AIDS-service effort.
Products and positioning
A community-founded, LGBTQ+-affirming nonprofit health provider combining HIV care and prevention with primary care, behavioral health, food, housing, case-management, research, and advocacy services.
HIV/AIDS services · 1983
HIV care and prevention
APLA Health provides HIV prevention, testing and access services, medical care, treatment-adherence support, and related case management. Outreach is directed toward communities facing elevated HIV risk or barriers to care, including men who have sex with men, men of color, transgender women, and people with limited income or insurance.
Healthcare · 2013
Community health centers
Through its health-center network, including the Gleicher/Chen Health Center, Long Beach Health Center, and APLA Health–Olympic, the organization provides primary medical care and other health services. The centers are designed to improve access for people who are uninsured, underinsured, or otherwise unable to obtain comprehensive care.
Food and nutritional support
Vance North Necessities of Life Program
The Vance North Necessities of Life Program operates food pantry locations around Los Angeles for people affected by HIV and economic hardship. APLA Health also collaborates with other organizations on food-pantry services beyond its immediate local network.
Community health and social services · 2011
LGBTQ+ health and wellness programs
APLA Health & Wellness, now operating within the collective APLA Health identity, supports LGBTQ+ communities through prevention, social, economic-development, and wellness programming. The work includes particular attention to gay and bisexual men and transgender people of color.
Health research
Community-based research
APLA Health’s community-based research work examines HIV and LGBTQ+ health issues. Findings are used to identify trends, improve existing services, and inform the development of new programs and interventions.
Marketing campaigns
- 1985AIDS Walk
Los Angeles
APLA organized the first AIDS Walk on July 28, 1985, using a public walk to raise money and awareness during the rapidly intensifying AIDS crisis.
Outcome. The event raised more than $673,000, with attendance boosted by the heightened public attention following Rock Hudson’s disclosure that he had AIDS.
- 1985Commitment to Life
Los Angeles · United States
Elizabeth Taylor helped spearhead an entertainment-community campaign that produced the first Commitment to Life event at the Bonaventure Hotel. The event honored former First Lady Betty Ford and supported AIDS-related work.
Outcome. The event raised $1.3 million.
- 1984Studio One fundraiser
Los Angeles
A March 1984 fundraiser at the West Hollywood nightclub Studio One featured comedian Joan Rivers and supported APLA together with other emerging AIDS-service organizations.
Outcome. The event raised $45,000.
Brand decisions
2018
Open APLA Health–OlympicProduct launchBackground
The organization continued expanding access to health services in the Los Angeles area.
Action taken
APLA Health opened its Olympic location.
Aftermath
The new site added to the organization’s network of community health facilities.
2016
Adopt the shared APLA Health operating identityStrategyBackground
AIDS Project Los Angeles and APLA Health & Wellness had developed complementary HIV, health, and social-service functions.
Action taken
The two organizations began doing business collectively as APLA Health.
Aftermath
The shared identity positioned the organization as a broader LGBTQ+ and community-health provider while preserving its AIDS Project Los Angeles heritage.
2016
Expand to Long BeachProduct launchBackground
APLA Health pursued a wider geographic service footprint for its medical and supportive programs.
Action taken
It opened the Long Beach Health Center.
Aftermath
The organization extended its clinical presence beyond its core Los Angeles locations.
2013
Open the Gleicher/Chen Health CenterProduct launchBackground
The organization needed greater clinical capacity to serve people living with HIV and other LGBTQ+ patients in Los Angeles.
Action taken
APLA Health established the Gleicher/Chen Health Center in Baldwin Hills.
Aftermath
The facility expanded APLA Health’s direct medical-service network.
2011
Create APLA Health & WellnessStrategyBackground
APLA sought to expand beyond its traditional AIDS-service identity into prevention, wellness, economic-development, and social programming for communities disproportionately affected by HIV and other health inequities.
Action taken
It opened APLA Health & Wellness as a separate 501(c)(3) organization.
Aftermath
The new entity added prevention and community-wellness functions that were later presented collectively with AIDS Project Los Angeles under the APLA Health name.
Recent events
Playboy launches Pride in Numbers campaign[3]
Reported:
Playboy launched its Pride in Numbers campaign, featuring a product collection created with LGBTQIA+ community members, a commissioned photo essay and a digital Pride hub. The campaign's product-sale proceeds will be donated to APLA Health.
Sources3 sources
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