SF Housing Co-op for PWAs Reopens

Marty's Place, a residential co-op for low-income people living with AIDS, has reopened five years after it was shuttered. New residents said they were happy and relieved to have housing again after having been homeless for several years.

Marty's Place was founded in 1993 by Richard Purcell, a Franciscan friar who came to San Francisco in 1989 to care for his brother, Marty, who was dying of AIDS. Purcell continued to use his brother's apartment as a hospice for low-income people with AIDS until he found the current Mission property in 1993. (Due to client privacy, the Bay Area Reporter has been asked not to publish the home's address.)

Before his own death in 2011, Purcell bequeathed the property to Dolores Street Community Services with the provision that it remains an affordable residence for people with AIDS. Now, after years of fundraising efforts by DSCS and the San Francisco Community Land Trust, Purcell's final wish has been realized.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca, of the Housing Rights Committee, worked closely with the land trust to ensure that Marty's Place reopened.

"I think that it's an incredible continuation of an LGBT legacy," Avicolli Mecca told the B.A.R. "It's our community taking care of each other."

Though the current residents are all gay men, women and straight people living with AIDS are welcome to apply. The building can house up to nine residents. There are currently five people living at the house.
Dominik Mollica, left, and Michael Rouppet are residents at Marty's Place.

One of them is Dominik Mollica, 58, who tested positive for HIV in 1988. Three years ago he lost his rent controlled apartment in the Lower Haight after having lived there for 18 years.

"I felt betrayed by my landlord and lawyer," Mollica said as he served coffee in the home's common dining area. "I developed PTSD and lost 225 T cells. I was pretty much a freaking mess, a wreck."

Mollica couldn't be more grateful for Marty's Place. "It was a huge decision after living alone for 20 years, but I decided to take the plunge," he said. "I needed a place to live."

He said that his health is now improving. He pays 30 percent of his disability income for his room.

"I feel a sense of relief," he said. "I can walk around the neighborhood without being attacked."

He noted the bookstores and cafes nearby, which he enjoys.

Resident Michael Rouppet, 47, became close friends with Mollica when both were homeless. Rouppet had been locked out of his own apartment, where he had resided for 20 years.

"I went from having a community in Alamo Square to living under a bridge," Rouppet recalled. "I wanted to understand how this could happen to a long-term San Franciscan."

Rouppet said that he was quite ill while on the streets. Homeless people cared for him. "The streets are a great equalizer," he said. "I learned that there are pianists who are homeless. I met people who had mental health issues as a result of their circumstances."

Rouppet watched his T cells drop, and said that he almost lost one of his feet.

"I could not be adequately treated because housing equals health care," he said.

While homeless, Rouppet took part in AIDS/LifeCycle, raising $3,600.

"I was the only recognized homeless person to participate," he said. Now ensconced at Marty's Place, he continues to do AIDS advocacy work by counseling at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. He works with a syringe access program and co-facilitates a harm reduction group on Mondays.

"I became a better activist on the streets," he said. "I demanded my meds."

Marty's Place operates as a self-managed, democratic co-op. Funding sources include the AIDS Housing Alliance/San Francisco. Donations are needed - the home's living room currently has no furniture and some of the residents still need beds. Donation information can be found at http://www.sfclt.org. For housing information, contact the land trust at (415) 399-1490