Philly AIDS Thrift co-founder on why store's new HIV testing center is personal

This past weekend, Philly AIDS Thrift opened a new 300-square foot HIV testing center. The center is the passion project of Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou, manager and co-founder of the shop that opened in 2005.

A longtime ally of the LGBT community in Philadelphia, Kallas-Saritsoglou has been working with AIDS organizations since the early '90s.

Originally from Reading, Pa., Kallas-Saritsoglou feels like she grew up in the gay community. "When I was young, my parents got divorced when I was 11. It was just me and my Mom," she told me in her colorful and cluttered office tucked away in the back of Philly AIDS Thrift.

"My mother was friends with a gay couple, Chris and Kevin. This past Father's Day, I wished Kevin a Happy Father's Day because it was as if they were fathers to me."

"I was a punk kid. Being a punk kid or being gay in the '80s wasn't easy. A lot of my friends were on the fringe. We had a home in the local gay bar, the Scarab, because we would be able to get in under age and go dancing and just be who we were. It was wonderful times."

Soon after she moved to Philadelphia, AIDS hit. "It was the gay plague. We didn't even have a name for it in the beginning. We were watching people literally wasting away before our eyes," she said. "It was scary. There wasn't a lot of information. One by one people were dying."

Kallas-Saritsoglou remembers one of her first friends, Michael Clark, to die from the deadly disease. "We knew each other because we worked at a thrift store in the '90s. He was wonderful and I loved him very much. He died early on. That was a horrible thing to watch. The sickness take[s] over and then the dementia. We were actually there when he passed right in front of our eyes. You just don't forget those things or moments."

"There is trauma connected to that. It has always been something that has been dear to my heart," says as her eyes well up with tears. "We have made wonderful strives with the medication but there are still people who are getting infected and we just want that to end."

Since 2005, Philly AIDS Thrift has given $1,180,000 to local HIV/AIDS organizations. The original store was at 514 Bainbridge Street until July 2011 when it moved all its operations to 710 South 5th Street.

In 2014, the store took over the historical LGBT bookstore Giovanni's Room on the corner of 12th and Pine Streets. Now, Philly AIDS Thrift embarks on a new endeavor with the opening of its HIV testing center.

"We are starting small. It is just going to be two days a week," she told me. "We are partnering with five different area organizations, Action AIDS, Bebashi, GALAEI, Mazzoni Center and Philadelphia FIGHT. They will rotate on weekends." The first and third Saturday and Sunday, and the second and fourth Friday and Saturday. It will be open noon to 4:00 p.m. It will allow walk-ins and feature free rapid HIV testing so folks can get their results in minutes. Along with testing, each organization will provide free, confidential, high quality counseling.

Chris Bartlett, executive director of the William Way LGBT Community Center, worked with Kallas-Saritsoglou in the early 2000s at SafeGuards Project, a LGBT health resource center. "I am her biggest fan," he told me. "Christina has been one of the most powerful allies to the LGBT community for over 25 years. She brings a strong vision to community building that made a difference at the SafeGuards Project,  the Youth Health Empowerment Project, the AIDS Library, and now Philly AIDS Thrift. She cares deeply about LGBT people and her commitment has saved lives."

Kallas-Saritsoglou thinks that offering these services in a nontraditional environment is important for our community. "Even though HIV testing has been out there forever, there are still people who may be running from it by fear," she said. "We were hoping to try and normalize HIV testing. Put this testing site in a nontraditional setting and put it on the radar of people who may not even be thinking about it. Some people don't want to go to a clinic. Here, it is a little more laid back. We made the space reflect the store. It is comfortable, fun and non-threatening."

"I would love to see people Tweeting each other, 'Hey. Come on. Let's go to Philly AIDS Thrift and get tested.' Let's get our friends. Let's just do this. Let's get in the habit of doing this, knowing our status and that it's fine to do that," she continues.

When asked about her role as an ally to the LGBT community, Kallas-Saritsoglou struggles to answer. Finally, she replies, "My role is simply to serve. That's my mission in life in every community. It is to serve other people. Just knowing that we are not meant to do this alone. We are connected to one another. And so, I just want to make my life mission to serve others. I particularly feel compelled to do that with communities of people who seem to be oppressed. The LGBT community is one of those communities."

"I have seen gay bashings and this oppression firsthand. To my friends. These were the people I loved. So that is always why it has always been something I wanted to fight for. That's why. That's the drive in me. To be visible and to let everyone know that I'm here."

For more information on Philly AIDS Thrift, visit phillyaidsthrift.com.