Sunburst Projects

For nearly 40 years Sunburst Projects has supported the Northern California HIV/AIDS community and their families. What began as a summer camp for children with cancer quickly pivoted to fill the emergent need for children diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. In 1988, to address the unmet social, psychological, and emotional needs of the growing numbers of children infected with HIV, Camp Sunburst held the nation’s first therapeutically designed summer camp program for children living with HIV and their families. Camp Sunburst has served as a model for other such programs around the world and continues to welcome HIV/AIDS impacted youth from throughout the state each summer.

Sunburst Projects later became incorporated in 1990 as a 501(c)3 organization in order to provide services to best meet the needs of children and families impacted by HIV/AIDS. In 2020 we expanded our reach to include men and the greater Sacramento HIV community as a whole. As of 2018, over 131,000 individuals were living with HIV/AIDS in California, with 4,285 in Sacramento County. HIV continues to spread in our state and community. Part of the problem is that 1 in 7 of those who are infected with the virus do not know they have it, which contributes to the continued spread of the disease.

Since 1982, thousands of HIV/AIDS impacted youth, women, men and families have been supported through our dedicated, professional, and compassionate staff. Our Programs include medical case management, mental health services, social support services, childcare assistance, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, support groups and more. Clients have access to our clothing closet, assistance with food bags, 340b pharmacy program, AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) enrollment, and housing assistance. Targeted at low-income individuals and families impacted by HIV/AIDS, our goal is to strive every day to break down the barriers of stigma and respond compassionately to the needs of the community that we serve. By helping our clients access medical care and life-saving HIV medications, we contribute to reducing the spread of HIV and supporting our clients in living their healthiest lives and reaching their highest potential.

Our organization is growing in every way! In January, 2021 we opened our full-service mental health clinic. We are responding to the growing mental health burden experienced by people living with HIV/AIDS.

This is an exciting time for Sunburst Projects. Our Board of Directors and our team are working to meet the needs of those living with HIV/AIDS and their families. We will continue to look at additional services as we plan for the future. If you would like to know more about Sunburst Projects or are interested in joining our team, please feel free to reach out to us.

Sunburst Projects was founded by Dr. Geri De La Rosa.

A Message From our Executive Director

In the earliest days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, when the HIV virus was largely still a mystery, Sunburst Projects was founded to help give voice to the unmet needs of HIV positive children and their parents.

Today, Sunburst Projects offers robust and comprehensive services for women, men and children impacted by HIV/AIDS. Our organization is growing in every way! In January, 2021 we opened our full-service mental health clinic. For the first time in our history, we will provide a psychiatric nurse practitioner, able to write prescriptions and respond to the growing mental health burden experienced by PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS).

We have added passionate HIV professionals to our team – from medical case managers to mental health clinicians — with years of experience and expertise in connecting clients to every available resource. Our Board of Directors is comprised of two members with a long history of commitment and advocacy for youth and Camp Sunburst, and also includes a long-standing fundraiser in the gay community, as well as distinguished community leaders including a pediatric critical care physician, a female California Assembly candidate and an engaged local leader working to end homelessness in Sacramento.

With other area HIV/AIDS service organizations reducing their services, cutting back on mental health providers, and creating barriers to accessing care, we are adding new clients to our roster every week. We respond immediately to calls for help and we are the only provider in the area that offers childcare vouchers so our clients can see their doctors and take charge of their health.

We do everything we can to engage our clients in their healthcare and make it easy to access our services. Our medical case managers and mental health clinicians offer in-home and tele-health visits, and we provide transportation and vouchers for medical appointments. Our support groups are offered via telephone and Zoom so that all clients are able to attend. We have established our Emergency Assistance Fund so that we can help our clients with financial crises ranging from replacing a flat tire to helping with utility bills. We have a full-time Registered Nurse on staff to help clients navigate healthcare systems and to support them with their medical needs. We assist HIV+ pregnant women so that they deliver healthy, HIV-negative babies who thrive. And finally, our diverse team includes HIV positive men and women who are uniquely qualified to support our clients.

Thank you for your support of our organization. We are very grateful for your help!

Jacob Bradley-Rowe
Executive Director