Puyallup Tribe’s Generous Grant Expands Life-Changing HIV Support & Community Events

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We are thrilled and deeply grateful to the Puyallup Tribe for their generous grant, which will help us expand our programming in incredible ways. This funding will support our Spring Getaway, our Labor Day Getaway, and two new family connection events hosted at our referral partners’ locations this spring. Thanks to this grant, we can continue to offer these life-changing events free of charge and welcome even more individuals and families into our community.

At these getaways, families will experience a fully funded weekend retreat, including food, lodging, and engaging activities designed to foster connection and joy. The grant helps cover lodging and meals for 40 attendees, activity packages that include outdoor adventures, team-building experiences, and recreational fun, as well as craft supplies and snacks to ensure every participant has a meaningful and enriching experience. Additionally, the two new family events will take place at our referral partners’ locations, providing a safe and welcoming space for connection and shared experiences. These events will include hands-on crafts, refreshments, and engaging activities that bring families together in a supportive environment.

This is the second time we have received a grant from the Puyallup Tribe, and it means so much to us. Their generosity allows us to strengthen the connections that make REACH Ministries a safe and supportive space for children, families, and individuals living with HIV. These getaways and connection events are vital opportunities for our families to find belonging, build friendships, and experience the joy of community without fear of stigma or rejection.

The Ongoing HIV Stigma

HIV is not talked about the way it was in the 1980s and 1990s, but the stigma and misinformation remain just as strong. Many believe HIV is no longer prevalent, yet 1 in 300 Americans is HIV-positive. Unfortunately, those living with HIV often feel the need to hide their status due to the fear of rejection. Misinformation about how the virus spreads persists, reinforcing harmful myths that contribute to isolation. Through our programs, we provide a safe space where families can find support, education, and community without judgment.

A Lasting Impact

Grants like this one don’t just fund events; they create lasting ripple effects in the lives of the families we serve. The connections made at our getaways lead to lifelong friendships, stronger support systems, and a sense of belonging that many families impacted by HIV struggle to find elsewhere. By removing financial barriers, we ensure that every family—regardless of their circumstances—has access to a judgment-free space where they can simply be themselves, find encouragement, and experience the joy of community.

About the Puyallup Tribe Foundation

The Puyallup Tribe Foundation, in their own words:

“The Puyallup Tribe of Indians serves its members and community with generosity and is committed to building a sustainable way of life for future generations. As one of the most urban tribes in the United States, the Puyallup Tribe is committed to being a good neighbor. It is consistently one of the top 10 employers in Pierce County, it fights to protect the environment, its economic development projects create jobs, and it donates millions of dollars each year to charitable organizations through its Charity Trust Board and through donations made directly by the Puyallup Tribal Council.”

“Since 2012, the Puyallup Tribe has donated more than $18 million to hundreds of local organizations through its Charity Trust Board. In 2022 alone, the Tribe donated more than $2 million to over 100 qualified organizations through the board.”

We are honored to be among the organizations supported by the Puyallup Tribe. Their commitment to building a stronger, more connected community aligns perfectly with our mission at REACH Ministries. With their support, we can continue breaking down barriers, fighting stigma, and ensuring that no child or family impacted by HIV has to face their journey alone.

Thank You, Puyallup Tribe!

Thank you, Puyallup Tribe, for your generosity and partnership!

Our Executive Director and Event coordinator at the Puyallup Tribe
Photo courtesy of the Puyallup Tribe Communications team

 

#PuyallupTribe #CommunitySupport #HIVAwareness #EndingStigma #REACHMinistries #StrongerTogether #FamilyConnection #NonprofitImpact #Gratitude #BuildingCommunity

REACH Ministries Receives MultiCare Grant to Impact 205 HIV-Positive Families with Support, Mentoring, and Education

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2024 Multicare grant recipient

At REACH Ministries, an organization dedicated to supporting HIV-positive individuals and their families, we believe that flourishing starts with community. That’s why we are delighted to share some exciting news: we have been selected as a 2025 recipient of the MultiCare Health System Community Partnership Fund award! This grant is a testament to our unwavering commitment to supporting HIV-positive children, adults, and their families through safe, judgment-free programs.

About the Program

The awarded program, Adherence to Health Care and Social Services Plans for HIV-positive Teens and Adults, strengthens our efforts to provide:

  • Support Groups: Safe spaces where individuals can connect and share their journeys without fear of judgment.
  • Mentoring: One-on-one guidance and encouragement to help participants navigate their unique challenges.
  • Family Services: Activities and education that foster whole-family resilience and understanding.

Who We Serve

Our community is inclusive and diverse, including:

  • Children born with HIV
  • Parents with HIV
  • Teens who contracted HIV on the streets
  • Adults who are “lifetime” survivors (they’ve had HIV since infancy)
  • Adults recently diagnosed
  • Immigrant and refugee families
  • Older Adults aging with HIV

Many participants come to us feeling isolated or burdened by secrecy. Through REACH, they discover the power of being truly known and supported by a community that understands.

How the Grant Will Be Used

This grant enables us to grow by:

  • Forming five new partnerships with HIV clinics and social workers, who will refer patients and clients to REACH.
  • Conducting participant intakes and providing ongoing education and encouragement.
  • Hosting engaging welcome events to introduce new participants to our fun, judgment-free community.

Impacting Lives Together

REACH currently serves 155 HIV-positive participants and their 317 family members. With this grant, we aim to reach 50 additional individuals plus 125 of their families by the end of 2025, touching a total of 647 lives.

We are profoundly grateful to MultiCare Health System for their trust in our mission. Together, we are creating a healthier, more hopeful future for those living with HIV.

Join Us

Follow along as we grow our programs and continue to provide life-changing support. Let’s celebrate this milestone and the lives it will impact! ❤️

About MultiCare Health System

The following is an excerpt provided by MultiCare Health System:

MultiCare Health System is a not-for-profit health care organization with 13 hospitals and more than 26,000 team members. We are committed to achieving our mission of partnering for healing and a healthy future and delivering world-class health outcomes and exceptional experience.

As the largest community-based, locally governed health system in Washington state, our comprehensive system of health includes numerous primary care, urgent care and dedicated specialty services. For more information, visit MultiCare.org.

#REACHMinistries #CommunitySupport #HIVAIDSawareness #PartnershipForHealing #HopeAndFlourishing

🎨 Rock Painting: Join Tacoma’s Monkeyshines Tradition! 🐒✨

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Have you heard about Tacoma’s beloved Monkeyshines tradition? 🐒✨

Every year around the Lunar New Year, a group of anonymous “monkeys” hide beautiful glass orbs and medallions throughout the city. What started as a secretive tradition has gained so much popularity that “rogues” now join in, hiding their own creative treasures for others to find.

From jewelry and pins to painted rocks, marbles, and posters, Monkeyshines is all about serendipity, spreading joy, and bringing the community together which closely aligns with our REACH mission.

As a huge Monkeyshines fan for nearly a decade, I (Cecilia) have been lucky enough to find a few of the coveted orbs and medallions (pictures below).

Each year, I join the fun by making and hiding my own rogue creations—this year, it’s jeweled keychains!🎨 I’d love for you to join the fun by creating your own rock art to hide—or keep as a personal treasure!

*Remember the Monkeyshines rules: If you find a glass orb or medallion, please take only one per year to ensure everyone gets a chance to share in the magic. For rogue treasures like painted rocks and trinkets, feel free to collect as many as you discover!*

Year of the Dog glass Orb and MedallionGlass Orb with pin and carrot rougeOrb commissioned by the Tacoma Port for the year of the tiger

About the Event

Come to our Creative Expressions Rock Painting Session and create something uniquely yours. Paint rocks inspired by the Lunar New Year’s theme—this year’s animal is the Snake—or let your imagination run wild with your favorite designs.

We’ll provide everything you need, including:
🎨 Liquid acrylic paints
🖌 Markers for detailing
✨ A varnish to seal your masterpiece and protect it from the environment

No experience? No problem! This event is perfect for beginners and seasoned artists alike.

Event Details:
📅 When: Tuesday, January 21st, 12:00 PM
📍 Where: REACH Ministries Office, Tacoma
📱 RSVP: Email cbryan@reachministries.org or text 541-612-0616

We want to make sure we have plenty of supplies, so be sure to RSVP!

Join us for this creative and fun event to celebrate Lunar New Year, connect with others, and add your special touch to Tacoma’s magical Monkeyshines tradition.

Let’s make art, spread joy, and create unforgettable moments together! ✨

Rock Painting for Lunar New Year

 

Happy 2025!

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The year 2025, REACH’s 30th anniversary, is brought to you by the letter R!

More to come…

Christmas party heightens joy and decreases heaviness for people with HIV

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The REACH holiday party took place on Zoom, making it accessible to participants all over the Northwest during this busy time of year. Last weekend 25 guests signed on from along the I-5 corridor as well as Eastern Washington, Oregon, and Montana. One even joined from a hospital room where she was keeping watchful care over her young child.

This party demonstrated that REACH people are getting comfortable on Zoom – the full hour was energetic sharing of anecdotes, comments, jokes, and traditions. The games we planned only fueled the fire of joyful storytelling and visiting. The quieter participants never had to worry about being “called on” since the air space was already full!

Amidst the hilarity, our guest from the hospital room participated quietly, writing comments in the chat and playing group games via the shared white board. At the end, just before saying goodbye, we rallied around her saying we would be thinking of her and her child and those of us that pray would be praying. She visibly teared up.

Thankfully, two days later she let us know that her child’s lab work came back with signs of hope and healing for the first time since being hospitalized and quarantined four weeks ago with a concerning AIDS-related infection.

Isolation comes in many forms for our participants: Fear of rejection and stigma. Life alone in a new country. Or the literal four walls of a hospital room. REACH has the privilege of being a constant presence and a steady voice of encouragement, belief, hope, and care.

The ideal atmosphere for people affected by HIV

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There’s something that frequently happens at REACH gatherings… but few other places. It could be called peace. Good vibes. A sense of coming home. Contentment. Whatever you call it, even our first-timers can sense it.

On Saturday, 32 people from the REACH community gathered for an early Thanksgiving meal. The night was rainy, and traffic was miserable as people trickled in the doors of the party. There were toddlers, children, teens, young adults, older adults, and people in wheelchairs or using canes. Food items were organized, nametags put on, and lots of introductions were made. At times food was dropped and drinks spilled; kids ran around; we played cup-flipping games, and a game called Medusa. All this might sound like a recipe for chaos, and yet that sense of peace remained.

Is it because REACH is trustworthy and confidential?

Is it because of our commitment to unconditional acceptance?

Is it because no one worries about judgment or rejection here?

Is it because of love? God’s presence? Long history? Smiles? Hugs? Attention to detail?

Rather than try to figure out its precise source, so we can “bottle it” or replicate it, we’ve learned to just notice it and enjoy. “It’s happening again,” we tell each other with a smile.

If you know anyone with HIV who could use a place to relax their shoulders, slow their breathing, settle in and be safe… make sure you tell them about REACH.

People with HIV deserve protection too

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Recently, a REACH lifetime survivor had an “aha moment” about what protection can really mean for someone living with HIV.  “Leanna” knew from a young age that she was HIV-positive and as she entered her teen years, she deeply internalized the frequent advice from adults that she needed to take steps to protect those around her from contracting HIV.

“I knew we needed to prevent STDs and have safe sex, but at that time I didn’t think of it as much as protecting me. I always thought I was the problem, the ‘dirty person’ or the infected person; therefore, I was protecting others. I never thought about it as vice versa, like, ‘I need that protection too.’”

After graduating high school, Leanna began to reflect on her health and her self-worth and realized that she wanted to flip the script. “I was in my 20’s when I started thinking, ‘Wait a minute! I’m undetectable. I do everything I need to do to stay healthy. I have to see myself as this person that needs to be cared for in terms of practicing safe sex because I do everything already [to stay healthy].’ For the longest time when I thought of STD prevention and protection, it was never protecting me, it was protecting other people. And that wasn’t very fair to myself. It really took a while for me to develop that sense of awareness, ‘Why am I thinking that way?’ It was this weird shift in my mind, where I was like, wait a minute. I deserve this actually!”

With joy, Leanna described the burst of confidence and self-love that welled up inside her when she made the discovery that she deserves to be protected from any infection someone might bring her way, including a different strain of HIV! She deserves to ask tough questions to a future partner. She made a commitment to herself to request an STD test from any future partner and set up a boundary of monogamy.

After sharing this enlightenment with REACH staff, she suggested that we talk about this at an upcoming Lifetime Survivor group, which we did. The faces on the Zoom as Leanna described her new perspective on protection spoke louder than their words. It was like everyone sat up a little taller, realizing they deserved to be protected too. And as people whose virus is undetectable, they are no risk to others, but others could certainly be a risk to them.

Thank you, Leanna, for sharing your lifechanging realization with your friends in the group and with REACH staff. We love learning from you, and it makes a huge difference.

REACH participants with HIV experience holistic well-being

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At REACH we are keenly aware of the judgment, stigma, and isolation facing people with HIV. The issue might seem more distant to those who don’t have weekly connections with people with HIV. We’ve even had individuals ask, “Isn’t HIV a solved problem?” The answer, of course, is that while treatment has come a long way, and our participants don’t live with an ever-present fear of death… the problem of HIV has not been solved.

Individuals with HIV in the U.S. have a doctor they spend less than 15 minutes with every 6 or 12 months. Mostly, the doctor makes sure the virus is still undetectable and sends them on their way with renewed or updated prescriptions. Some individuals with HIV also have a case manager who helps them with social services if they find themselves needing transportation vouchers, switching doctors or dentists, or even facing homelessness. Both “relationships” serve important purposes in the life of someone with HIV, but is that all they need? Medicine and physical resources?

At REACH we know that someone living with HIV needs much more. They need a safe place to talk about their status and how it impacts them. They need joyful smiles and bear hugs. They need friends who don’t require HIV education before they can be knowledgeable and supportive. They want to meet other people living with HIV. They need the compassionate listening ear of a friend without having to make an appointment.

For many of our participants, before finding REACH, their only safe setting to discuss HIV was the occasional, hurried conversation in the sterile office of their health care provider. This is not a space for them to tell their story, describe their relationship challenges, talk about their emotions, or get a response that sounds like, “I get that! It happened to me too.” Those things only happen for them at REACH.

Care providers refer people to REACH because they know their patients need more than what they can offer, and people who are a part of the REACH community are more likely to adhere to their medical regimen and stay healthy, physically and in other equally important ways.

“Allison’s” safest place is REACH

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As a teen with complex special needs, “Allison” (name changed for confidentiality) has not had an easy life. She and her HIV-positive mom, “Keira,” and her caregiver grandmother, “Dee,” connected with REACH immediately after moving here from another state in early 2024. They attended both Spring and Labor Day Getaways together. The grandmother exclaims about how valuable these experiences are for Allison and Keira.

For Allison, the activities get her outside in the fresh air, exercising her unstable legs, and surrounded by people who love to chat with her and enjoy her teasing sense of humor with no stigma or judgment about her disabilities.

When we first met Keira she told us “I need to make friends with HIV!” and in almost every support group (online or in person) she shares the story of the traumatic circumstances surrounding her HIV diagnosis years ago. She can be talkative, but the participants are gracious and kind. They know the value of listening to her experience and offering care. Keira comments often about how much people at REACH smile.

Dee delights in seeing her daughter and granddaughter engaged in such healthy and supportive activities and admits that she too gets a lot out of the themed breakout sessions, as fulltime caregiving is not easy.

At Labor Day Getaway Allison felt so safe and comfortable that she decided to perform a song, something she had never had the opportunity to do before. It was a spontaneous decision during the “talent” portion of campfire and her grandmother immediately grabbed her phone to record this novel event saying, “I can’t believe she’s doing this! I don’t know who she is. I’m so shocked at how outgoing she’s being. She comes to REACH and just comes alive.”

Many around the fire sang along to the classic love song, swaying and waving their phone flashlights back and forth like they were at a concert. While the performance would be unlikely to win an award… Allison felt like a superstar as she tiptoed back to her seat amid boisterous cheers and applause.

Labor Day Getaway Creates Family

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Despite being brand new to Labor Day Getaway, “Asha” had banked several experiences with REACH over the last year. She first met us at our Thanksgiving celebration in Tacoma, despite her drive being much longer than the event itself! Later that month she joined a wreath-making connection event that REACH hosted at her case management site. Three of the participants that day joined REACH staff for lunch afterwards and Asha was the life of that party, talking about all the foods she loves from her home country, cracking jokes, and playfully teasing her new friends. Throughout the following months she joined many ladies zoom chats and positive adults support groups. She naturally took the role of caregiver within each group, often starting comments to fellow participants with the phrase, “Josephine, my dear…” or “Martha, my dear…” offering encouragement and support.

This summer Asha made sure to request the necessary days off of work to attend Labor Day Getaway. She bonded immediately with another first-time participant, and they trekked to the pool every day for a refreshing swim and enjoyed attending the groups and breakouts together. She loved dancing at the “Boogie Woogie Round-up” Sunday evening, and learning the silly campfire songs. When she was called on to demonstrate a dance move at campfire, she laughed heartily while showing off her move. After all this joy and enthusiasm it caught us by surprise when she took the mic during the closing campfire on our final night and began to weep. She choked out her grief, saying, “I haven’t seen my babies in two years!” Then, “Because of REACH I now have family in America. I have never felt so loved by people I never met.”

For most of the year with us, Asha effectively hid the anguish of leaving her young adult children back home as she seeks asylum in the U.S… but in the safety of a REACH getaway, she let down her guard. No doubt she will continue to be the nurturer at group, but she also understands that she can safely be vulnerable and continue to be loved and accepted at REACH.