On December 7th of 1992, Ricky R. Montoya died of AIDS. He endured long and painful waits at the local county hospital because the only
HIV/AIDS clinic in the area was closed. After Ricky's death, his sister
Audrey Chavez and the Montoya family vowed that nobody should ever have to go
through that alone.
The first planning meetings that led to the establishment
of Bakersfield's AIDS Project (BAP) were spearheaded and held in Audrey's living
room. The original goal was to bring back a local specialized HIV clinic. Annual fundraisers were planned and held to raise much needed capital, and
through the cooperative efforts of local, state, and federal organizations, the
specialized HIV clinic is now a reality.
That was only the beginning of many other projects to come. Today, Bakersfield's AIDS Project (BAP) has firmly established itself as a local
leader in the fight against AIDS.
