Company Profile
Christie's Place
Company Overview
Christie’s Place is a nonprofit social service organization in San Diego County that provides HIV/AIDS education, support, and advocacy. Our mission is to empower women, children, families, and individuals whose lives have been impacted by HIV/AIDS to take charge of their health and wellness.
Company History
Christie Milton-Torres was diagnosed with HIV at age 20 and two months later her husband Angel was diagnosed with AIDS. Miraculously, their newborn child was not, despite the lack of preventions in 1985. From the late 1980s until her untimely death in 1994, Christie was a tireless advocate for the needs of women and families impacted by HIV/AIDS. Christie dreamed that one day there would be a haven for families such as hers, families who needed support for both infected and affected family members. In 1996, Christie’s mother, Irene helped make her dream a reality by co-founding Christie’s Place (CP).
Since CP’s doors opened in 1996, CP has served vulnerable cisgender and transgender women who risk falling out of HIV care due to competing life needs. These efforts elevate the resilience of women who battle multiple oppressions (e.g. poverty, stigma, discrimination,
domestic violence), thereby enhancing their ability to take care of their health and wellness. CP’s organizational goals include:
1. Provide social and supportive services to assist women and families with children in maintaining and/or improving their personal health status and quality of life.
2. Educate and encourage women to take an active role in their own care and treatment, and in planning for services.
3. Foster self-empowerment and develop leadership skills for women.
4. Increase access to and optimal engagement in health care.
5. Develop strategies to overcome real and perceived barriers to the system of care.
6. Facilitate access and continued linkage to health care, basic survival necessities and support services for women, children, and families throughout San Diego County who are living with or impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
Christie’s Place’s commitment to improving the lives of women of color living with HIV and their families is evidenced by nationwide accolades.
*In 2013, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) cited Christie’s Place as “making a difference along the care continuum at the local level” highlighting that “Christie’s Place is focused on improving women’s access to and retention in comprehensive HIV care, with a particular focus on women of color.”
*In 2014, ONAP released the White House Interagency Federal Working Group Update on Efforts to Address the Intersection of HIV/AIDS, Violence against Women and Girls, and Gender-Related Health Disparities which specifically recognized CP’s efforts to address the impact of trauma on women living with HIV. The report stated that, “In San Diego County, Christie’s Place is a leading nonprofit social service organization that provides comprehensive HIV/AIDS education, support, and advocacy for women, children and families affected by HIV/AIDS. This organization has implemented an agency-wide commitment to providing trauma-informed care and has instituted screening for all women to identify trauma-related barriers to engaging in HIV care.”
*In 2015, CP was invited to the White House on National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day to present on its pioneering work inclusive of work on addressing trauma and implementing trauma-informed service provision.
*In 2016, CP was invited by ONAP to present at the United State of Women summit hosted by the White House Council on Women and Girls, highlighting CP’s model as successfully furthering the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for Women and Girls.
*In 2017, Christie's Place released a Trauma-Informed Toolkit with AIDS United that has served as a blueprint for peer navigation services.
*In 2021, Christie's Place was awarded funds to develop a Peer Navigation Center of Excellence in the state of California.
Benefits
Fun, relaxed environment; flexible/hybrid - remote work options; Paid holidays (including the last two weeks of December); close-knit staff dedicated to fulfilling the agency's mission and serving our clients