Top Shelf

Top Shelf is a resource for people living with HIV/AIDS who are moving into independent housing. The program provides the non-furniture essentials needed to set up house for clients who have been homeless or living in a nursing home or adult foster care home. The goal of this service is to provide clients with access to items that are “hard to reach.” There are many ways to get other essentials, such as food and clothing, but new household items are much more difficult to obtain. Top Shelf was created in 1998 to fill in those gaps. Upon acceptance of an application, the client will receive a move in gift basket of brand new household items, including matching bedding, towels, dishes, pots and pans, laundry basket and cleaning supplies.

The Top Shelf program has been funded by the AIDS Trek for the last three years, and as a result, we have been able to serve every person who has been referred to us. In previous years, we sometimes had to temporarily close the program while additional funds were raised; since we have become an AIDS Trek beneficiary, we have not had a single break in service. The AIDS Trek has been and continues to be an invaluable partner in providing household essentials to individuals in need. Thank you.

Becky Ness, Maureen Wells, Lynn DeRuyter and Paetra Ruddy, Abbott Northwestern Infectious Disease Clinic and Top Shelf staff

Top Shelf is a service of the Abbott Northwestern Infectious Disease Clinic (formerly Clinic 42), which is a full-service primary care HIV clinic with a comprehensive care team, including social work, case management, medication adherence, clinical research trials, registered dietician services and mental health consultation. The Top Shelf program, case management and medication adherence services are available to the entire HIV community, regardless of where medical care is received. For more information, contact Becky Ness or visit their website.