Caught in the Middle

Life doesn´t stop with HIV. Elda Malpera, 38, of Brooklyn, NY is a recovering substance abuser living with the virus who has turned her life around. Yet every day poses a challenge as she struggles to raise her daughter and care for her dying father. Malpera was released from prison nine months ago, and since then she has been a client of the Women´s Transitional Housing program (WTH) of Housing Works, a non–profit organization that helps women like her to get back on their feet by prov–ding housing, counseling, job training and a host of other educational opportunities and health care services.

Malpera was diagnosed with HIV eight years ago. Her five–year old daughter Rachel and her fiancé Anthony, her partner for the last 11 years, are both HIV negative. Her 61–year old father Sergio is in the final stages of cirrhosis of the liver, the consequence of decades of alcoholism. She is as committed to his care as she is to her goal of becoming a drug counselor for teens. She is fiercely determined to succeed, and hopeful about the new path she is forging for herself and her family.