Our Mission

 

Aniz, Inc. promotes emotional and physical wellness by providing mental health, substance use counseling, support services, and sexual health education. 

 

Our Goal

 

To use a Holistic Harm Reduction approach/model with individuals to develop effective strategies that address issues impacting their overall quality of life. 
 

Our History

In 1991 Zina Age had a godson who was very sick and needed immediate medical attention.

After traveling from doctor to doctor they saw a physician at Scottish Rite Hospital where he

was diagnosed with HIV.  

Zina vowed to become an advocate for children both affected by and infected with HIV. She begin concentrating her efforts on their unmet need by exploring resources that served this unique population. Called to action, Ms. Age began to organize her thoughts and develop a solution. She spoke with the executive director of Outreach, Inc. about implementing a children’s program onsite. Her idea was to involve the children of clients in structured therapeutic groups rather than having them sit idle while their parents received treatment. In late 1996, her idea of working with HIV infected/affected children became a reality. The initial program she created at Outreach, Inc. was later titled “We Want To Know” which consists of activities that promote prevention and risk education for children ages 17 and under.

 

Impressed by her efforts, a group of dedicated professionals and paraprofessionals joined her to support the development of an independent organization; attending numerous planning meetings and working through strategies to expand Zina’s initiative. Soon Ms. Age formalized her idea by applying for incorporation, naming the initiative Aniz, Inc.