40 Years of SAAF

2026 is a monumental year for SAAF. It was 40 years ago when Papa Bear Edwards decided to act. In 1986, there was little he could offer beyond compassion and hope. With only $1000 per month, he started the “San Antonio Tavern Guild AIDS Foundation,” a coalition of gay bars operating out of his bar on Broadway. He later said “My business went to hell. Now, a place where homosexual men used to socialize is a place where men and women come to try to survive. On any given night, volunteers are conducting therapy groups for people with HIV.” Realizing his patrons needed a place where they could be cared for, he provided a house – Casa de Care, later known as SAAF – where people dying of AIDS could live and die with dignity and compassion. In 1991, SAAF moved into our forever home at 818 E. Grayson St.