When the AIDS epidemic first hit, people didn’t have common knowledge about how you could “catch” the virus that would become known as HIV.  Fear was pervasive and many who were infected were evicted from their housing or turned away by family and friends.  In the mid 1980’s a gentleman by the name of Ray Beierle opened his door to help, caring for homeless and very ill individuals at his Oceanside home.  When neighbors began to inquire why so many (mostly male) people lived at one house, his stock answer was, “Tell them it’s a fraternity house.”  The name stuck and the organization was formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 1988. In 1997, due to increasing need, we opened Michaelle House in Vista, CA, named for Michaelle Liddell, one of the first straight, white women in Southern California to publicly acknowledge her HIV status and a fierce advocate for resources and support for Persons With AIDS (PWA).